--- title: "That time Colin Powell saved crash victims by tearing burning metal with his bare hands" date: "2018-05-26" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/that-time-colin-powell-saved-crash-victims-by-tearing-burning-metal-with-his-bare-hands/" categories: - "History" - "Vietnam War" - "War History" --- # That time Colin Powell saved crash victims by tearing burning metal with his bare hands ![]() In 1968, then-Maj. Colin Powell was a Ranger assigned to the Army's 23rd Infantry Division. It was his second tour in Vietnam. --- Just five years earlier, he was one of the American advisors to South Vietnam's fledgling army. While on a foot patrol in Viet Cong-held areas in 1963, the 25-year-old Powell was [wounded by a VC booby trap](). ![]() *Powell in Vietnam (photo via Academy of Achievement)* He stepped on a punji stick, which the VC laced with buffalo dung. The excrement created an infection that made it difficult for him to walk. "The Special Forces medics cut my boot off, and they could see my foot was purple by then," Powell said in [an interview with the Academy of Achievement](). "The spike had gone all the way through, from the bottom to the top, and then come right back out, totally infecting the wound as it made the wound." That ended his time in combat. Powell was reassigned to the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam division headquarters for the rest of that tour. ![]() *(Academy of Achievement photo)* On his second tour in Vietnam, he was again behind a desk as the assistant Chief of Staff for the Americal Division (as the 23rd was known). Though a staff officer, when you're a man of destiny like Colin Powell, the action comes to you. On November 16, 1968, the helicopter transporting Maj. Powell along with the 23rd ID commander crashed. Powell, injured but clear of the wreckage, ran back to the burning helicopter several times to rescue comrades. Though the helicopter was in danger of exploding, he continued to attempt the rescue. When he found one passenger trapped under the mass of twisted, burning fuselage, Powell tore away the burning metal with his bare hands. ![]() Powell was awarded the Soldier's Medal for his actions that day. He managed to rescue every passenger from the downed helicopter. During his deployments to Vietnam, he also earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()