Soldier Amputates His Own Leg To Save The Lives Of His Buddies

Oct 24, 2019

There are heroes in this world, and then there are HEROES, all caps. Ezra Maes is a HERO through and through.

Maes joined the U.S. Army and received a deployment to Poland. He and his crewmates were taking part in a special training session that lasted overnight. As part of this exercise, Maes had to sleep in a tank.

He was deep asleep when the tank began to roll. The motion jolted him awake. He tried to get the driver to hit the brakes. Unfortunately, the driver hadn't started the tank and couldn't stop it. They tried to use the emergency brake system, but that didn't work either.

The tank sped down a hill, out of control. At one point, it hit 90 miles per hour, leaving the soldiers inside defenseless. They could only hang on and wait for their fate. When they finally crashed, the force of impact tossed Maes across the tank. His leg got stuck in one of the gears.

With no concern for his own safety, Maes tried to get to the rest of his crew. He did everything he could to free his leg. When nothing worked, he did the unthinkable.

He pulled his leg until he felt it tear. He freed himself by removing his own leg. Even though he was bleeding and in horrible pain, the brave soldier climbed onto the tank and retrieved a first aid kit. He placed a tourniquet around his leg before managing to get a cell phone and send a text for help.

Help eventually came. They airlifted Maes to the hospital. Doctors tried but failed to save his leg. The 21-year-old soldier has worked hard to make a recovery. Despite the horror of what he went through, his spirit is still strong. He told People that he feels lucky. He might have lost a limb, but his crewmates were saved.

What would you have done in Ezra's situation? Would you have been able to take the steps he did?