Removed from an ambushed platoon of Marines and soldiers in a remote Afghan village on Sept. 8, 2009, his reality viciously shaken by an onslaught of enemy fighters, Cpl. Dakota Meyer simply reacted as he knew best — tackling what he called “extraordinary circumstances” by “doing the right thing … whatever it takes.”

Nearly two years later, the White House announced Aug. 12, 2011, the 23-year-old Marine scout sniper from Columbia, Ky., who has since left the Marine Corps, will become the first living Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor in 38 years. Retired Sgt. Maj. Allan Kellogg, Jr. received the medal in 1973 for gallantry in Vietnam three years earlier.

Meyer is the second Marine to receive the medal for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Cpl. Jason Dunham was awarded the medal posthumously for covering a grenade with his body to save two Marines in Iraq in 2004. President Barack Obama will present the award to Meyer at the White House, Sept. 15.

“The award honors the men who gave their lives that day, and the men who were in that fight,” Meyer said. “I didn’t do anything more than any other Marine would. I was put in an extraordinary circumstance, and I just did my job.”

Though bleeding from shrapnel wounds in his right arm, Meyer, aided by fellow Marines and Army advisors from Embedded Training Team 2-8, braved a vicious hail of enemy machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire in the village of Ganjgal to help rescue and evacuate more than 15 wounded Afghan soldiers, and recover the bodies of four fallen fighters — 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, Gunnery Sgts. Aaron Kenefick and Edwin Johnson Jr., and Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James Layton.

ETT advisor Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., Oct. 7, 2009, from wounds sustained in the firefight.

Meyer charged through the battle zone five times to recover the dead Marines and injured Afghan soldiers, risking his life even when a medical evacuation helicopter wouldn’t land because of the blazing gunfire.

“There’s not a day — not a second that goes by where I don’t think about what happened that day,” Meyer said. “I didn’t just lose four Marines that day; I lost four brothers.”

Sgt. Dakota Meyer with a DShK machine gun.

Author Bing West, a retired Marine infantry officer and combat veteran of Vietnam, detailed Meyer’s actions in the battle in “The Wrong War,” and praised Meyer for taking command of the battle as a corporal — the most junior advisor in this firefight.

West said Meyer should have been killed, but he dominated the battlefield by fearlessly exposing himself to danger and pumping rifle and machine gun rounds into the enemy fighters.

“When you leave the perimeter, you don’t know what’s going to happen, regardless of what war you’re fighting in,” Kellogg, who lives in Kailua, Hawaii, said. “Once you get to a point where you make the decision — ‘I’m probably going to die, so let the party begin’ — once you say in your mind you aren’t getting out of there, you fight harder and harder.”

Beginning his career with the same regiment from which Kellogg retired in 1990, Meyer deployed with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, to Fallujah, Iraq, in 2007, and earned a meritorious promotion to corporal in late 2008 after returning from the deployment.

Before leaving for Iraq, Meyer completed the Marine Corps’ 10-week Scout Sniper Basic Course, and committed himself to preparing himself and his snipers for combat. They attended lifesaving classes taught by Navy corpsmen and honed their skills with myriad weapons systems, such as light machine guns. Meyer also spent time in his battalion’s communications section learning how to call for mortar and artillery fire.

“I devoted my whole life to making the best snipers in the Marine Corps,” Meyer said. “They’re a direct reflection of your leadership. If you fail them in training, it could get them killed on the battlefield.”

In February 2009, Meyer volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan’s dangerous Kunar province and mentor Afghan soldiers as part of an embedded training team, the type of role usually filled by U.S. Special Forces.

“A Marine who seeks the challenge of joining his unit’s scout sniper platoon has to have a lot of drive and determination,” said Col. Nathan Nastase, commanding officer of 3rd Marine Regiment and formerly Meyer’s battalion commander at 3/3. “Being assigned to the ETT was a huge vote of confidence in his abilities.”

Meyer deployed to Afghanistan on the ETT in July 2009.

