Staff Sergeant Brandon Camacho exemplifies the present heroes of Iraq and Afghanistan. He had received five Purple Heart medals in five years during his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in a war he does not want to quit.
Staff Sergeant Camacho was the son of a Saipan – born father and an American born mother and a grandson of a US Navy World War II veteran and has an uncle who is a commander of the 101st Airborne Division. Camacho was born in Saipan but later moved to the States and joined the Army at the age of 18 after finishing his high school. Camacho knew from the start that he will be going to war after the 9/11 attacked on the US.
In 2003 he was assigned in Iraq where he had his first combat wound when their Army base near Fallujah was attacked by mortar fire and was hit by shrapnel above his left knee which earned him his first Purple Heart. After two weeks he was back in his unit.
His second and third Purple Hearts medals were gained when he was deployed in Afghanistan. A bullet ricochet his fingers, while chasing the enemy in July 2006 earning him his second Purple Heart and he was hit again on April 2007 with a tracer round for his third Purple Heart medal. During both times, Camacho returned back to work within weeks after recovery.
When it was time to redeploy in 2007, Staff Sergeant Camacho was assigned on a recruiting job to keep him off the harm’s way and he was not having any of it until a captain intervened to get him back on the front lines.
In May 2008, Camacho now a squad leader was chasing the insurgents with his men in Logar, Afghanistan when he was hit by a gunman on his shoulder. Again, Camacho gained his Purple Heart for the fourth time and was given two weeks leave to recover.
By July 2008, he was back in action and was greeted by his men warmly. On September 8, 2008 while Camacho and was out on a recovery mission when a round of bullets hit him on his left knee that led to his fifth Purple Heart medal award.
In his entire career, Camacho had always been struck with injuries on his left side and most of his colleague says that as long as they stand by his right side, they will be fine. A joke shared among him and his men. While his colleagues considered him unlucky with bullets finding their way to him, Camacho considers himself lucky.
The Purple Heart medal award is awarded to soldiers who were wounded or killed in combat. As the Father of the Country had written, the Purple Heart is given to those who have shed their blood in defense of their nation and by these standards, Camacho had earned the Purple Heart medal five times.
The military officials had not yet confirmed if Camacho is the only who has five Purple Hearts awards since the 9/11 for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The most number of Purple Hearts that was earned by soldiers and Marines was eight for their service during the World War II, Korea and Vietnam but receiving four remains a rarity.
Staff Sergeant Brandon Camacho is the living symbol of valor and vitality of the new generation of soldiers and Marines and after his fifth Purple Heart he can’t wait to be redeployed again.
