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As the Marines in 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion advanced to secure the northern bridge in Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23, 2003, it seemed to then-Seaman Apprentice Luis Fonseca, a Navy hospital corpsman, that all hell had broken loose.

“As we came up and over the bridge, we ran right into an ambush,” he said from his current assignment aboard the USS Bataan. “They threw all they had at us — small-arms fire, heavy machine-gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and artillery rounds.”

That’s when Fonseca got the call from then-Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. David Myers, asking him to check on the Marines in one of the vehicles that had been hit.

Trading his communications helmet for Kevlar, the corpsman on his first deployment grabbed his medical bag and headed for the vehicle, which by then was in flames. Five Marines had suffered at least shrapnel wounds.

“I noticed I had two patients with partial lower-leg amputations, one with flash burns to his eyes, and all had shrapnel wounds,” Fonseca said. “I applied tourniquets on the two Marines with the partial leg amputations and instructed the other Marines around to apply battle dressings on the others that were wounded.”

Fonseca decided to move the wounded Marines to his vehicle to get them out of the middle of what became a six-and-a-half-hour firefight. After reassessing wounds and administering morphine to the two troops with partial leg amputations, Fonseca got a call that another vehicle had been hit.

Normally, the column is lined up in numerical order. In the midst of the firefight, as the vehicles maneuvered to gain an advantage, they got out of order.

Fonseca couldn’t find vehicle C206 and returned to his own vehicle just as the enemy got what he described as four lucky hits.

“Two of them were on our right side. One was on our center top hatch. All three were … 122 mm mortar rounds,” he said. “The fourth and final round that disabled the truck was a recoilless rifle round that blew up our transmission.”

When the smoke cleared, the wounded Marines were transferred to another vehicle and moved out of the area — all but one.

“I picked up the last Marine … and carried him to a ditch,” Fonseca said. “The Marine and I sat in the ditch for about 30 minutes before I could get another vehicle to pick us up and drive us out of there.”

When Fonseca had gotten all his patients to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines’ corpsman, he turned around and headed back to the fight, where he rejoined his platoon.

“We lost about 18 Marines that day,” he said. “Fifteen others were wounded and left the battlefield, and about 10 others [who] were wounded … stayed.”

Fonseca, now a petty officer 2nd class, treated about a dozen Marines during that firefight, and as far as he knows, all of them survived their injuries. He was determined not to let them down. “As long as I was alive, I would keep working, even if it meant my life,” he said.

Fonseca was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of the Marines under his care during the battle of Nasiriyah.

Though he was honored to have received it, he said, he doesn’t feel the medal truly belongs to him.

“The Navy Cross means to me honor, sacrifice and loyalty,” Fonseca said. “Honor because it is my honor to wear the Navy Cross for my brothers that gave their lives in that fight. So, it’s my honor to wear their Navy Cross that honors them. A lot of men sacrificed that day. Unfortunately, some families and friends had to sacrifice their loved ones.”

Since that first tour in Iraq, Fonseca has been back to Iraq once, and has served a tour in Afghanistan. He is married, and the couple has two sons.

DoD
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Navy Cross

October 5, 2006 Post

Eyewitness to War – Army Oral History [pdf]

MM: It seems to me that this was the fight that took place in Iraq. Historically,
I can’t find anything that compares. You can go back as far as you want in history
and look in vain for a situation where a city’s been almost depleted of the civilian
population and you know the whole city is fi lled only with bad guys. I really can’t
fi nd anything like that. It’s unparalleled in history.
MS: I think you’re right. I can’t find any place in history either where we ever
had a clean battlefi eld like this to fi ght the enemy. It was like a ghost town, and I’m
sure that some of the guys talked to you about that. The citizens knew what was
going to happen. They knew no one was going to stop on this one, so they left. The
only people left were the bad guys that wanted to get the muj’ on, and we were
ready to get the muj’ on with them. There’s never a place where the conditions are
set up for a good battle, but we were very lucky, and we were lucky because of
good soldiers, good Marines, good sailors and airmen that really did their job – and
I think the nation should be very proud of them. I’ll tell you, I sure am. We had a
lot of casualties, but also a lot of great things, and there are quite a lot of awards
that are still outstanding. I think there are two Medals of Honor still going through
the process, a number of Navy Crosses going through, and I’m anxious for these
guys to get these awards, too. PFC Christopher Adlesperger from 3/5 – he fought
for over 45 minutes defending his squad and killed at least a squad-sized element.
He died later on in the battle, but what he did that day, I don’t think anyone of us
will ever forget it.

LA Tmes

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Adlesperger, who was killed during the battle in Fallouja in 2004, has been selected for the Navy Cross, the Marine Corps’ second highest medal for combat bravery, the corps announced Monday.

