1,000LB Truck Bombs, Pressure Plates & Rooftop Firefights: Celebrating Chaps' Alive Day
The ZeroBlogThirty podcast has nearly 620 episodes now, and I've been round for most of them. That paired with all the work trips we've taken and time spent together in general and you'd think I'd know Chaps & Cons' stories like the back of my hand, but honestly we don't talk about our own time in service very often (* aside from Cons talking Army football days of course). To put it eloquently, it'd be big-time douchey and pretty sad if we did.. We've each been out for a while and there's only so much you can say about yourself before you're either a broken record or just S-ing your own D. (shoutout Marilyn Manson.)
That being said, today is Chaps' Alive Day - the 16th anniversary of the day he came within a few inches of losing his life in Fallujah, Iraq because he took a bullet to the arm instead of the neck or face - and so it seemed fitting to do a deep dive for today's episode. In part this was spurred by his episode Barstool Golfs with Frankie last month. There's a moment where Frankie asks about his Purple Heart, and Chaps' answer had so much more detail than I'd ever heard. I watched it back feeling kind of stunned (and pretty bad) that I knew so little about a friend, and especially a friend I've been doing a military podcast with 2 times a week for years.
But since he'd already gone over his Purple Heart/what lead to his Alive Day with Frankie, we went over other instances from that deployment that I'd also never heard about, and I wanted to share those. Here's a few examples of many from just a few days in 2007, and this is from an official citation:
Finding 6 pressure plate IEDs (bombs) on foot:
From 23 April to 31 May, while participating in Operation SILENT PEGASUS, Corporal Cothron and his military working dog were called upon to assist in the sweeping of north of a road, discovering six IEDs. Two of the six he discovered were pressure plate initiated improvised claymore devices intended to target dismounted sweep teams along the road. Corporal Cothron’s courage and leadership directly contributed to the safe passage of the company’s Marines on this mission, as well as greatly degraded the enemy’s ability to control the northern Karmah area.
Helping injured Marines get airlifted out by finding/making sure they avoided 3 additional bombs in the process:
On 24 April, 3d Platoon suffered a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack that injured five Marines, partially destroying the house they were occupying, and completely destroying two of their vehicles. In an effort to medically evacuate (MEDEVAC) the injured Marines and replace the destroyed vehicles, 2d Platoon was tasked with sweeping the road to the site of the attack and Corporal Cothron and his dog were the lead element of that sweep. During the sweep Corporal Cothron and his dog found three more IEDs that were emplaced by the Anti-Iraqi Forces in an attempt to hamper any relief efforts provided to 3d Platoon.
Volunteering to check out a truck crammed with 1,000lbs of explosives so the unit could confirm & thus get it blown up:
On 26 April in an effort to follow up with the success of their first attack, insurgent forces staged a second truck-borne improvised explosive device (TBIED). After assessing the situation and identifying a suspicious dump truck as the potential TBIED, Corporal Cothron and Psycho volunteered to confirm that the vehicle was in fact a threat to friendly forces. Under the cover of darkness the pair moved down wind of the staged dump truck and ultimately directly adjacent to the vehicle, thus confirming that the truck was in fact a TBIED with 1,000 pounds of explosives in the bed. Corporal Cothron’s quick thinking and disregard for his own safety coupled with his decisive action prevented a second attack that would have potentially induced more casualties.
Assisting in taking out the enemy during a major fire-fight:
On 27 April, while attached to 3d Platoon, the firm base they occupied came under a coordinated attack by a force of 30 insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47s, medium machineguns and vehicle mounted anti-aircraft guns. During the attack Corporal Cothron moved to a point on the roof affording an advantageous field of observation and fires and engaged the enemy fighters with his personal weapon.
Overall earning a NAM with combat V for being extremely good at his job:
Corporal Cothron has gone above and beyond in his duties as a military working dog handler. His “lead from the front” work ethic and uncanny ability to adapt to any situation has made him a vital asset to this unit. His flawless performance, technical proficiency, excellent leadership, and courage under fire make him most deserving of the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device.
The fact that I didn't know these stories in any sort of detail beyond maybe a couple quick mentions over the years speaks to the kind of person Chaps is. And, as he says on today's episode it wasn't the instances where he was in pain or the many times he thought, "Well, this might be it for me," that have kept him up at night. It's the times he saw the suffering of others. On the other hand, the perseverance of other Marines is part of what has kept him going, too.
Happy Alive Day to one of the best, most loyal, thoughtful, kind hearted, and incredibly brave person I know on so many fronts. I felt a surge of pride for him while we recorded this episode and if you check it out I think you will, too. In closing, please enjoy this photo one of his old buddies sent after he heard the episode. He & his dog Csika used to put on fashion shows in between the action to keep up morale. 10/10, stunning. I'm sure glad to know him & damn glad he's still here.