Further, several key parts of the Army's draft account of Swenson's deeds — a central pillar of a nomination file — conflict with the Marines' account of Meyer's acts.
The Army's version, a copy of which was obtained by McClatchy, said it was Swenson — not Meyer — who led the recovery of U.S. and Afghan casualties from the Ganjgal Valley.
"The need for a ground recovery of all remaining casualties had now become clear," the Army's draft narrative said. "Facing this extreme and dire circumstance, and going above and beyond the call of duty, CPT Swenson gathered available combat power to lead a return up the wash."
The Army's draft narrative also corroborated the reporting of a McClatchy correspondent who survived the ambush that the belated arrival of U.S. helicopters had allowed trapped American personnel to escape, and that they weren't saved by Meyer.
"A team of scout helicopters arrived in the valley. CPT Swenson began to talk the aircrafts' fires onto the various enemy targets," the draft narrative said. "The enemy sporadically engaged coalition forces while they were overhead. This provided (Swenson and those with him) the slim opportunity they needed" to pull back.
The problem of conflicting narratives would have been eliminated with the quiet death of Swenson's nomination, which was put in some two months before Meyer was nominated.
