Violent But True Bed Time Stories: Cliff Wooldridge

It was seemingly just another June day in Afghanistan as Cliff Wooldridge and his Marines from 3rd Battalion 7th Marines (2nd Regimental Combat Team) drove through Musa Qala. That is until his humvee got blown up, as did the replacement one they had packed into. What a glorious start to a legendary day.

Musa Qala was a prime poppy-growing part of Afghanistan, and those Taliban dicks loved the money they'd get from selling heroin. So shit going down was as much of a sure thing as a Lance Corporal getting in trouble on liberty. Corporal Wooldridge's vehicle was hit with an IED to start the day, then, the second Humvee that he found himself in was hit as well. Shortly after the Taliban started to open fire on the convoy from the mountains.

Cliff Wooldridge knew how the Taliban operated, retreating back up the mountains after shooting their RPGs (hit or miss). He wasn't having any of their bullshit today and maneuvered him and his team to cut them off. He succeeded in cutting them off and proceeded to kill several of them with his M-249 SAW. When he spun around to reload though, he saw the barrel of an enemy fighter poking around the corner. Being an All-American red-blooded warrior, Cliff dropped his empty SAW and grabbed the AK of his enemy. Kicking the Taliban fighter to the ground Cliff Wooldridge, then proceeded to beat the life out of the fighter with his own weapon."He overwhelmed the enemy fighter in hand-to-hand combat, killing him with several blows to the head with the enemy's own machine gun. His audacious and fearless actions thwarted the enemy attack on his platoon."

It wasn't the best of days for the Taliban, however, Cliff Wooldridge will be remembered in Marine Corps lore for years, even centuries to come. For all of his badassery on that day, Clifford was awarded the Navy Cross.