thedrifter
02-04-09, 07:08 AM
Cameraman hesitant to call himself hero
Former Guelph resident's actions saved U.S. marine after blast in Afghanistan
Vik Kirsch
Mercury Staff
GUELPH
Canadian cameraman Chris Jackson, formerly of Guelph, was in the lead military Humvee weaving through an Afghan village on a U.S. marine patrol when all hell broke loose last summer.
The convoy approached two suspicious men who hopped on a motorcycle and fled at high speed.
"Our vehicle kept rolling a little bit further and . . . boom!" Jackson recalled yesterday.
An improvised explosive device struck his military vehicle with devastating force, shattering the vehicle.
"I was blown out the door," said Jackson, who was covering the war for Fox News.
Suddenly, there was fire everywhere and munitions in the vehicle heated, scattering lead as bullets exploded. Looking back, Jackson saw marines escaping when his eyes fixed on a sergeant slumped over unconscious in the front seat.
"So I went back," Jackson said. He did so while ignoring a concussion and shrapnel from the blast that had peppered his legs.
"I didn't think about grabbing my camera. I went into automatic pilot mode," he said. "I had to get him out as far away as possible."
He carried the sergeant to a ditch, then to better cover behind a second Humvee.
He was bewildered when the U.S. Navy gave him its second highest honour in recognition of his actions for the Aug. 3, 2008, incident south of Kandahar.
Jackson, who was raised in Toronto, was presented the U.S. Navy Distinguished Public Service Award last month,
"I'm surprised at all the fuss," Jackson said yesterday by telephone from India, where he's currently filming life in the slums for Canada's Global Television. Anyone in his shoes that August day would have done the same, he said.
The marine he rescued, Sergeant Courtney Rauch, eventually lost a leg from injuries. Asked if he saved the man's life, Jackson hesitated.
"That's what they say. I don't want to say that and I don't know, but the whole vehicle was up in smoke."
His mother, Toronto native Elaine Zdunich, was relieved her son wasn't seriously hurt and glad he saved the marine.
"I was very proud of him," she said yesterday.
She's worried about him working in war zones, "but I don't give him any advice. He's doing what he likes to do."
Jackson, 35, spent four years in the 1990s in international studies at the University of Guelph, which launched his career.
"I spent four great years in Guelph," Jackson, an idealistic man when he entered international studies, said from Mumbai.
"I thought I'd go off and do UN stuff and save the world."
While on a semester abroad, he met and was inspired by a documentary producer in India.
Since then, he's worked for a variety of organizations, including The Associated Press, NBC and Good Morning America, extensively covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Over the course of his career, Jackson has narrowly missed being killed by a sniper in Fallujah and has survived the explosion of an arms depot.
"That's not unusual (for) anybody who's done the work I've done."
He sees his camera as an eye trained on that world.
"You want to capture that magical moment where people say: 'Wow, cool!' You want to record history," Jackson said.
He said he's drawn to wars, which foreign correspondents call "bang bang."
"Bang bang has been, I hate to say this, my bread and butter since 9/11."
He doesn't envision covering news in Canada any time soon.
"It's a little too quiet and peaceful," Jackson said, but didn't completely rule it out. "Never say never."
vkirsch@guelphmercury.com
http://media.guelphmercury.topscms.com/images/55/99/214e519549bfb3c96802e6757e47.jpeg
submitted photo
Chris Jackson is filmed right after being injured in a blast.
http://media.guelphmercury.topscms.com/images/94/fc/09035d4c4718b26b09696defdc10.jpeg
submitted photo
Chris Jackson in Beirut
Ellie
Former Guelph resident's actions saved U.S. marine after blast in Afghanistan
Vik Kirsch
Mercury Staff
GUELPH
Canadian cameraman Chris Jackson, formerly of Guelph, was in the lead military Humvee weaving through an Afghan village on a U.S. marine patrol when all hell broke loose last summer.
The convoy approached two suspicious men who hopped on a motorcycle and fled at high speed.
"Our vehicle kept rolling a little bit further and . . . boom!" Jackson recalled yesterday.
An improvised explosive device struck his military vehicle with devastating force, shattering the vehicle.
"I was blown out the door," said Jackson, who was covering the war for Fox News.
Suddenly, there was fire everywhere and munitions in the vehicle heated, scattering lead as bullets exploded. Looking back, Jackson saw marines escaping when his eyes fixed on a sergeant slumped over unconscious in the front seat.
"So I went back," Jackson said. He did so while ignoring a concussion and shrapnel from the blast that had peppered his legs.
"I didn't think about grabbing my camera. I went into automatic pilot mode," he said. "I had to get him out as far away as possible."
He carried the sergeant to a ditch, then to better cover behind a second Humvee.
He was bewildered when the U.S. Navy gave him its second highest honour in recognition of his actions for the Aug. 3, 2008, incident south of Kandahar.
Jackson, who was raised in Toronto, was presented the U.S. Navy Distinguished Public Service Award last month,
"I'm surprised at all the fuss," Jackson said yesterday by telephone from India, where he's currently filming life in the slums for Canada's Global Television. Anyone in his shoes that August day would have done the same, he said.
The marine he rescued, Sergeant Courtney Rauch, eventually lost a leg from injuries. Asked if he saved the man's life, Jackson hesitated.
"That's what they say. I don't want to say that and I don't know, but the whole vehicle was up in smoke."
His mother, Toronto native Elaine Zdunich, was relieved her son wasn't seriously hurt and glad he saved the marine.
"I was very proud of him," she said yesterday.
She's worried about him working in war zones, "but I don't give him any advice. He's doing what he likes to do."
Jackson, 35, spent four years in the 1990s in international studies at the University of Guelph, which launched his career.
"I spent four great years in Guelph," Jackson, an idealistic man when he entered international studies, said from Mumbai.
"I thought I'd go off and do UN stuff and save the world."
While on a semester abroad, he met and was inspired by a documentary producer in India.
Since then, he's worked for a variety of organizations, including The Associated Press, NBC and Good Morning America, extensively covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Over the course of his career, Jackson has narrowly missed being killed by a sniper in Fallujah and has survived the explosion of an arms depot.
"That's not unusual (for) anybody who's done the work I've done."
He sees his camera as an eye trained on that world.
"You want to capture that magical moment where people say: 'Wow, cool!' You want to record history," Jackson said.
He said he's drawn to wars, which foreign correspondents call "bang bang."
"Bang bang has been, I hate to say this, my bread and butter since 9/11."
He doesn't envision covering news in Canada any time soon.
"It's a little too quiet and peaceful," Jackson said, but didn't completely rule it out. "Never say never."
vkirsch@guelphmercury.com
http://media.guelphmercury.topscms.com/images/55/99/214e519549bfb3c96802e6757e47.jpeg
submitted photo
Chris Jackson is filmed right after being injured in a blast.
http://media.guelphmercury.topscms.com/images/94/fc/09035d4c4718b26b09696defdc10.jpeg
submitted photo
Chris Jackson in Beirut
Ellie