The Country Pundit

How A Salvadoran Fights

Pulled from the Blogs for Bush blogroll (available on the right; scroll down some if necessary) is Frizzen Sparks. I visited there today, and I found this:

NAJAF, Iraq — One of his friends was dead, 12 others lay wounded and the four soldiers still left standing were surrounded and out of ammunition. So Salvadoran Cpl. Samuel Toloza said a prayer, whipped out his knife and charged the Iraqi gunmen.

In one of the only known instances of hand-to-hand combat in the Iraq conflict, Cpl. Toloza stabbed several attackers swarming around a comrade. The stunned assailants backed away momentarily, just as a relief column came to the unit's rescue.

"We never considered surrender. I was trained to fight until the end," said the 25-year-old corporal, one of 380 soldiers from El Salvador whose heroism is being cited just as other members of the multinational force in Iraq are facing criticism.

Additional research indicates that Corporal Toloza used a switchblade knife in this little dustup. I know precious little about knives, so you decide:

A prayer, a blade, and indomitable spirit. Wow. This guy's a beast, and I'm glad that his bold move was rewarded with survival for him and his comrade. The extended entry holds the other photograph of Corporal Toloza from the AP, shot in a square of some sort that is dedicated to the memory of another fallen Salvadoran, Natividad Mendez.

Cpl. Samuel Toloza of El Salvador's Cuscatlan Battalion poses for a photograph in Najaf, Iraq, Saturday May 1, 2004, at the square erected in the memory of Natividad Mendez, who died on April 4. One of his friends was dead, 12 others lay wounded and four soldiers still left were surrounded and out of ammunition, so Toloza used his switchblade knife and charged the Iraqi gunmen. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to Frizzen Sparks.

UPDATE: There's more on the story over at Castle Arrgh!. Corporal Toloza has a brief quote and the situation is more fully described; also, the relationship between Salvadoran and American forces is looked at ever so briefly.

Posted by Country Pundit at May 4, 2004 01:53 PM