And with just 10 minutes remaining, up popped Shearer to fire the ball past Kevin Pressman, write his name into Magpies folklore and bring relief to the majority of the 41, 459 in attendance.
When one machine gun became inoperable he directed the return to the rally point to switch to another gun truck for a third trip into the ambush area, where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush.