Sergeant leads daring cliff jump to save troops

This tale is about Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye, U.S. Army, who was a Navajo raised on a reservation in New Mexico. 

On Nov. 9, 2007, he was in a patrol of 15 men in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. They were on a very steep mountain when gunshots suddenly started coming in. He heard whizzing going by his head — the sound of close bullets (I have experienced this myself, so I know the sound). 

After the platoon leader was shot in the head and killed, Sgt. Begaye took over command. Gunshots were pouring in, and someone kept pushing him. He looked back and there wasn't anyone there. Then he realized it was bullets hitting his body armor. They were almost surrounded. They had a steep mountain behind them and a cliff in front of them. Men were getting hit. He had to do something. He was then shot in the arm. The amount of fire coming in was overwhelming. 

He had to get the troops out of there, but there was no place to go. He then yelled out to the men, "Follow me," and jumped over the cliff, sliding down the rocks. The rest of the men followed, including the wounded. He got caught in a tree, bullets still coming down at them. 

When he finally reached the ground, he told the wounded to lie there and play dead. It worked. 

Then he called for a helicopter gunship, which came quickly, driving away the Taliban. He couldn't find his medic while awaiting medevac. He later found out his medic was dead. Altogether, five soldiers and one Marine were dead. The medevac soldier was piling the bodies on top of one another. He yelled out to him, "Hey, show some respect." 

Later, while recuperating in the hospital, he found out he was being awarded the Silver Star for bravery along with the Purple Heart.

Roger Gregory served as captain in the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He is a Priest River businessman.