OT - Profiles of Valor

[Ysabel Kid]

Been way behind the last few weeks. Sorry for not posting these as they came out in "The Patriot" (the Federalist digest Friday editions).

Remember - as before - in 2008, wear red on Friday to honor and support our brave men and women in uniform!!!

PROFILES OF VALOR: MARINE CORPS SGT. MARTINEZ

During the initial American assault against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, a former gang member turned Marine displayed outstanding courage under fire. On 12 April 2003, then-Cpl. Martinez, serving with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, received a call for reinforcements from an ambushed platoon. Martinez took control after his squad leader was wounded by a grenade and moved his team to assault positions against the enemy. The Marines then fully engaged their more numerous enemy. Under heavy fire, Martinez noticed an enemy grenade launcher left behind. He ran into the open under cover fire, grabbed the RPG launcher and used it to take on the enemy single-handedly, while the other Marines then tended to the wounded. He quickly took out several jihadis, ending the firefight. In May 2004, Martinez received the Navy Cross. Through it all, he is grateful: "All I ever am, or will become, I owe to my beloved Corps." Semper Fi!


PROFILES OF VALOR: NATIONAL GUARD CWO HERRING

On 23 December 2006, then-Chief Warrant Officer 3 James Herring of the North Carolina National Guard was leading a five-vehicle patrol in Tahrir, Iraq, when the convoy was attacked by three jihadis with machine guns. The gunner in Herring's Humvee easily dispatched the enemy fighters only to immediately be confronted with 20 more pouring over a wall 30 feet away. The gunner took aim and killed many insurgents, but the driver was soon hit in the thigh by enemy fire as another group of insurgents was now attacking from the other direction. Herring left the vehicle, fired and killed two jihadis and then ran to assist the wounded driver. Despite being knocked to the ground by the impact of a rocket-propelled grenade, Herring helped to move the driver into the rear seat for further medical treatment. He then drove the Humvee and
led the convoy down side streets and back to safety.

Not a single member of the convoy was lost, in large part thanks to Herring's actions, for which he received the Silver Star. Of the incident, the decorated Virginia law-enforcement officer said, "I think that we spent about 400,000 minutes in Iraq, and you get recognized for something that took three minutes. I want to reiterate I wasn't the only hero out there. All those guys out there are heroes to me. They did things that warrant the same award in my opinion."


PROFILES OF VALOR: USAF STAFF SGT. KIMBERLING

In August 2006, Staff Sgt. Jason Kimberling was one of three members of a security force assisting a convoy of 35 Afghan personnel from the National Police (ANP) and the Afghan National Army (ANA). The convoy was sent to aid at a highway checkpoint in Qalat Province that had come under attack. More than 100 Taliban fighters suddenly attacked Kimberling's convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. The driver of the security force's Humvee positioned the vehicle to provide cover. Kimberling returned fire from outside the vehicle until nearly being hit by an RPG. He quickly recovered from the blast to kill two Taliban fighters headed his way, which further enabled his Afghan allies to kill other jihadis. After more fighting, the convoy was able to move to higher ground, where, still under fire, Kimberling used a satellite phone to call in air support to end the battle. An estimated 20 jihadis were killed in the firefight, while not a single casualty occurred among the good guys. Kimberling was awarded the Bronze Star with combat "V" for valor and the Army Commendation Medal for his actions.

[Ysabel Kid]

and this one is from last Friday:

PROFILES OF VALOR: ARMY SPEC. PETTUS

Army Specialist Marion Pettus III was part of a combat patrol in Baghdad when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated near his team. Pettus, a medic with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, responded to an Iraqi who had been hit. "We were rolling through a route called 'Screaming Lady' and we got hit with an IED. I saw a local [Iraqi] go down and called it out," Pettus said. "My section sergeant decided to turn the patrol around, so we went back and dismounted." A common terrorist tactic, however, is to detonate a second IED when responders arrive at the scene, as was the case in this instance. Four soldiers were injured by the second blast, including a sergeant and another medic. Pettus went to work tending to the wounded and getting them into evacuation trucks. On the way back, Pettus finally realized he had been hit as well. "As we got into the truck on the way to the cache, I felt my leg burning," he said. "I realized that I'd gotten hit in the leg and didn't even know it." That wasn't the worst of it, though. "We got back to [Forward Operating Base] Liberty, and when I took my Kevlar off and put my hand on top of my helmet, I realized I had a hole in it." Pettus suffered traumatic brain injury in the second blast but is determined and progressing in his recovery. For his actions, he was awarded the Bronze Star with combat "V" for valor and a Purple Heart, though his father, Marion Pettus, Jr. , was unable to attend the ceremony due to a conflict: He was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

[JReed]

Unfortunately I read way to many of these. It gets depressing hearing of so many of my brothers and sisters being killed or injured. But there are shinning moments like the ones above.