Major Jonathan A. Bossie was awarded a Bronze Star with V device in a ceremony January 22, 2010.

Bossie, currently assigned as the officer in charge of training and an advisor with Special Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, received the award for actions taken in Afghanistan in 2009.

Colonel Michael E. Langley, officer in charge of SOTG, III MEF Headquarters Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, presented Bossie with the medal on behalf of the President of the United States.

“Though they were small in number, Bossie and his Marines were committed to helping the local people, defending against the insurgency and getting the job done,” Langley said.

Bossie, a native of Houlton, Maine, served in Afghanistan from December 2008 until September 2009.

“What really matters is that my Marines felt taken care of, and that we did everything we set out to do,” Bossie said. “I was fortunate enough to have a talented team on my side, and to me, they are the heroes.”

According to the citation, Bossie “…demonstrated unselfish valor during numerous instances of direct contact with the enemy.”

Bossie would normally dismount his vehicle during engagements with the enemy, exposing himself to direct fire, in order to advise the Afghan commanders on how to counterattack against the enemy.

While in Afghanistan, Maj. Bossie was assigned to Embedded Training Team 5-4, Regional Corps Advisory Command-Central, 201st Corps, Afghan National Army.

Marines Corps
by 1stLt John D. Norton

Staff Sgt. Rodrigo B. AriasHernandez, right, with Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, is presented the Bronze Star Award with Combat V for his actions while deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom by Maj. Gen. James B. Laster, the commanding general of 3rd MarDiv., in an awards ceremony during the Artillery Relocation Training Program exercise on the East Fuji range Sept. 15. Photo by Lance Cpl. Kentavist P. Brackin.

Staff Sgt. Rodrigo B. AriasHernandez recently received the Bronze Star Award with Combat V for his actions during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan Aug. 19-20, 2009.

AriasHernandez, a battery gunnery sergeant for Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, was a company advisor with Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command-Central 3-7, 201st Corps, Afghan National Army, at the time.

On Aug. 19, 2009, the eve of the second Afghan national election, the 34-year-old, another team member and an Army National Guard soldier defended Vehicle Patrol Base Pashad.

The ANA commander had directed all but six of the patrol base’s personnel to occupy mountain overwatch positions that morning to block enemy infiltration routes during the election.

At about 10 p.m., Operational Detachment Alpha Team 2213 arrived at the compound with intelligence on an imminent large-scale attack by an enemy force of about 200 Taliban and foreign fighters.

AriasHernandez assessed the base’s vulnerabilities and gave a report to the team’s leader, after which the team was made available to AriasHernandez.

“The detachment that I had was from the Special Forces, and the commander came up to me and asked me ‘Where do you need me,’” he said. “I told him I needed guys here, here and here and start plugging in the grids in case we (were) overrun, but we didn’t (get overrun).”

At 11:05 p.m., the enemy launched an attack with accurate mortar fire followed by an onslaught of rocket-propelled grenade rounds, small arms and medium machine gun fire.

One of the ETT members responded with a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun, AriasHernandez’s team’s only crew-served weapon. He tried to assist by spotting enemy positions using night vision goggles, but saw only a barrage of muzzle flashes from enemy weapons.

He quickly sent out a distress signal to a joint-Quick Response Force, composed of an Army platoon, ETT and ANA personnel.

Using the cover of darkness, enemy fighters had approached unnoticed and dispersed in all directions surrounding the valley, the neighboring village, the school house and the compound, with some as close as 300 meters, making fire missions impossible.

“When the going was tough he probably thought that ‘You know what, I might not come out of this,’ but he reacted instinctively; he did the right thing,” said Maj. Gen. James B. Laster, 3rd MarDiv. commanding general, of AriasHernandez.

The ANA platoon at the compound was considered a strong fighting force because of its training and combat experience.

AriasHerenandez coordinated with the ANA platoon lieutenant and helped refocus the ANA positions to their respective fields of fire and the enemy’s potential avenues of approach.

Using his personal M203 grenade launcher, he fired illumination rounds to backlight enemy positions for ANA soldiers.

After two hours of fierce fighting, enemy forces collected their dead and wounded and departed into the mountains.

A post-attack analysis estimated the enemy force at 80 to 100 fighters intended to overrun the compound to ensure the Taliban controlled Pashad village before the next day’s election.