“Our mission was to help prepare the Afghans to take over their own country and provide security for themselves,” Meyer said. “ETTs make a huge impact on the outcome of the war.”

In Kunar province, Meyer and another ETT advisor would lead squads of 15 Afghan soldiers on patrols. Since he could speak Pashto, the local language, so well, Meyer often separated from the element with his Afghan trainees.

When his patrol fought to rescue another from an ambush Sept. 8, 2009, Meyer’s focus on advising gave way to surviving, and on what he had to do to keep himself and his men alive.

“I lost a lot of Afghans that day,” Meyer said. “And I’ll tell you right now — they were just as close to me as those Marines were. At the end of the day, I don’t care if they’re Afghans, Iraqis, Marines or Army; it didn’t matter. They’re in the same shit you are, and they want to go home and see their family just as bad as you do.”

Thrown into unimaginable circumstances, Meyer said the Afghan soldiers and his sniper training “saved my life” during the battle.

Jacody Downey is a close friend of Meyer’s from Kentucky. He’s seen his friend grow from a fun-loving “jokester” in high school to a driven Marine who deeply respected both elders and subordinates.

“Dakota has always cared more about others than he does himself,” Downey said. “Even if he’s not with his Marines now, he’s still constantly thinking about them, worrying about them and calling to check on them. He still considers them brothers.”

Cpl. David Hawkins grew as a Marine under Meyer’s leadership in 3/3’s Scout Sniper Platoon.

“Meyer was an ideal leader,” Hawkins, from Parker, Colo., said. “He knew everything about the Marines underneath him — how they’d respond to every situation, not only on a Marine Corps level but also on a personal level.”

Hawkins said he was deeply humbled by Meyer’s concern as a friend, especially after being injured in Afghanistan last year. Hawkins was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Sept. 24, 2010. Four days later, he lay static in a stark hospital room, riddled with shrapnel. After groggily emerging from anesthesia into a blurry reality, Hawkins’ phone rang — the first call from a friend. Without fail, Meyer’s jovial drawl broke through the speaker.

“In the Marine Corps, you always hear that if something’s broke, you’ve got to work to fix it, but you never really see the Marine who does it,” Hawkins said. “Meyer is that Marine. If he had something to say, he’d say it, and he wasn’t really afraid of repercussions for what he said. If it needed to be changed, he changed it.”

Hearing his friend would receive the Medal of Honor didn’t surprise Hawkins. In light of the “character” and “country boy” Hawkins knows, Meyer’s actions were simply the manifestation of how he lived and led.

“Meyer was destined for the Medal of Honor,” Hawkins said. “If you got to work with him, you’d see it.”

At the conclusion of his speech to 350 faculty and staff in Green County High School, Greensburg, Ky., Dakota Meyer, 23, watches them as they leave, Aug. 3. Photo by Sgt. James SheaSmall RSS Icon

Meyer completed his tour on active duty last June. He went home to Kentucky, where he’s found purpose working with his hands in a family business.

“Pouring concrete is kind of like the Marine Corps,” Meyer said. “When you wake up in the morning, you’ve got a job … like a mission. There’s no set standard on how to do things, but you just have to go out there, make decisions and get it done — and that’s like the challenge of the Marine Corps. Once you’re satisfied with what you’ve done, you stop getting better.”

Meyer is the 86th living Medal of Honor recipient, and he joins a small, elite group of heroes, a reality that will often require him to conjure up haunting reminders of the battles he has fought, the friends he has lost and the painful regret he bears.

“I’m not a hero, by any means — I’m a Marine, that’s what I am,” he said. “The heroes are the men and women still serving, and the guys who gave their lives for their country. At the end of the day, I went in there to do the right thing … and it all boils down to doing the right thing … whatever it takes. All those things we learn stick in your head, and when you live by it, that’s the Marine way.”

Though Meyer will receive the Medal of Honor for what he did in Ganjgal, he insists he will wear the five-pointed medallion and blue silk ribbon to honor his fallen brothers, their families and his fellow Marines.

