Soldier Severs Own Leg to Save Crew After Tank Crashes

Soldier, 21, Severs Own Leg to Save Crew After Tank Crashes: 'Either I Step Up or We All Die'

A freak accident following an Army training exercise led to a seriously wounded soldier heroically coming to the aid of his injured crewmates. Army Spc. Ezra Maes was deployed to Poland last year to participate in a joint training exercise as the main cannon loader for a 65-ton tank, according to the Department of Defense.

Sadly, it's because the men fell asleep in the tank (that crashed causing the accident) but still, his heroism is amazing!

“I pushed and pulled at my leg as hard as I could to get loose and felt a sharp tear,” Maes told the Department of Defense. “I thought I had dislodged my leg, but when I moved away, my leg was completely gone.”

Real men still do exists. What a guy.

a reply to: silo13

That's what a role model looks like.

Wow... I'm humbled...

Look at the smile on his face!

His mother and father were never more proud of their son.

Cheers mate!

Heroic was the first word I thought about. In the picture it looks like he is happy with the situation. I hope he will get much support for this selfless act for saving his comrades.

how many other ATS members read this and think :

WTF - how TF - need to read the incidet report

a reply to: silo13

What an amazing young man. And his smile lights up the whole room.

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
how many other ATS members read this and think :

WTF - how TF - need to read the incidet report

Yep.

Tank gunner Sgt. Aechere Crump, who placed a tourniquet around her own bleeding leg, managed to make her way through the wreckage to toss Maes his phone, which was the only cellular device to survive the crash.

Sounds like it was her that saved the day, in reality. I guess Maes was the only person that could open his phone though?

Sounds like he was going to lose his leg no matter what, and I can't see how severing his leg made him more capable of opening his phone.

How's the guy with the broken back? The article doesn't say.

From what I read here your title is misleading. The description makes me think his leg was crushed with only a little skin and tissue still intact.

a reply to: CharlesT

It was the title to the article. I didn't write it.

And seriously? You really think you'd 'push and pull' on your leg until it 'tore' off?

You don't have to answer that - I'm pretty sure I know the answer already - but hey, I'm only guessing.

Haters gonna hate.

What a brave man.

originally posted by: silo13
Haters gonna hate.

It's the "freak accident" part of the story that makes it not sit right as pure heroism.

a reply to: Sookiechacha

What part of she had TWO LEGS to go and get that phone don't you get?

His leg? Gone.

Or maybe you think you could to the hokey-pokey down the isle of the inside of a wrecked tank to get to a phone - on one leg - is just a 'walk in the park'???

Seriously...

a reply to: silo13

His leg? Gone.

What part of she had TWO LEGS to go and get that phone don't you get?

Sorry, but it sounds like SHE'S the one who saved him. Severing his own leg didn't save him. The phone that SHE got to him, and subsequent rescuers, did.

He's really wounded. She really saved the day.

this tail is so poorley written and to be blunt contrived - that one has to wonder what really happened that night

all we get is the " feel good heroisim " tail

and its just repeated almost word for word at every source

no one seems to have asked any of the basic questions

and infact the report - actually obfuscates some vital points

and no one addresses the actual incident itself and how it occured :

my increduklity of " how did they manage that " - went off the scale

lets start with a question that everyone should have spotted :

where was the tank commander - and what was he // she doing ??

there are others - that get more technical - but ..............

a reply to: ignorant_ape

I agree that it’s poorly written. From what I gather is Maes was the Tank commander.

The tank has a crew of 4. Tank Commander, Gunner, loader, then driver. The driver is up in front of a tank in a separate hatch. The other three are in the same compartment the turret. So reading it carefully Maes calls out “driver hit the brakes” since he’s giving commands it would seem he’s the TC, the Gunner is Crump, which leads me to the question of where and who was the Loader?

Also since Crump applied first aid to herself and reached the phone, she actually saved Maes.

The article also says his leg got trapped in the gear of the turret. That’s BS, the whole assembly is paneled off to prevent any items from getting in the gear ring, limbs included.

What happened to the Loader and did the Driver survive?

a reply to: 38181

maes is reported as " loader "

citation :

source

to answer one of your questions -the driver is reported survived with spinal injuries [ current situation un-reported ]

ditto - gunner - no mention of her recovery .

pictures show 3 people - captioned : maes and crump [ gun ] almao [ driver ]

it almost seems as if everyone is going to great lengths to avoid any mention of the TC and hope no one asks

almost a conspiracy .........................

ETA :

re turret gears - one ASSUMES that the turret jumped its bearing ring

i dont see any " command " in meas telling the driver to hit the brakes - its surperfluous - though - one would hope that you wouldnt need to tell the driver this

but - i cannot get my head around how the incident occured so ..................

but hierachy SHOULD be [ from the bottom ]

loader >> driver >> gunner >> commander

pictures of the aftermath would help but ........................

further :

in the hunt for " more details " :

source

turned up

the synopsis - 3 injured in slovenia when thier tank ran into an embankment

dated spetember 2018

no names - no pack-drill

no pictures

One evening, following a week of intense drills, Maes and his two crewmates fell asleep in the tank, but were awoken a short time later when the vehicle’s parking brake failed. To their horror, the massive machine was screaming downhill, and there was nothing to stop it.

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Thanks for the second article, makes sense now, since I was kinda wondering how the TC would be a SPC unless he/she was # hot. The TC is usually an E-5 and up. Like you I wonder where the TC was and fate.

I believe the driver is the lowest position then the Loader, gunner, TC. The loader on the abrams not only loads the main gun but operates the M240 on top of the turret, and is the gopher for the TC since he has his own hatch.

I was too harsh. Didnt read the after-report we have more of now.