Soldier 'died' in helicopter crash 'saw Grim Reaper who gave him four-word message'

Soldier 'died' in helicopter crash 'saw Grim Reaper who gave him four-word message' A former US Army Colonel who specialised in military applications of the paranormal has recounted a helicopter gunner's harrowing near-death experience in the jungles of Vietnam A helicopter gunship pilot's brush with death led to an encounter with a hooded 'Grim Reaper' deep in the Vietnamese jungle, according to a former commander. John Alexander is a former Army Special Forces Commander widely regarded as one of the trailblazers of military paranormal research. He headed up the Army Intelligence "psychic spy unit" at Fort Meade, Maryland - the secretive programme that inspired the book The Men Who Stare at Goats, which was subsequently adapted into a blockbuster film featuring George Clooney and Ewan MacGregor. He recounted to podcaster Shawn Ryan how he spoke with a helicopter gunner named Jim, who survived a near-fatal crash after his gunship was brought down over Vietnam. Jim's Cobra gunship was hit by anti-aircraft fire, disabling vital control circuitry and shattering his leg. The pilot frantically attempted to bring the stricken aircraft down for an emergency landing. "The blade's turning until it's beaten itself to death on the ground," Col. Alexander explains, noting that the ferocious impact left them completely unable to determine which direction the helicopter was now pointing. To compound the dire situation further, the Cobra's fuel tanks had also caught fire upon impact. "His face is burned off, the area had caught fire, and he was having a very bad day. Not only has he got a broken leg, his face is burned. They hit and next thing he knows he's out of his body, looking down from up above and he can see the orientation of the helicopter. "About a click and a half out in front is a friendly fire-support base. There's jungle all around them other than that but you have to have had the position from above to look down to see the orientation." Col. Alexander described how Jim vividly witnessed the destroyed helicopter from an elevated vantage point, while also observing "a hooded figure" who informed him "you're not dead yet". He went on: "So the back seat [pilot] is out, he's running away and he looks back and about that time Jim looks up. "So he runs back and grabs him out. He says 'I thought you were dead, you haven't moved since we were hit'." Maintaining that he had observed the complete scene from above throughout his out-of-body experience, Jim informed the pilot he understood the route to safety. "Now the pain is setting in and Jim's not in a position to argue and so he hides behind some big anthills that are in the area and about this time the Viet-Cong are coming after them," Col. Alexander explained. The pilot departed in the direction Jim had indicated, seeking assistance. Thanks to successfully directing his pilot towards safety, assistance arrived swiftly and the severely wounded gunner lived to recount his experience. Col. Alexander described it as an extraordinary case, remarking: "It's the only case I have where you have vision from an out-of-body perspective and then it's physically replicated."