CSAF presents Purple Heart to pararescueman

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Tim Dougherty
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  After being hit by enemy fire April 18 during a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Staff Sgt. Robert L. Disney Jr. was on the receiving end of the lifesaving steps he knows well as an Air Force pararescueman.

At a Pentagon ceremony April 30, he received a Purple Heart presented by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper.

“I am honored to be able to present this medal today to Sergeant Disney for wounds received in action supporting Operation Enduring Freedom,” Jumper said. “Sergeant Disney is certainly one of the heroes in the war against terrorism.”

Disney, a member of the 38th Rescue Squadron from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., was flying on a helicopter in the OEF theater of operations when he was struck in the neck by an enemy bullet.

“The helicopter had just flared for a landing when I thought I had heard small-arms fire,” Disney said. “I didn’t realize that I had been hit. I yelled at other team members to watch out and was pointing with my rifle to indicate I thought we were taking rounds. When my rifle started to droop down to my feet I realized I was hit and growing weak.”

Disney said he checked himself out from head to toe and found that his face had been “filleted” by a bullet.

“The round went in the side of my neck and exited through the side of my face,” Disney said. “I laid down in the helicopter, propped my feet up to treat myself for shock and applied pressure to the wound. I told my buddies I was hit and they said I wasn’t too bad. They were working on someone else inside the helicopter.”

Disney said he is lucky to be alive to tell his story, although the majority of it, to include the details surrounding the rescue of the rescuers, is classified. He was evacuated to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, where he was confident he was going to receive the care he needed to survive.

“When I was taken into the hospital at Qatar, I overheard one of the doctors tell someone that I was valuable real estate,” Disney said. “I then felt more at ease, knowing they were going to do everything possible to get me back to good health.”

While Disney, a 25-year-old from Bethany, Ill., was being evacuated to Qatar and then to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, his parents were receiving the news that their son had been hurt in combat.

“We know that if they come to give us the news in person, it means we lost him,” Barbara, Disney’s mother, said. “We were out and had a message to call a first sergeant at Moody, so while we were worried, we knew if they’re just leaving a message, the news is bad but he’s alive.”

It was not the first call with bad news the Disney family had received since their warrior son deployed for OEF.

“They called us eight months ago because Rob was in a helicopter crash, but he wasn’t injured and was able to walk away,” Barbara said. “He also told me that a month ago, he was on a C-130 (Hercules) that was attacked and saw two of his fellow pararescuemen get killed. He lives a dangerous life and we know we might lose him one day, but he’s doing important work and doing what he loves, so we support him and love him with all our hearts.”

With Disney’s parents in attendance, Jumper took the opportunity to present them with the first two Your Guardians of Freedom program “P” pins to show the Air Force’s appreciation for their support.

“I just want you to know what great parents you are,” Jumper said. “The Air Force is honored to have your son in our ranks and we’ll do everything we can to take care of him.”

The parent “P” pin program officially begins May 5. The distribution of the “P” pin and accompanying letter is the second major effort by the relatively new Your Guardians of Freedom office. The first was the “E” pin campaign, started in November, in which pins featuring an “E” and personalized letters are sent to the civilian employers of Air National Guardsmen and reservists.

Both pin programs are contemporary adaptations of public support campaigns carried out during World War II.