The Man Who Survived A Lightning Strike

Fifty-two years ago, on May 18, 1968, a U.S Army Medic serving in Vietnam, Specialist 5 John W. Bennett woke up and found himself sealed inside a body bag. Confused, Bennett looked for his knife and cut himself out of the body bag. He then sat up, took a look around, and was shocked when he realized he was pronounced dead.

Apparently, Bennett had been struck by lightning the day before.

He was resuscitated in the field by members of his platoon and then loaded onto the Medivac, but ten minutes later the flight crew lost him, and he was listed as dead when he arrived at the hospital.

He was zipped into a body bag, and a casualty tag was made out that read, "KILLED IN ACTION - STRUCK BY LIGHTNING."

The Chaplain for Bennett's unit even wrote a letter home to Bennett's parents informing them of his death (it took around a month for them to find out it wasn't true).

He remained in the morgue for about half an hour until someone found him there. But what’s more amazing than him surviving the lightning strike was his life being related to electric stuff.

… Bennett's nickname as a runner in high school was "Lightning", and after returning from Vietnam he became an electrician.

He later wrote a book about his experience called "Killed In Action - Struck By Lightning: A Vietnam Combat Medic's Story".

(Image Credit: Historia Obscurum/ Facebook)