“Being a Marine is a way of life,” Meyer said. “It isn’t just a word, and it’s not just about the uniform — it’s about brotherhood. Brotherhood means that when you turn around, they’re there, through thick and thin. If you can’t take care of your brothers, what can you do in life?”

DVIDS
Story by Cpl. Reece Lodder

2009 saw America’s North Shore Journal cover the stories of many American warriors, and many who were recognized for their heroism in action. One Medal of Honor was awarded, posthumously, to an Army noncom. The Commandant of the Marine Corps also hinted that a living Marine would receive the Medal but it did not happen. There were other heroes, firefighters and police officers and EMTs who gave their lives in the line of duty. There were the civilian heroes, who couldn’t just stand by and watch and some of them paid the ultimate price for their actions. So, there are not just ten, but these ten represent all of America’s heroes this year.

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jared C. Monti, Tenth Mountain Division – Medal of Honor

The enemy fighters had established two support-by-fire positions directly above the patrol in a densely wooded ridgeline. SFC Monti immediately returned fire and ordered the patrol to seek cover and return fire. He then reached for his radio headset and calmly initiated calls for indirect fire and close air support (CAS), both danger-close to the patrol’s position. He did this while simultaneously directing the patrol’s fires.

When SFC Monti realized that a member of the patrol, Private First Class (PFC) Brian J. Bradbury, was critically wounded and exposed 10 meters from cover, without regard for his personal safety, he advanced through enemy fire to within three feet of PFC Bradbury’s position. But he was forced back by intense RPG fire. He tried again to secure PFC Bradbury, but he was forced to stay in place again as the enemy intensified its fires.

The remaining patrol members coordinated covering fires for SFC Monti, and he advanced a third time toward the wounded Soldier. But he only took a few steps this time before he was mortally wounded by an RPG. About the same time, the indirect fires and CAS he called for began raining down on the enemy’s position. The firepower broke the enemy attack, killing 22 enemy fighters. SFC Monti’s actions prevented the patrol’s position from being overrun, saved his team’s lives and inspired his men to fight on against overwhelming odds. SFC Monti epitomizes what it means to be an NCO. Because of his personal sacrifice and selfless service to the Army, the men of his patrol are alive today and continue the fight.

Sgt. 1st Class Jarion Halbisengibbs, Operational Detachment – Alpha 083 – Distinguished Service Cross

With Chaney and Lindsay blown from the building, Halbisengibbs realized he was wounded and alone inside the target building. As enemy fire had destroyed his radio and damaged his night vision device, his vision was impaired and he was unable to contact the remainder of the assault force to request support. Taking immediate and decisive action, Halbisengibbs leapt to his feet and quickly cleared the room.

Making his way out to the courtyard, SSG Halbisengibbs immediately passed a verbal status report to his ODA indicating his status but could continue to fight. During the course of relaying this message, he immediately came under small arms fire at close range from an enemy position not yet cleared by the national police assault force.

As Halbisengibbs reacted to the threat, he was shot in the abdomen; the bullet traveling through his stomach and exiting at his hip. Ignoring this second debilitating gunshot wound, he engaged and killed the enemy within 12 feet of his position.

Halbisengibbs then took cover and rallied the remainder of the Iraqi National Police and assisted in securing the objective area. Only when the enemy was eliminated and the objective was secure, did he reveal the seriousness of his wounds and accept medical attention.

Lance Cpl. Brady Gustafson, 7th Marine Regiment – Navy Cross

The patrol came under heavy fire from machine guns as well as rocket-propelled grenades from hidden insurgent positions.

One of the RPGs hit Gustafson’s MRAP, piercing its armor, rendering the driver unconscious and partially amputating Gustafson’s right leg.

Despite his injuries, Gustafson remained vigilant on his M240B machine gun, locating and accurately firing on several insurgent positions, some as close as 20 meters from the vehicle.

He remained in the turret, reloading twice and firing over 600 rounds, while Lance Cpl. Cody Comstock, an Anderson, Ind. native, applied a tourniquet to his leg.

