Staff Sgt. Stephen E. Simmons
Silver Star
Simmons, who just left the Army this week to attend college in Florida, was honored for his actions during a June 8 attack near the end of the battalion’s rotation. Enemy forces attacked while a CH-47 Chinook helicopter was in the process of lifting a vehicle off the compound.
The noncommissioned officer in charge at the compound for Company C, Simmons helped direct the helicopter out of the combat zone, then assessed the situation, according to a narrative submitted for the award.
Seeing that soldiers in the 120 mm mortar pit were pinned down and unable to fire, he ran to the 81 mm mortar and started returning fire. He was credited with firing 35 rounds by himself, despite being wounded by shrapnel. He then ran between U.S. positions to gather status reports from his men and informed the commander of the situation. He spent the next few hours of the seven-hour battle resupplying U.S. positions with ammunition under a consistent barrage of enemy fire. He later helped guide U.S. air assets to attack enemy positions.
Sadly, this is all the coverage of the award I can find on Google. He was given a big welcome home in florida which had local coverage.
Stars and Stripes
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