The citiation attributes all friendly forces’ survival to AriasHernandez’s leadership, courage and military skill.

“The training that I received paid off,” said AriasHernandez. “Some of these guys were depending on me and my actions, so failure was not on my mind.”

AriasHernandez volunteered to remain at the patrol base through election day, sustaining six more rocket attacks that he quickly neutralized by directing 105mm mortar fire on enemy mountain positions.

According to the citation, his actions contributed to a 95 percent turnout rate at the polling centers in the Khas Kunar district the following day, leaving the enemy’s plan to disrupt the national election in the region a failure.

Marine Corps
By Cpl. Kentavist P. Brackin

For all our stories on this American hero, follow this link.

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta

White House

Yesterday, President Obama spoke with Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta to inform him that he will be awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry at the risk of his life that went above and beyond the call of duty. Sergeant Giunta will be the first living service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. The President thanked Sergeant Giunta for his service and extraordinary bravery in battle.

Further information about the date and time of the ceremony will be released at a later date.

ACTION FROM WHICH THE MEDAL OF HONOR WAS EARNED:

Then-Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself by acts of gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifle team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan on October 25, 2007.

When an insurgent force ambush split Specialist Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Specialist Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security. His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon’s ability defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands.

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta

KCRG Channel 9

Giunta, 24, a Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School graduate who served two tours in Afghanistan, was nominated for the award for his role in preventing a wounded fellow soldier from being dragged away during a fire fight in the Korengal River Valley in northeast Afghanistan.

Giunta’s father, Steve Giunta of Hiawatha, said he and his wife, Rose, are proud of their son but said Sal is “very reserved and quiet” when it comes to the award.

“He would like to not have the spotlight,” Steve Giunta said. “If all of this would just go away I think that would be just fine by him.”

“As he told me, this doesn’t change the event,” the elder Giunta said. “As he puts it, every soldier would have done it.”

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta. Hiawatha, Iowa soldier nominated for Medal of Honor.

Des Moines Register

His father, Steve Giunta of Hiawatha, said Staff Sgt. Giunta is stationed in Italy.

“We’re very proud of him – proud of all of his unit, not all of whom are still here,” Steve Giunta said.

WCF Courier

Giunta, who enlisted in the Army shortly after graduating from Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, is now stationed in Italy with the Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was in his second tour of duty in Afghanistan at the time of the ambush.

Giunta, who was previously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, among other medals, called his parents after hearing from the president, his father said.

During an award ceremony at Camp Courtney Dec. 4, 1st Lt. Colin P. Boynton, right, with 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, accepts his award citation for a Bronze Star Medal with combat device from Lt. Col. Ted A. Adams, commanding officer of 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistic Group, III MEF. Photo by Lance Cpl. Dengrier Baez

Instead of Christmas carols last Christmas Eve, 1st Lt. Colin P. Boynton heard the crack of bullets.

Boynton and two other Marines, part of an embedded training team, were with 30 Afghan troops returning from Mirdesh in Nurestan province, Afghanistan, to their command post after meeting with Mirdesh elders, when the shots rang out.

The area had not been patrolled for 10 months prior and was known to be dangerous since it provided a safe haven for enemy fighters, said Boynton, now with 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

On Dec. 24, 2008, Boynton was a training team leader embedded with 1st Infantry Company, 2nd Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 201st Corps, Afghan national army.

As his team walked along a ravine near a river, about a mile from post, Boynton and 13 others were separated from the patrol, he said.

Boynton had been involved in firefights with the enemy before but never on a patrol, he said.

“We did all the preplanning, but the enemy knew we couldn’t fire into the village, and they were very patient, attacking us at a weak moment,” Boynton said. “They waited where most of the patrol had turned on a bend in the trail. We were stuck in a kill zone.”

One Afghan soldier was shot through the knee and within minutes three others were hit with enemy fire from the village boundaries about 250 yards in the distance, Boynton said.

“We were able to suppress the fire and get the casualties out and into safety,” Boynton said of the Afghan soldiers caught in the kill zone. Boynton coordinated fire support with coalition helicopters and the casualties were evacuated, all survived the firefight, he said.

“I was honored to have embedded with people from a different culture and religion” Boynton said. “We were brought together for the same cause.”

Boynton received a Bronze Star with combat device in a ceremony in front of 3rd MarDiv’s headquarters at Camp Courtney Dec. 4 for his actions Dec. 24, 2008, and throughout his deployment in Afghanistan, Nov. 27 to Aug. 22, 2008.