The medal recognizes Adlesperger’s actions on Nov. 10, 2004, when he saved the lives of innumerable Marines by showing leadership and courage during an assault on a heavily armed insurgent stronghold.

In 30 minutes of close combat, Adlesperger killed at least 11 insurgents and protected two squad members who had been wounded, allowing Marines to destroy the site.

His squad had been assigned the dangerous duty of searching dozens of houses in the opening phase of Operation Phantom Fury.

Adlesperger received a meritorious promotion but was killed a month later during another mission to clear a structure of insurgents.

He was 20 and a member of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

The Navy Cross that is to be given to members of Adlesperger’s family in a ceremony next month at Camp Pendleton is the 15th bestowed on a Marine for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said.

Adlesperger, a native of New Mexico, left college to enlist and was on his first tour of duty in Iraq.

Marines who fought beside Adlesperger remembered him as soft-spoken, religious and fiercely loyal to his fellow Marines.

After the Nov. 10 fight, he explained that his goal had been to rescue a wounded Marine.

Even for Marines accustomed to battlefield deaths, Adlesperger’s death on Dec. 9, 2004, was emotionally wrenching.

“He was loved by everybody,” said Gunnery Sgt. Paul Starner, his platoon leader.

Adlesperger’s courage was the subject of a front-page story in The Times on Oct. 3, 2006.

Navy Cross

United States Marine Corps

Lance Cpl. Todd Corbin and the rest of his battalion commander’s personal security detachment had just finished several days of routine patrol and had returned to Hadithah Dam when they got the call.

A platoon from the battalion was taking fire on the east side of the Euphrates River, and they needed Marines to block the insurgents’ retreat. Corbin hopped into his 7-ton truck, while other members of the detachment — which was now a quick-reaction force — piled into three Humvees and two tanks and barreled east toward the action.

By the end of May 7, 2005, four Marines would lose their lives, but Corbin’s role in saving more than half of the QRF would earn him the Navy Cross more than a year later. A Marine driving the third Humvee, then-Cpl. Jeff Schuller, would later receive the Silver Star.

That day, the QRF consisting mostly of leathernecks from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, passed plenty of Iraqis on its way to the west side of the river, but once it passed under the gate into Hadithah, “there was no one out, nothing moving,” Corbin said.

Passing an alley perpendicular to the road, the convoy started turning around. Before the vehicles could all face north, Corbin said, “all hell broke loose.”

A white van tore out of the alley and blew up between two of the Humvees. Then, another explosion “came out of nowhere,” said Corbin, who still isn’t even sure if it was from a roadside bomb or a rocket-propelled grenade. Meanwhile, the enemy pelted the Marines with RPGs, mortars and small-arms fire in a “choke point” surrounded by high ground, Corbin said.

“It was a total nightmare,” said Schuller, now a 26-year-old sergeant.

A Navy corpsman and three QRF Marines — two sergeants and a lance corporal — were killed instantly. Only five of the remaining 15 Marines were unscathed, leaving more than half of the QRF killed or injured, Schuller said.

Corbin, 32, who has since been promoted to corporal, “leapt into the enemy fire, directing Marines to engage and marking targets,” his Navy Cross citation states. He ran to his patrol leader, a seriously injured sergeant, threw him over his shoulder and ran back to the 7-ton, all the while “firing at the enemy with his off-hand,” the citation states.

“He just jumped [out of the 7-ton] and took over,” said Schuller, who added that they were down to uninjured corporals and lance corporals running the QRF at that point. “He immediately started getting the killed and wounded, not thinking of himself.”

When the gunner for Schuller’s Humvee, Lance Cpl. Mark Kalinowski, was hit in the wrist with shrapnel, Schuller jumped up and took the lance corporal’s spot behind the M240G machine gun.

Under intense enemy fire, Schuller gunned down insurgents shooting from the windows, doorways and roof of a nearby hospital, and others shooting from another roof and the alley. He swung his machine gun back and forth between targets for nearly 40 minutes, according to his Silver Star citation, using all of his ammo — short of launching a rocket.

“When the 240 went dry, [Kalinowski] handed me my M16 with a full magazine … as I got the M16 empty, he had a new box of 240 [ammo] waiting for me,” Schuller said.

As that was happening, Corbin raced back and forth through the kill zone, dragging Marines back to the 7-ton. He said he can’t remember how many times he ran across the firing zone.

At one point, Corbin and a wounded Marine were carrying their corpsman to the 7-ton when the enemy opened up with small-arms fire at close range. Corbin leaned over the corpsman to shield him from the action while Schuller pushed back the enemy with his machine gun, the citation says.

Since one gunner had been killed and two were wounded, Corbin said, only one gunner was left, firing a Mark 19 from the 7-ton. When the Mark 19 jammed, the only remaining gunner was Schuller, Corbin said.

