[X] My Assistant

[CanRay]

Ah, well, I'll consider that confirmation of the "Boot Lace Story" is at least partly true, if not exact, then at least in detail.

[pbangarth]

An ancillary tale to this growing mythology is the account of a soldier on sentry duty at night who is startled by a cry of disappointment at his feet. Turns out a Ghurka had stalked him and identified him by his boot laces, unfortunately in the Ghurka's mind, as an ally.

[CanRay]

Probably drew his Kukri in anticipation. IIRC, they can't sheath them again until they've tasted blood. But that might be a myth.

[CanRay]

Oh for why do you double-post me?

[hyzmarca]

They had guns, maybe they were fake or he was so bad assed they forgot how to use them.

That's why training is important. If you don't have it you'll fall back on instinctual reactions, and instinctual reactions to violent situations tend to be very stupid when modern weapons are involved.

It is unlikely that the bandits sepend an exceptionally large amound of time training for such a confrontation.

[CanRay]

Bandits? Training? Possibly.

I don't think anyone has enough training to anticipate a Gurkha popping out of apparently nowhere and start hacking down your fellows with great abandon.

[BookWyrm]

Q: What can one man do?
A: You'd be so surprised, your jaw would lock permanently open.

[CanRay]

*Intone from Knight Rider*: "One man can make a difference."

[hyzmarca]

Bandits? Training? Possibly.

I don't think anyone has enough training to anticipate a Gurkha popping out of apparently nowhere and start hacking down your fellows with great abandon.

Well, they were train bandits. But I think that they were untrained train bandits.


The untrained train bandits tried to rob a train but the train got away because the untrained train bandits were insufficiently trained.

[CanRay]

For want of a nail, a Gurkha was pissed off and went on a roaring rampage of revenge!

[Dahrken]

Probably drew his Kukri in anticipation. IIRC, they can't sheath them again until they've tasted blood. But that might be a myth.

AFAIK it's a myth. The thing is not just a weapon, it is also an utility knife, like a machete.

[Nath]

IIRC, they can't sheath them again until they've tasted blood. But that might be a myth.

On the other hand, Gurkha show kukri during inspection (pictured 1 2 3)

[Omenowl]

BENAVIDEZ, ROY P. this was another bad ass and this is while he is being shot at.

http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/citations25.html

[CanadianWolverin...]

Your link is broken for me Omenowl, not sure if that is the case for anyone else.

[Omenowl]

Sorry this should be correct and working now

[CanadianWolverin...]

Thanks Omenowl ... and hole-ee shit. Roy was a mother fucking tank. Possibly a troll?

BENAVIDEZ, ROY P.

Rank and Organization: Master Sergeant, Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group, Republic of Vietnam. Place and Date: West of Loc Ninh on 2 May 1968. Entered Service at: Houston, Texas June 1955. Date and Place of Birth: 5 August 1935, DeWitt County, Cuero, Texas. Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. Benavidez United States Army, who distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions on 2 May 1968 while assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire. Sergeant Benavidez was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters returned to off-load wounded crewmembers and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant Benavidez voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team. Prior to reaching the team's position he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader. When he reached the leader's body, Sergeant Benavidez was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant Benavidez secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant Benavidez mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gunships to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt. He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed from additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary. He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded. Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant Benavidez' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.

[Wounded Ronin]

Yeah, he's bad ass, but if they had a gun, then he would be dead.

Though I will admin, fighting 40 guys for 20 minutes was REALLY bad ass!

Heh, yeah, unless the person with the gun were utterly incompetent.

But this story is such a pump up story it makes me want to go and hit the gym right now. Stories like this brighten up life, stories of furious and desperate heroic knife combat.

Even getting three kills using a knife is pretty awesome, if you think about it. I mean, in a lot of active shooter scenarios you hear about in the news someone with a firearm can only get several kills and that's spraying at defenseless victims. Three kills with a knife against armed and resisting opponents is pretty THIS IS SPARTA in and of itself.

[CanadianWolverin...]

Thanks Ronin, now I desperately want to see a movie about this Gurkha that has fight choreography and slow motion scenes that do him justice - and he better be in the credits as an advisory role getting a ton of cash as denoting the honour he is do putting his life on the line to rescue the lady being raped.

Shit, I want to go story board / comic this up now...

[CanRay]

BENAVIDEZ, ROY P. this was another bad ass and this is while he is being shot at.

I think I mentioned that people with "MoH" and "VC" after their names should be treated in the same category. If not more so.

Thank you for proving my point.

Shit, I want to go story board / comic this up now...

I'd pay for the comic. Especially if the money went to him, his family, or towards hunting down the surviving criminals...

[nezumi]

Probably drew his Kukri in anticipation. IIRC, they can't sheath them again until they've tasted blood. But that might be a myth.

I can't comment on the kukri in particular, but I can validate there are blades like that. While overseas, one of my teachers taught a kid who brought the blade in to show the class, and then quietly cut his palm on it before putting it away.

[CanRay]

Some blades are considered to be spiritual in nature, and have that restriction. I just couldn't remember if the Kukri's reputation for that was myth or reality. It might even be propaganda to make them all the more fearsome, which is another possibility.

Of course, for those "In the know", they're already the scariest of the scary, so why would they need to be more fearsome? Other than the absolute crazies in those groups, that is.

And, my usual caveat, I'm a Civilian Puke who reads a lot. What the hell do I really know about anything?

[Neraph]

A guy with a knife is supposedly very, very nasty, dangerous within 10' or so, even if you do have a gun.

Let me clear this up for you: in general, a person with their gun holstered as standard standing 21' away from someone with a knife is dead before they can get a shot off. Of course, there are variables and it's not locked in stone (quick draw holster, someone practiced in quick drawing their firearm, intervening obstacles, ect.), but generally speaking it's a true statement.

[Kagetenshi]

Source? That's a stronger claim than I'm aware of.

(Other significant variables: is the knife in hand and ready (for knives which need to be readied, like folders)? I assume the shooter is presumed not to have a round in the chamber, but is a safety assumed to be on? Etc. As it stands, I'm actually not sure it's a useful claim.)

~J

[Wounded Ronin]

Source? That's a stronger claim than I'm aware of.

(Other significant variables: is the knife in hand and ready (for knives which need to be readied, like folders)? I assume the shooter is presumed not to have a round in the chamber, but is a safety assumed to be on? Etc. As it stands, I'm actually not sure it's a useful claim.)

~J

Who cares about the source? It is an excuse to experiment with a friend, an airsoft pistol, and a shock knife.

[hyzmarca]

Death isn't necessilary the result. Killing someone with a knife isn't as easy as it sounds. But a stab, certainly. The issue is how long it takes to perceive that the suspect is charging, draw the gun, point it, and fire versus how long it takes a charging man to close the gap. If the gun is already drawn, then that distance is greatly reduced.