Gunny Burghardt (and EOD) Gets His Due.

I’ve reported twice before on Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt, first when he became justly famous for his titanium-testicled act of defiance, and then again when he returned to duty after recuperating from his injuries. (The Gunny even commented on the first post!) Now Stars & Stripes has an excellent article profiling Gunnery Sgt. Burghardt, and he deserves it. Excerpt:

Burghardt earned the Bronze Star for disabling 64 roadside bombs and destroying more than 1,500 pieces of ordnance during his second Iraq tour.

But he and his fellow explosive ordnance disposal technicians do not always beat the bomb-makers and planters.

Already, five EOD technicians Burghardt has worked with have been killed, the most recent death occurring three weeks ago when the technician sunk his knife into a dirt berm and activated the pressure switch on a buried bomb.

“Pink mist,” Burghardt said gravely, using the term familiar to Marines to describe the aftermath of a person being blown up.

Where do they find these men?