America's North Shore Journal

Mark J. Roland was outnumbered.

Enemy fire was coming from as close as three meters away. It was an outright ambush, as enemy fighters used machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and rifles to attack U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Roland and a group of Afghan forces on June 11, 2007.

But Roland, a State College native, refused to back down, according to an account released by the Army. Next week, he is scheduled to receive the prestigious Silver Star Medal for his valor in combat.

StateCollege.com
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“Our supply vehicles were hit with a very elaborate and large ambush. In our response to that, we discovered that our Afghan National counterparts were actually in the assault, in the ambush, and they became pinned down in the fire,” said Roland via telephone from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. “Then subsequent to that, we ended up going and helping them out and getting them out of the situation.”

WJAC TV
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The Army narrative accompanying the Silver Star medal reads, in part: “As a result of his exceptional bravery in voluntarily rescuing eight Afghan Soldiers, destroying enemy fighters at close range, and leading the actions of a split detachment, Sergeant Roland inspired those around him by his poise, confidence, and absolute willingness to risk his life to accomplish the mission and turn the momentum of the fight.”

Centre Daily Times
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Roland joined the Army in 1991 and is married to the former Claire Ellen Intorre, of Boalsburg, according to a government-supplied biography. He has served around the world: in Operation Hurricane Andrew Relief in 1992; in Operation Restore Hope to Somalia in 1993; and as a sergeant in Panama, Chile and Kosovo, among other missions.

Roland has been deployed twice as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the war in Afghanistan. He is the recipient of multiple military decorations, including the Bronze Star, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army reported.

StateCollege.com