OEF 8 and 9. Ambushing the Taliban on April 10, 2009 A platoon of American soldiers of 2nd Platoon of 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry patrolled into the wilderness of the landscape of Afghanistan. The Americans set an ambush. The Americans placed claymore mines and set up firing positions. It became dark and the Americans hidden in the dark activated their night vision goggles. Soon, a large column of Taliban fighters came by not suspecting an American ambush. When the Taliban column entered the kill zone, the Americans sprang their ambush and detonated their claymore mines. The claymore mines send thousands of steel ball shrapnel into the ranks of the Taliban fighters. The Americans opened heavy fire with machine guns, assault rifles, 40mm grenades from m203 grenade launchers, and other small arms. The Americans also called in F-15 Strike Eagles to launch aerial attacks on the Taliban. The Americans killed 15 Taliban fighters while suffering 2 injured from spraining their legs while tripping. U.S. helicopters evacuated the 2 injured U.S. soldiers. The rest of the U.S. soldiers confiscated 10 AK47 assault rifles, a RPG launcher, 30 AK magazines, and 2 grenades from the dead fighters. Then the Americans withdrew safely back to base with Apache gunships providing air cover. Return to Fort Hood in July 2009 The unit returned to Fort Hood, Texas in July 2009. They were quickly moved again from Fort Hood, Texas to Fort Knox, Kentucky, having only months to get ready for another deployment in January 2011. Medal of Honor recipients Private James W. Reese. World War II. On 5 August 1943, at Mt. Vassillio, Sicily, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life. above and beyond the call of duty in action involving actual conflict with the enemy. When the enemy launched a counterattack which threatened the position of his company, Pvt. Reese, as the acting squad leader of a 60-mm. mortar squad, displaying superior leadership on his own initiative, maneuvered his squad forward to a favorable position, from which, by skillfully directing the fire of his weapon, he caused many casualties in the enemy ranks, and aided materially in repulsing the counterattack. When the enemy fire became so severe as to make his position untenable, he ordered the other members of his squad to withdraw to a safer position, but declined to seek safety for himself. So as to bring more effective fire