After regaining consciousness, the driver, Cpl. Geoffrey Kamp, an Indianapolis native, put the vehicle in reverse and pushed the disabled vehicle behind them out of the kill zone.

Not until both vehicles were safe from the heavy insurgent fire and all the Marines had evacuated the burning vehicle did he allow himself to be removed from the turret for medical treatment.

Staff Sgt. Zachary J. Rhyner, 21st Special Tactics Squadron – Air Force Cross

Within the first 15 minutes of fire, Sergeant Rhyner was wounded along with three team members.

“I was pulling security when I got shot in the leg,” he said. “The rounds hit my left thigh and went through my leg and hit another guy in the foot.”

He immediately felt pain and adrenalin.

“There was nowhere to go. I grabbed the wounded guys, but we were trapped by the enemy,” he said. “I was calling in air strikes and firing, while moving the wounded down [the cliff].”

Sergeant Gutierrez could see insurgent fire coming from the buildings on the hilltops above them and was trying to get across the river to meet up with Sergeant Rhyner.

“Zach and I were in constant radio contact,” he said. “I could hear the ammunition, sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades with multiple blasts. We tried to push to the north to collocate with Zach’s team, but every time we pushed up river, it put us in an open line of fire.”

“My team ran across the freezing river. The water came off the mountains and we were 100 to 200 feet beneath the enemy, like fish in a barrel,” said Sergeant Gutierrez.

As the enemy surrounded them, Sergeant Rhyner, who was being treated for his injuries by Capt. Kyle Walton, the special forces team leader, directed multiple rockets and gun runs from AH-64 helicopters against enemy positions.

Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins, Tenth Mountain Division – Distinguished Service Cross -more-

Atkins and several other U.S. soldiers were on patrol at about 11 a.m. on Friday, when they observed four suspicious Iraqi citizens, according to a U.S. Army incident report. The Iraqis tried to run away, but Atkins caught one of them and took him onto the ground in an effort to restrain him.

The Iraqi man detonated a suicide bomb attached to his vest, killing himself and Atkins, according to the report.

Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye, 503rd Infantry Regiment – Silver Star

Keeping his composure against overwhelming odds, Begaye directed and encouraged his fellow soldiers under heavy fire. One paratrooper had been shot in both legs and was still taking fire. Begaye called out to him to play dead, knowing the enemy would shift their fire away if they thought the soldier was killed — quick thinking that likely helped to save that soldier’s life.

Ignoring his own injuries, Begaye moved a wounded soldier to a nearby cave to protect him from enemy fire. Using a radio, he called his higher headquarters and directed mortar fire onto enemy positions – essentially ending the battle. Then he motivated a soldier to organize a defensive perimeter of Afghan soldiers to prevent their unit from being harassed or overrun.

Specialist Michael Carter, Combat Documentation & Production Specialist 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) – Silver Star

On Dec. 12, 2008 Spc. Michael Carter, Combat Documentation & Production Specialist 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) was awarded the Silver Star for actions in the Shok Valley of Nuristan Province, Afghanistan April 6, 2008.

Spc. Carter was one of 10 Soldiers awarded Silver Stars for that engagement, but unlike the Soldiers of Operational Detachment A (ODA) 3336 on the raid, Spc. Carter is a Combat Cameraman.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Moe, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) – Bronze Star with Valor Device

In order to provide covering fire for the movement of the trapped team, Moe voluntarily stepped directly in to the line of enemy fire and began suppressive fire on the enemy position.

“I just wanted to do the right thing and help my fellow Soldiers out,” Moe explained. “I didn’t think too much about it, I just reacted. I knew things were getting pretty thick and they needed help to get out.”

Despite rounds of small arms fire impacting inches from his head and being shot in the right leg, Moe continued to place effective fire on the enemy until the sniper team was safely under cover.

His courage and selflessness allowed the sniper team to move to a secured position where the wounded sniper could receive immediate medical treatment and be evacuated out of the area.

