The Red Bulls

Minneapolis – Spc. Jacob Benson looked out over the lush green grass of the brand new Target Field and raised his eyes skyward. In his hands he held an American flag, partially unfurled. Soon he will raise the flag for the Minnesota Twins' first regular season game at their new ballpark.

Out in the diamond, various Twins employees groomed the infield. Soon, the Minnesota Twins, the heroes of the baseball diamond, will take the field. A new season is on the way, spring is in the air, and the cheers of thousands will resound and echo in the Minneapolis sky.

Over the next few hours, Benson would be similarly praised by random passersby’s. “Thank you for serving,” each would say, and each time, Benson, sheepishly, would say he was just glad to serve. Last year, Benson was deployed to Contingency Operating Base Basra in southern Iraq with the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, and while each and every veteran is a hero, Benson, in particular, is a different kind of hero, and his is a different kind of sacrifice.

While every Soldier brings back stories from deployment, Benson carries with him memories of camaraderie and joy, tragedy and heroism.

The night of July 16, in particular, was night of heroism.That night, an indirect fire attack struck COB Basra, injuring Benson and taking the lives of three Red Bull Soldiers, Spc. Daniel Paul Drevnick, Spc. James David Wertish, Spc. Carlos Eduardo Wilcox IV.

The night began much like any other night for Benson, Wilcox, Drevnick and Wertish, Benson said. The four friends would often hang outside the tent they shared, smoke tobacco from a hookah and talk. “Just talking about life, talking about what we wanted to do,” Benson said, “Talking about the situations here. Girls, cars, houses, everything.”

“Wilcox was always a great listener, and he was a great talker,” Benson said. “Wertish had these big dreams of him being successful and rich and starting his own career.”

“And Drevnick was all about his fast cars. He was especially excited because he just came back from leave, and he had great news. He had just gotten this place in Wisconsin on a lake, a small little cabin that he wanted to fix up, and he had asked for our three to help when he got home.”

In the middle of one of their talks, Benson, an Eden Prairie, Minn., native, noticed he had forgotten to put his bag away, and he left to clean his area while the other three hung out.

“I just forgot something, and I was just going to put it away,” Benson said. “And that’s when it caught me.”

“I got thrown a little bit. When I got knocked down, I knew something was wrong, I was blacking out a couple of times.”

“I fell on the [radio] room floor, and there was a lot of blood, there was blood all over me,” Benson said. “And I remember, at that point, nothing mattered to me and I just ran out and put my own [interests] away for as long as I could.”

Next door, separated by a concrete barrier, sat Staff Sgt. Blake Hayden, the squad leader of 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad. “We heard the wail. We told everyone to get down,” Hayden said. “I just remember there was a flash off to my left.

Hayden said he didn’t really know what happened, but he could guess. In the radio room, Benson lay on the floor covered in blood. Hayden immediately went to Benson and grabbed his arm, right by the wrist. “I could just see him, staring,” Hayden said. “We both locked eyes. Right then and there, I knew it wasn’t good.”

In the tumult, Soldiers were everywhere, Hayden said, running around, gathering medical supplies and ripping up their shirts to tie up wounds.

Hayden said from then on, his training and instincts took over. “I don’t think I even knew what I was doing,” said Hayden, a St. Paul, Minn., native, “but I knew that we were doing everything we could.”

Hayden saw Benson running around and grabbing medical supplies. Hayden knew Benson was injured, and Hayden almost grabbed him and screamed at him, but he stopped. “I knew his courage, his strong will,” Benson said. “Regardless of his injuries, he wanted to help out his buddies.”

Screaming and hollering for help, the MPs did all that they could, and until finally there was nothing else they could do but wait for help.

Benson was flown to Kuwait, where he received medical care for three days. While in Kuwait, Benson was given a choice. “The thing just came up,” Benson said. “’Do you want to come back?’ And it’s just like, yeah. Of course.”

Once Benson knew he was going back, he spent his last day looking into a mirror, building up his mental and emotional strength. “I was just working on it, Benson said, “trying to get everything I can out, so I can gain the strength to come back.”

He knew it was going to be tough. He knew that it was going to hurt, but he also knew that he needed to get back in time for his friends’ memorial ceremony.

“It was a devastating thing for all of us, and being back for the ceremony means a lot,” said Benson. “It’s like, this platoon that I’m with here is really, truly a great family, and it’s hard for all of us.”

“I think it brought out more emotions to have him there,” Hayden said. “He was wounded, but he returned back to the mission. He showed strength. He was injured, but he wanted to continue the mission.”

Benson returned to his unit, continuing to work on a limited basis, but unfortunately, his wounds were too great.

He returned home three months early, but when he went home, he carried not only his Purple Heart, but the sum of his experiences and memories.

“My boys, my brothers,” Benson said, “they’re going to be deeply missed.”

Back at Target Field, the national anthem plays as Benson raises the flag above Target Field. Surrounding him are the mothers and fathers of Wilcox, Drevnick and Wertish. As the flag reaches its apex and F-16s roared over the ballpark, Benson looked skyward and saluted, his eyes resolute and steady.

Shortly after, the flag was lowered to half-mast; more Soldiers had just lost their lives in Iraq. Over the next few hours, the Twins, a team known for hustle and sacrifice, would win their first home game, and in the stands, there stood a different kind of hero with memories of teammates who made the ultimate sacrifice of all.