Texas Reservist Honored for Afghan Ambush

Army Spec. David Hutchinson spent only a week in Afghanistan. But that was enough to change his life and earn him a place among America's bravest with a Silver Star on his chest.

Only days into a deployment to the volatile Paktika province last May, then-21-year-old Hutchinson was part of a convoy with members of the Army Reserve's 420th Engineer Brigade when they were struck by an insurgent ambush.

From the gunner's turret on the third of a four Humvee column, the combat engineer from Brenham, Texas, had a good view of the attack.

"It was an uphill kind of situation," Hutchinson recalled during a recent conversation with Military.com. "They had the high ground on both sides as we came up on the mountain pass while we were still going uphill."

Things quickly went from bad to worse.

"By the time all four our four gun trucks arrived, 20 or 30 insurgents popped up on my right side. I just started opening fire on several different areas," he said.

In the next few minutes, hell exploded on that Afghan mountain pass as Hutchinson unloaded an entire can of grenades from his MK-19.

"Hutchinson stayed in his position under intense fire, placing accurate effective fire on the remaining enemies with total disregard for his own life," an Army report on the incident states. "Members of his unit later counted well over 100 bullet strikes on his turret."

He recalls a lull in the action before the insurgents exacted their toll.

"At one point I had to wait a moment for all the smoke and debris to clear and then keep shooting," he recalls. "And then they were popping out of their nest, shooting at us with RPGs."

Toward the end of the firefight, two RPGs struck Hutchinson's Humvee, hurling him from his turret and causing serious injuries. Shrapnel shredded his right leg and the fall injured other parts of his body.

Despite the injuries, Hutchinson had the presence of mind to administer first aid to his first sergeant who suffered a gaping wound to the face and head. Hutchinson slowed the bleeding during the evacuation. 

He is credited with holding off the attack and killing at least five insurgents. All 17 Soldiers on the mission returned home.

"We had a couple of different goals on that mission, but our main goal is to make sure everyone comes out alive. Seventeen came in and 17 came out," he said. "That's a win in my book."

But the "win" has been costly.

Hutchinson spent six months at Brooke Army Medical Center, where he underwent intense surgeries and had to relearn to walk – twice.

He's spent months under physical therapy and is working hard to jog short distances and hopefully someday run again.

"The doctors told me I would never even jog again, and I've done that so quickly," he said.

He was set to return to work as an AT&T retail outlet in Texas when news of the Silver Star turned his summer upside down.

First, he traveled to Texas A&M University for a June 6th presentation of his Silver Star.
He is only the fifth Army Reserve Soldier ever to receive the nation's third highest award for bravery.

Then Hutchinson was invited to spend July 4 at the White House. His fiancé joined him at the Obama residence for a cookout and then watched the fireworks from the lawn. During his visit to Washington, Hutchinson also met with a host of Congressmen from his home state of Texas.

"You never really expect to even take a tour of the White House, let alone to eat at the White House and watch fireworks from the South Lawn," he said. "Those had to be the best hot dogs and hamburgers I've ever had."

Now he plans to return to work, head back to college to complete his degree and hopefully finish his career in the Army.

"I'd like to do 25 years and see what else I can do," he said.