“I’m honored, and it’s extremely humbling to receive this award being a young officer doing what I was trained for and looking out for my troops,” he said.

During the deployment, he led more than 27 mounted patrols and conducted more than 30 convoy operations. He also directed direct and indirect fire during eight enemy engagements, according to his Bronze Star citation.

“You can’t ask for a higher caliber Marine,” said Lt. Col. Ted A. Adams, commanding officer of 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistic Group, III MEF, during the award ceremony.

DVIDS
Story by Lance Cpl. Dengrier Baez

Staff Sgt. Logan Cortes, combat skills training instructor, Combat Skills Training School, Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, displays the Bronze Star he received at Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 25, for his actions during Operation Steel Curtain. During an attack to clear houses in New Ubaydi, Cortes' platoon moved in to clear a small single-story building and was engaged by an enemy ambush. Cortes, 33, from Stockton, Calif., left his position three times, running through enemy fire to save two Marines and retrieve ammo for his machine gunner. Cortes is currently an instructor with the 1st MLG Combat Skills Training School at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The students taking courses at the Combat Skills Training School don’t doubt their teacher’s knowledge, but it’s hard to see the man behind the information as a decorated combat veteran.

Staff Sgt. Logan Cortes, an instructor with the 1st Marine Logistics Group’s CST at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is a Bronze Star recipient and currently teaches Marines how to use the weapons systems he had first-hand experience with in Iraq.

“He is a great role model,” said Lance Cpl. Jose Laguna, CST instructor, Combat Skills Training School, Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st MLG, 26, from Dallas.

Even though he was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions, he still thinks about the Marines who were there with him that day.

“I don’t think I deserve a Bronze Star for my actions out there,” Cortes said. “I wasn’t the only person out there. There were the other Marines covering me when I went out to recover those guys.”

It started with Marines storming door-to-door looking for insurgents in New Ubaydi, Iraq. But for 2nd Platoon, Nov. 16, 2005 turned into an ambush and proved one Marine’s courage and commitment to his fellow Marines.

Cortes was a machinegun section leader with Company F, Battalion Leading Team 2/1, Regimental Combat Team 2, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, when his unit moved in to clear a small single-story building and was engaged by an enemy ambush.

“We were told that there were three insurgents inside one of the houses we were clearing that day,” said Cortes. “So I led a team into a position so we could help engage the enemy. It turned out to be an ambush,” said Cortes, 33, from Stockton, Calif.

During the heated firefight with the enemy combatants, Cortes was informed that there were casualties inside one of the buildings.

He dashed from his covered position to retrieve a Marine who suffered wounds to both of his legs from a grenade blast, and pulled him to safety as bullets from allies and enemies flew past his body.

“After I pulled the Marine to the covered position, I saw the machine gunner lying on the ground,” Cortes explained. “I was like ‘are you OK? Why are you lying on the ground?’ Turns out he was out of ammo so I ran back to grab some more for him. After I brought back the ammo an insurgent jumped out with an AK-47.”

Cortes quickly dispatched the enemy combatant. He saw more casualties and once again left his position to recover another wounded Marine.

For his courageous actions that day, Staff Sgt. Cortes was awarded the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest combat award. Cortes also recognized Lance Cpl. Roger Deeds, who was the only Marine in his fire team killed during the operation that day.

“I still think I don’t deserve the Bronze Star,” Cortes said. “I believe [Lance Cpl. Deeds] traded his life for mine.”

Other than being a great role model, Marines that work with Cortes have many good things to say about him.

“He treats you like a Marine, but first as a man,” said Sgt. Jared Louis Thom, CST instructor, Combat Skills Training School, CLR-17, 1st MLG. “He’s the first to help you and makes sure you’re setup and doing the right thing for yourself. He will stand up for what is right no matter what the consequences are.”

He also added that meeting Marines like Cortes isn’t an everyday occurrence.

Students at the CST benefit from learning from this Marine who has had experience on the battlefield and passes what he knows on to them. He encourages them to do the right thing at all times.

Someone pointing at a PowerPoint presentation may not look like a Marine who ducked and dodged bullets to save his fellow Marines’ lives in Iraq, but the man behind the information has a lot to offer.

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Jennifer Brofer