Marines and sailors risked their lives for one another in Chattanooga last week, trying to distract the gunman who assaulted a naval center, helping people scale a fence for safety and returning fire at the attacker, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Some of the five servicemen who were fatally wounded effectively sacrificed themselves during the assault on Thursday, diverting the gunman from a larger group of potential victims, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation into the killings. "This could have been a lot worse," said the official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation. "It could have been a horrible, horrible massacre ‐ so much worse."And this: "A service member from inside the facility observed him and opened fire on him, firing several rounds at him," said Edward W. Reinhold, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.'s Knoxville office. Two guns belonging to service members were recovered from the scene, he said, and "at least one of those weapons had been discharged."
Of course they did. They are the best of American manhood. They defended their charges until the last as they had sworn. Any armed forces member would have done the same.