Petty Officer Robert J Thomas: The Last Bullet Is His.
During a brutal Vietnam firefight that spiraled into a forty-five-minute running battle, Robert J. Thomas was shot, shredded by shrapnel, and left barely able to stand. Instead of evacuating, he crawled forward, emptied his pistol into enemy positions, then climbed onto the door gun of a helicopter that had already been hit more than a hundred times. On this episode, host Ben Thompson is joined by Matt Fratus of Late Night History to break down Thomas’s stand - a fight that saved multiple wounded teammates, kept the helicopter in the air, and only ended when the aircraft physically had to leave. Thomas later woke up in a medevac hospital with his face wired back together. Despite being nominated twice for the Medal of Honor, Thomas received the Navy Cross, returned to Vietnam to finish his tour, and went on to help create the Navy SEAL sniper program that shaped modern special operations. This is a story about refusing extraction, precision under fire, and a man who never stopped fighting when everyone else was already out.
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Show Notes
During a brutal Vietnam firefight that spiraled into a forty-five-minute running battle, Robert J. Thomas was shot, shredded by shrapnel, and left barely able to stand. Instead of evacuating, he crawled forward, emptied his pistol into enemy positions, then climbed onto the door gun of a helicopter that had already been hit more than a hundred times.
On this episode, host Ben Thompson is joined by Matt Fratus of Late Night History to break down Thomas’s stand - a fight that saved multiple wounded teammates, kept the helicopter in the air, and only ended when the aircraft physically had to leave. Thomas later woke up in a medevac hospital with his face wired back together.
Despite being nominated twice for the Medal of Honor, Thomas received the Navy Cross, returned to Vietnam to finish his tour, and went on to help create the Navy SEAL sniper program that shaped modern special operations. This is a story about refusing extraction, precision under fire, and a man who never stopped fighting when everyone else was already out.
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