Wild Helmet Cam Vid Claims to Show Heroic U.S. Soldier Drawing Taliban Gunfire Away From 'Pinned Down' Squad

A wild video posted on YouTube allegedly shows an unnamed U.S. soldier and his squad engaging in a machine gun fight with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan -- all captured by the soldiers helmet cam. The video also shows that same soldier risking his life and heroically drawing fire away from his fellow soldiers so they could get to safety.

According to the description of the video, the soldier and his squad were doing "recon" and intelligence gathering outside a village in the hyper-violent Kunar Province of Afghanistan when they were pelted with heavy machine gun fire from Taliban insurgents.

After seeing that his entire squad was "pinned down," the soldier exposed himself  "to draw fire so my squad could get to safety." He was reportedly shot four times.

Via the YouTube video's description, the soldier reportedly behind the camera explains how it all went down:

"I got a hit a total of 4 times. My helmet cam died and i made it down the mountain on my own. I was also hit in the side of my helmet and my eye pro was shot off of my face. We were doing overwatch on the village to recon and gather intel. I was point heading down the face of the hill with the LT. when we got hit. the rest of the squad was pinned down by machine gun fire. I didn't start the video until a few mins into the firefight for obvious reasons. I came out into the open to draw fire so my squad could get to safety."

He goes on: "A round struck the tube by my hand of the 203 grenade launcher which knocked it out of my hands. When I picked the rifle back up it was still functional but the grenade launcher tube had a nice sized 7.62 cal bullet hole in it and was rendered useless. "

The video description also says no bullets "penetrated his body armor, and he made it home with no permanent injuries."

The footage is "part of an ongoing documentation of the war in Afghanistan," the description states. War footage from Afghanistan is reportedly uploaded regularly here.

(H/T: Reddit)