UNSUNG HEROES: The Recon Marine Who Killed 18 Enemy Fighters In A Single Battle

A person never knows what he or she will do when faced with a kill or be killed situation. You don't stop and wonder "what do I do now"? You REACT! When you react, you do everything possible to save yourself and your buddies. This is a story of a Recon Marine who reacted, the only what he knew how to react.

Over the course of an eight-hour battle, this Force Reconnaissance Marine shot and killed 18 Taliban fighters.
On Aug. 8, 2008, in Farah province, Afghanistan, Cpl. Franklin Simmons was part of a small Marine force tasked with clearing the city of Shewan of Taliban fighters.

More than 30 Marines from 2nd, Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and 1st Force Reconnaissance Company were ordered to route the enemy, which outnumbered the Marines eight to one, according to a 2011 report by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Roughly 250 enemy fighters, many of them highly trained, were dug in along a treeline near Shewan.


Over the course of an eight-hour battle, this Force Reconnaissance Marine shot and killed 18 Taliban fighters.
On Aug. 8, 2008, in Farah province, Afghanistan, Cpl. Franklin Simmons was part of a small Marine force tasked with clearing the city of Shewan of Taliban fighters.

More than 30 Marines from 2nd, Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and 1st Force Reconnaissance Company were ordered to route the enemy, which outnumbered the Marines eight to one, according to a 2011 report by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Roughly 250 enemy fighters, many of them highly trained, were dug in along a treeline near Shewan.