Sgt. James Carter, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment – Bronze Star with Valor Device

During this patrol, a massive improvised explosive device detonated inside a culvert, causing a catastrophic effect under a U.S. Navy EOD vehicle. The enormous explosion threw the vehicle high into the air, causing it to land on its side; trapping the three Navy EOD personnel inside.

Carter risked his life by entering the burning vehicle in order to extract the trapped personnel. As a result of the attack, two of the EOD members were killed in action, however Sgt. Carter’s was able to save one member of the team in an act of true bravery.

1st Lt. Colin P. Boynton, training team leader embedded with 1st Infantry Company, 2nd Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 201st Corps, Afghan national army – Bronze Star with Valor Device

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.

This item was first printed here on October 9, 2003.

U.S. Army

Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, Chief, Army Reserve, will present the Soldier’s Medal, the highest peacetime award for heroism, to Captain John Chovanes, an Army Reservist with the Army Medical Corps. The ceremony will be held today, 1 December 2003, at the Pentagon in Room 2B548 at 2 pm.

In the aftermath of the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, Captain Chovanes at risk to his own life, voluntarily rendered medical aid, and assisted in the rescue of a New York Port Authority officer. The officer was buried well below the surface of the collapsed buildings. Rescue efforts involved slowly digging free the buried officer due to debris being above and around the rescue site. Captain Chovanes administered lifesaving medical treatment throughout the night to the buried officer, under the constant risk that the overhead debris, including girders, and masonry, would collapse on him, the buried officer and the rescuers. The officer was freed on the morning of 12 September 2001.

The following item was printed here on August 17, 2006.

The right-o-sphere has been agog about Oliver Stone’s new movie, World Trade Center. From all reports, it’s not a hatchet job.

There is a pair of Marines featured in a part of the movie. Their names are now known, though one had been a mystery. That’s nice. God bless them!

But I wrote about another military hero from Ground Zero on October 9, 2003.

U.S. Army

Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. James Helmly pinned Chovanes with the Soldier’s Medal for his deeds that fateful September day during a Pentagon ceremony Dec. 1.

“Once again, we see heroes rise to the occasion,” Helmly said, explaining the meaning of the medal to 22 family members who came to watch the ceremony. It’s the highest award a soldier can get for putting his life on the line to save someone else in a non-combat situation, he said.

“That’s what John did, he placed his life at risk to stay with his patient. I tell you, this speaks volumes of the courage and steadfastness of the Army Medical Corps,” Helmly said.

The rescued officer was John McLoughlin, played by Nicholas Cage in the movie.

Captain John Chovanes

Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, Chief, Army Reserve, will present the Soldier’s Medal, the highest peacetime award for heroism, to Captain John Chovanes, an Army Reservist with the Army Medical Corps. The ceremony will be held today, 1 December 2003, at the Pentagon in Room 2B548 at 2 pm.

In the aftermath of the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, Captain Chovanes at risk to his own life, voluntarily rendered medical aid, and assisted in the rescue of a New York Port Authority officer. The officer was buried well below the surface of the collapsed buildings. Rescue efforts involved slowly digging free the buried officer due to debris being above and around the rescue site. Captain Chovanes administered lifesaving medical treatment throughout the night to the buried officer, under the constant risk that the overhead debris, including girders, and masonry, would collapse on him, the buried officer and the rescuers. The officer was freed on the morning of 12 September 2001.

Health State

Where were you on the morning of September 11, 2001? It’s a question people will ask each other over the years to come. Everyone remembers exactly where they were on days when history is made.

The morning of September 11, John Chovanes, DO, of Narberth, PA, was packing his car, getting ready to go on vacation, when a friend called to tell him a jetliner had crashed into the World Trade Center. Chovanes is a second-year resident in emergency medicine at UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM). He’s also a former paramedic. “Something told me to throw my rescue gear into the trunk, too,” he recalls.

