America's North Shore Journal » Raven 42
Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Nein Returns to Iraq
Distinguished Service Cross He served in Iraq twice before. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions as a squad leader here. He didn’t have to come back. But Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Nein is back, on his third deployment in Iraq, his fourth overseas this decade. The first was in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001. Only the Medal of Honor trumps the DSC among awards for valor in battle. Nein was the first Guard member to receive the award and only the fourth service member during the Operation Iraqi Freedom. The DSC was an upgrade from the Silver Star Medal that Nein was originally awarded for his actions as a squad leader with the Kentucky National Guard’s 617th Military Police Company during a March 20, 2005, ambush. Nein and the National Guard’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Iraq, Military, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
In the Service of Their Country: Raven 42
On March 25, 2005 I first posted the story of this truly heroic group of Kentucky National Guardmen and Guardswomen. At first it was just a press release from Central Command. As I follwed the story, the people in the unit emerged as individuals, and as heroes. At approximately noon on March 20, 26 terrorists were killed, seven wounded, and one captured when they attacked a coalition force convoy on the outskirts of Baghdad in the Salman Pak area. Seven soldiers were injured during the attack. A U.S. military convoy and its security element from the 617 Military Police Company was patrolling when the convoy was ambushed by approximately 40 – 50 terrorists with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. The convoy became disabled and the 617 MP’s maneuvered to … Read entire article »
Sgt. Jason I. Mike
Silver Star. More of the Raven 42 bunch. DoD Staff Sgt. Nein and then-Spc. Mike were part of a routine convoy escort on March 20, 2005, when a group of more than 30 insurgents ambushed the convoy. Enemy fighters had taken up positions in irrigation ditches along the road and in an orchard nearby. Insurgents disabled the lead vehicle, bringing the convoy to a halt in the middle of the kill zone. As insurgents began streaming toward the stopped convoy, Nein and his team leader, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, jumped out of their vehicles and took cover near the enemy’s trench. Mike’s vehicle, which was toward the end of the convoy line, took up a position at the other end of the trench, trapping the enemy fighters. As Nein and Hester began … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Iraq, Military, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Raven 42 Recognition – Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein
Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star I’ve set up a new category for the heroes from this battle. Click on Raven 42 to read all my posts on these American heroes. By Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy, USA, American Forces Press Service LEXINGTON, Ky., Feb. 21, 2007 – A Kentucky Army National Guardsman has become the first Guard soldier — and only the fifth servicemember overall — to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. The Distinguished Service Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor among awards for valor in battle. Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein received the medal from Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, at the National Guard Association of Kentucky’s annual conference here Feb. 17. Nein originally received the Silver Star Medal for his actions as a squad … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Iraq, Military, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Heroes Turn Out for Exhibit
By Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy, USA, American Forces Press Service FORT LEE, Va., Feb. 5, 2007 – The first woman to win the Silver Star Medal for direct actions against an enemy force turned out for the opening of the Global War on Terrorism exhibit Feb. 3 at the U.S. Army Women’s Museum here. The exhibit showcases contributions women have made during the war. Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester made history when she earned the medal during actions March 20, 2005, while reacting to an ambush by insurgents near Baghdad. She is also the first woman to earn the award since World War II. Hester and most of the other members of her squad from the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 617th Military Police Company, to which she was assigned when the action occurred, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Military, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Spc. Ashley Pullen
Leigh Ann Hester wasn’t the only woman in Raven 42 nor was she the only brave woman. Bronze Star with V Lexington Herald Leader Spc. Ashley Pullen wasn’t thinking about the dozens of Iraqi insurgents who had just ambushed the convoy. Or their piles of guns and grenades or the bullets ripping through the air around her. Her bloody comrade lay on the road south of Baghdad, and she had to help the gravely wounded soldier — fast. So she hustled as quickly as her short legs would carry her, ignoring the heat, the ferocious battle and her heavy gear. She ran 100, 200, 300 feet — the length of a football field. It was March 20, 2005, the day Pullen, a member of the Kentucky National Guard’s 617th Military Police Company, became a hero. It … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Iraq, Military, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Where Have All the Heroes Gone?
Leigh Anne Hester joined the Army National Guard in April 2001. By 2005 she was managing a shoe store in Nashville, and had been deployed with her unit to Iraq. As a member of the Kentucky Guard’s 617th Military Police, she wouldn’t normally see combat. That would all change on March 20, 2005. In a matter of thirty minutes, Leigh Ann Hester would join the pantheon of Army heroes that includes Alvin York, Audie Murphy, David Hackworth and many others. Others all men. Trailing a coalition convoy southeast of Baghdad, her unit responded to an attack on that convoy. The ten Guardsmen found themselves in a fight to the death with dozens of attackers in a well-prepared ambush. The security team for the convoy was down, and it was up to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Heroes, Iraq, Military, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester
Courier-Journal In an interview at her parents’ home, Hester, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., said she finds it difficult to be an observer to a war she was living and fighting only a few weeks ago. “I can’t believe I’m watching it on TV now and not experiencing it day to day,” said Hester, who left the Middle East on the day that the 2,000th American soldier was killed in Iraq. “It brings back a lot of memories.” Those memories include the June and September deaths of two members of her company: Spc. Michael Hayes of Morgantown, Ky., and Staff Sgt. William Allers of Leitchfield, Ky., respectively. The Silver Stars were issued two days after Hayes was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade near Baghdad. Hester compares the timing of the events to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Iraq, Military, Our Best: Military Women, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
Heroes: Raven 42
On March 25 I posted an article titled Iraq: Amazing News From Combat. In it I told the story of a small group of Kentucky National Guard troops who were ambushed by a vastly superior force in Iraq, and their incredible response to the attack. Well, the reports have gone up the chain of command, and Raven 42 has been recognized for its heroics. Castle Argghhh has the awards, and they are impressive. The team leader who helped clear the trench of enemy has been awarded the Silver Star. Unusual? Not really. Oh, wait, yes it is. That team leader is Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to win a Silver Star since World War Two. DefenseLINK When the fight was over, 27 insurgents were dead, six were wounded, and one was captured. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Heroes, Iraq, Military, Our Best: Military Women, Raven 42, War on Terror, WOT Heroes
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