It is all too easy for the majority of Americans who may not have close friends or family members in military action in Afghanistan or Iraq to forget the sacrifices that so many of our troops have made in those faraway lands.
But we were reminded of our troops’ bravery when news came that a U.S. Marine from Meigs County had maintained his composure and kept control of a potentially deadly situation not long ago in Afghanistan.
Pfc. Brandon Pendergrass, a 2009 graduate of Meigs County High School, was in a convoy of military vehicles when his tactical vehicle, called an armadillo, hit an explosive. To add to the danger of the situation, Pendergrass was guarding several detainees in the vehicle when the explosion took place.
A fellow Marine was rendered unconscious, and Pendergrass was injured. But he acted quickly to keep the situation from getting even worse, the Times Free Press reported.
“I grabbed the nearest weapon and continued to hold security on the detainees until our fellow Marines arrived to our aid,” Pendergrass later told his mother by phone.