On the road, he almost turned off at Allentown, PA, where one of his brothers lives. But on the car radio, he heard New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeal for medical personnel to come immediately to the site and help. Chovanes didn’t hesitate. “I wasn’t about to sit and watch CNN when there’s a disaster happening,” says the physician. He headed straight for New York City. [snip]

Here and there, amid the horror and destruction, are a few bright spots: the stories of a small number of survivors and the heroes who saved them. One of those heroes was John Chovanes. He arrived at the Holland Tunnel late that morning, so unfamiliar with the area that he’d had to buy a New York road map at a New Jersey rest stop. After identifying himself to police as a physician, he was waved through the tunnel and directed to an aid station near ground zero. Full-scale rescue efforts were underway, and the scene was chaos. Massive piles of rubble and twisted metal were everywhere, and the air was filled with smoke and fire.

Chovanes was not out of place at a disaster site. As a teenager, he’d lied about his age, claiming to be 16 when he was only 13 so he could join a volunteer ambulance company. He’d been an emergency room nurse and then head of a helicopter medical evacuation crew in northern Pennsylvania before going to medical school.

At first, there wasn’t much for him to do. True to his paramedic roots, he listened in on the conversations coming over the emergency workers’ radios. At 7:00 p.m., he heard that two Port Authority officers had been found alive, buried in the rubble. One had been freed, but the other would have to be dug out. Chovanes was asked if he could help. As he began assembling medical supplies, he realized he did not have enough morphine to treat a trauma patient.

“I saw a line of guys marching into the rubble like ants,” Chovanes says. “So I got in line with them, and we went into a huge crater.” A police officer pointed to the mouth of a tunnel where the officer was trapped. Looking at the piles of broken concrete underfoot, he suddenly spotted three boxes of morphine. “To find the one thing I desperately needed was incredible,” he says. “It was a good omen.”

Inside the tunnel, there was barely enough room to move. He and rescue workers crawled along a fallen girder to reach the officer, who was pinned face-down and buried up to his arms. All night long, Chovanes and a NYPD paramedic crawled in and out of the hole, administering intravenous fluids, anti-nausea and pain medication, and oxygen to the trapped officer, who had severe crushing injuries to both legs.

At one point, there seemed a very real chance that he would have to amputate the officer’s lower legs to get him out of the wreckage. “He said he had four kids, and begged me not to,” said Chovanes, who had even obtained a battery-powered saw, but hoped he wouldn’t have to use it.

At 7 a.m., nearly 12 hours later, the rescue efforts began to yield results. A cheer went up when diggers called for “spoons,” the smallest shovels used for rescues. A half hour later, the seriously wounded officer was pulled from the wreckage and transported to New York’s Bellevue Hospital.

Dr. Chovanes pictures from that day are here.

More at the link:

Joe Gibson is an Army Ranger. That will not mean much to those who are not a part of the Army family so here is an explanation. Spc. Joe Gibson volunteered when he joined the United States Army. He then volunteered to become a Ranger. The Ranger school turns out some of the toughest warriors in the world, paratroopers and special operations soldiers. On D-Day in 1944, when there were seaside cliffs to climb to take out German artillery, the Rangers were sent.

That is the sort of outfit Joe Gibson joined. And, he has made them proud.

Chuck Simmins

Sgt. 1st Class Jarion Halbisengibbs received the Distinguished Service Cross, while Capt. Matthew A. Chaney and Sgt. 1st Class Michael D. Lindsay received the Silver Star during an award ceremony at the Special Events Center, May 14.

The Special Forces Soldiers from Operational Detachment Alpha 083, received the medals for their heroism in action on Sept. 10, 2007.

Advising a combined assault element of Iraqi National Police on an intelligence driven raid, their mission was to capture a high value Islamic State of Iraq terrorist who was running a kidnapping and extortion ring.

Adm. Eric T. Olson, United States Special Operations Command commander, and Lt. Gen. John T. Mulholland Jr., United States Army Special Operations Command commander, presented the awards to the Soldiers with more than 700 present to witness the historic ceremony.

“You have listened to and read the account of that night on 10 September 2007, a mission that asked the best of some of our nation’s finest,” said Olson speaking to the guests in attendance.

“This was ODA 083, a Green Beret A-Team in action, under pressure, at risk,” Olson added. “Sergeant Halbisengibbs exemplifies the spirit and ethos of these warriors. He is a gifted team member and individual soldier, one who raises the performance and morale of those around him. Today we will also recognize two more of them, Captain Chaney and Sergeant 1st Class Lindsay, for their extraordinary courage in that action.”

During that raid, three team members, Chaney, Lindsay, and Halbisengibbs, demonstrated exceptional bravery and valor in close combat while they succeeded in eliminating a heavily armed and entrenched enemy force from within a fortified stronghold.

Around 2 a.m., after infiltrating by air into an unplanned landing zone less than 30 meters from the enemy position, Chaney directed the assault force towards the targeted buildings.

Facing both “brown-out” conditions caused by the rotor wash of the helicopters and only 10 percent illumination, the assault force immediately came under enemy fire. Undaunted, these three Special Forces leaders directed their Iraqi counterparts and initiated the assault on the array of buildings.

After clearing the closest structure, the assault element immediately came under enemy machine gun fire from the furthest building, approximately 50 meters away, causing a dangerous pause in the momentum of the assault.

Working in concert, these three leaders immediately redirected their assault element towards the most urgent threat, the third building.

Lindsay and Halbisengibbs killed three insurgents who were firing from the building as the Force assaulted. Chaney and Lindsay then placed themselves in a critical position at the breach point, while Halbisengibbs prepared to employ a fragmentation grenade.

Before the assault force entered, his fragmentation grenade killed two of the enemy fighters waiting inside.

Within seconds of when the three entered the building, the three killed two more enemy fighters. While trying to acquire targets through the haze caused by the grenade blast, Chaney and Lindsay were strafed by intense AK-47 fire.

Chaney was shot through the pelvis, hip, and buttocks while Lindsay received gunshot wounds to the throat and abdomen.

Despite their serious wounds, they – along with Halbisengibbs – continued to engage the enemy inside until an enemy grenade exploded and wounded all three, propelling Chaney and Lindsay back through the door of the house and out into the courtyard. The grenade blast sent Halbisengibbs to the floor and, hit with shrapnel, he sustained wounds to his firing hand and damage to his radio and night vision device.

As Chaney and Lindsay lay wounded and exposed in the courtyard, the remainder of the assault force continued to fight insurgents in the other structures.

Chaney, although suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, continued to exercise command, and while directing actions on the objective, killed another insurgent who was firing at him from an open door.

As a result of the grenade blast, Lindsay had been thrown into the line of fire from another enemy position to the east of the main building but, ignoring his wounds, he continued to engage the enemy.

With Chaney and Lindsay blown from the building, Halbisengibbs realized he was wounded and alone inside the target building. As enemy fire had destroyed his radio and damaged his night vision device, his vision was impaired and he was unable to contact the remainder of the assault force to request support. Taking immediate and decisive action, Halbisengibbs leapt to his feet and quickly cleared the room.

Making his way out to the courtyard, SSG Halbisengibbs immediately passed a verbal status report to his ODA indicating his status but could continue to fight. During the course of relaying this message, he immediately came under small arms fire at close range from an enemy position not yet cleared by the national police assault force.

As Halbisengibbs reacted to the threat, he was shot in the abdomen; the bullet traveling through his stomach and exiting at his hip. Ignoring this second debilitating gunshot wound, he engaged and killed the enemy within 12 feet of his position.

Halbisengibbs then took cover and rallied the remainder of the Iraqi National Police and assisted in securing the objective area. Only when the enemy was eliminated and the objective was secure, did he reveal the seriousness of his wounds and accept medical attention.

Sergeant 1st Class Jarion Halbisengibbs, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) receives the Distinguished Service Cross from Adm. Eric T. Olson, United States Special Operations Command commander, during a ceremony at the Special Events Center , Fort Carson, Colo., May 14. (Photo by Spec. Henrique L. de Holleben)

After the force was firmly in control of the objective, the three were evacuated to the Combat Support Hospital in Balad. These three Special Forces leaders had led their Iraqi National Police counterparts in a highly successful operation during which time they had demonstrated immeasurable fortitude and valor. Their personal example, which involved killing nine of the enemy in close combat, resulted in the death and capture of several enemy terrorists, including the intended target.

Chaney’s valorous leadership that night and unwavering dedication to mission accomplishment, despite sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, made a significant contribution to defeating Al Qaeda operations in the Samarra area.

Chaney’s bullet and shrapnel wounds kept him in Balad for 24 hours where he received his initial surgery before transport to Landstuhl, Germany. During the next eight days, he underwent two additional surgeries before final transport and care at Evans Army Hospital here at Fort Carson. Chaney has returned to duty, having recently returned from another deployment in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and just completed the Special Forces Combat Divers Qualification Course.

Lindsay demonstrated unparalleled valor in the face of a determined enemy and directly contributed to mission success that night.

Lindsay’s bullet and shrapnel wounds were assessed in Balad, prompting immediate transport to Landstuhl where he had almost two feet of his intestines removed. His follow-on stay at Walter Reed lasted three weeks. Since Lindsay received these life-threatening wounds, he has undergone two more surgeries and still carries bullet fragments in his pelvis. He has returned to duty and, like Chaney, has served another tour in Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

Halbisengibbs was responsible for single – handedly killing six of the enemy on the objective and personally eliminating a High Value Terrorist.

Surgeons in Balad worked to repair the wounds to Halbisengibbs’ hand and abdomen, during which time they removed 18 cm of his small intestines. He was quickly transported to Landstuhl, and on to Walter Reed with Lindsay, where he stayed for approximately three weeks. He has since received an additional surgery on his hand, has returned to duty, and is ready for the next deployment.

It is the valor of these three Soldiers with their unparalleled courage under fire, decisive leadership, and tenacity in close combat that led to the successful elimination of a critical terrorist cell. Their quiet professionalism and modesty continues to radiate throughout the unit.

Col. Darsie D. Rogers, Jr., 10th SFG(A) Commander, speaking during the introduction affirmed to all attending that, “the feats of these brave men will forever have a place in history alongside other green berets who have fought the wars before us. These men, and many others like them, answered the call of their nation. They have done so as quiet professionals, as is expected of our green berets and special operators and we pay tribute to the courage of these magnificent soldiers and their selfless service to our nation.”

By 10th SFG (A) Public Affairs Office

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So the three Americans, led by Halbisengibbs, assaulted the house. They stacked up outside the doorway, Halbisengibbs threw in a fragmentation grenade, killing two fighters inside as the soldier rushed in. “You could see faceless shapes scurrying around the room grabbing weapons, and less than three seconds we received AK-47 fire,” said Lindsay, who was hit in the throat. Chaney was shot through the pelvis and hip. Moments later, the insurgents threw a grenade, blasting both of them out the door and into the courtyard.

“I was hyperventilating and throwing up,” on the verge of passing out, said Lindsay. Without the strength to lift his rifle, he said he rolled over then pulled out his pistol as enemy bullets flew over his head. “I fired a few rounds so no one would walk over and shoot me,” he said.

Chaney lay in the courtyard, unable to feel his legs, but kept firing his rifle, killing an insurgent shooting a him nearby. Chaney and Lindsay received Silver Stars today for their actions.

Meanwhile, Halbisengibbs “continued to clear the structure in complete darkness as his night vision goggles and personal radio were all destroyed by enemy gunfire at point blank range,” the official narrative said. “Stumbling over a dead enemy, he was shot in the thumb and propelled to the ground by the blast” of the grenade. “Alone, he relentlessly continued to engage the concealed enemy and in a moment of intense close quarters battle killed one additional terrorist inside the now chaotic structure.”

Moving into the courtyard to protect his two comrades who lay exposed there, Halbisengibbs was suddenly shot through the abdomen. “It felt like white hot lightning shooting through my stomach, and I felt my hip pop out,” he said. But even as he fell to the ground he raised his rifle and killed the fighter only 12 feet away.

Washington Post