“My biggest worry was that we were gonna run out of ammo,” said Schuller, who even fired his 9mm pistol. Schuller was “just short of shooting my AT4 and throwing my Ka-bar” before he dismounted, he said.

He then ran to the 7-ton and helped Corbin load Schuller’s vehicle commander, who had been killed, before he returned through enemy fire to guide Kalinowski to the 7-ton.

Grabbing magazines of ammo from Corbin, Schuller fired his rifle while the rest of the QRF packed into the 7-ton. Any Marine who could fire a weapon had it pointed out of the truck, firing at insurgents, Corbin said. “The 7-ton looked like a porcupine with all these weapons sticking out of it,” he said. It also had three flat tires and a shot-up radiator.

“I don’t even know how this vehicle even ran,” Corbin said.

“The whole platoon rolled out in that 7-ton,” Schuller said. “It’s a testament to Cpl. Corbin’s knowledge of that vehicle that he kept it running.”

Corbin was flipping switches the whole time he drove the five miles back to the battalion aid station, Schuller said.

“Because of [Corbin’s] heroism, no Marine lost his life after the initial attack,” the citation states.

Corbin and Schuller received their medals during a ceremony July 4, 2006 at 3/25’s headquarters in Brook Park, Ohio, an event Schuller said was humbling and a little surreal.

“In hindsight, would I do that again? Hell, I don’t know,” Corbin said. “It’s a situation you want to say yeah, every time, but you don’t know,” he said. “It’s just what you’re trained for … and you do it for your buddies. “I live my life for those who didn’t come home.”

Navy Cross

Citation

For extraordinary heroism in actions against the enemy while serving in a four-man Special Reconnaissance element with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE, Naval Special Warfare Task unit, Afghanistan from 27 to 28 June 2005. Petty Officer Dietz demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger in the vicinity of Asadabad, Konar Province, Afghanistan.

Operating in the middle of an enemy-controlled area, in extremely rugged terrain, his Special Reconnaissance element was tasked with locating a high-level Anti-Coalition Militia leader, in support of a follow-on direct action mission to disrupt enemy activity. On 28 June 2005, the element was spotted by Anti-Coalition Militia sympathizers, who immediately revealed their position to the militia fighters. As a result, the element directly encountered the enemy. Demonstrating exceptional resolve and fully understanding the gravity of the situation and his responsibility to his teammates, Petty Officer Dietz fought valiantly against the numerically superior and positionally advantaged enemy force. Remaining behind in a hailstorm of enemy fire, Petty Officer Dietz was wounded by enemy fire.

Despite his injuries, he bravely fought on, valiantly defending his teammates and himself in a harrowing gunfight, until he was mortally wounded. By his undaunted courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and absolute devotion to his teammates, Petty Officer Dietz will long be remembered for the role he played in the Global War on Terrorism. Petty Officer Dietz’ courageous and selfless heroism, exceptional professional skill, and utmost devotion to duty reflected great credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for the cause of freedom.

This is the same battle for which Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson received his Navy Cross.

8/31/2006

9/22/2006

Navy Cross

Marine Corps Times

His actions on Nov. 11, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, have earned him the Navy Cross, the Navy’s second highest award for valor. The medal was presented to him during a ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., during a recruit graduation ceremony Jan. 19.

McDade, a drill instructor with Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, was a machine-gun squad leader with 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, in Iraq in 2004.

On the night of Nov. 11, as the Marines in the platoon moved south into the city, they entered an alley where they immediately met a barrage of small-arms and machine-gun fire, according to McDade’s citation.

“In the opening seconds of the engagement, three Marines were seriously wounded as the well-positioned and expecting enemy pinned others down,” the citation states.

McDade “rushed from the rear of the platoon column toward the kill zone,” leading a machine-gun team into the alley to spray suppressive fire at insurgents.

The wounded Marines were pinned down under a blanket of gunfire that spewed furiously every time the other Marines tried to reach their injured comrades.

McDade told the platoon sergeant that he would get them.

“He just informed me that if I got hit he wasn’t going to be able to help me right then,” McDade said in an interview. “I wasn’t just going to let them sit out there like sitting ducks. They needed me, and I went.”

McDade, a fast-talking Houston native, described the alleyway as “real hot” as he dashed toward the first of the three injured Marines.

Using his body to cover the wounded leatherneck, McDade told him to pull his gear loose and then pulled the Marine over his shoulder.

“At first, he was on my shoulder, but there were a lot of rounds coming down the alleyway, so I kind of tossed him over,” he said.

McDade went back a second time, instructing the next wounded Marine to remove his gear before hauling him to safety.

The third Marine, a corporal killed in the alley, was also pulled from the kill zone.

WTOC 11

“We encountered an ambush in the alley way in Falujah,” said McDade. “They were pinned down and we were immobile. I talked with my gunner and told him I would go out of there. I went out there with the best of my ability and did what I could do. I got three Marines out of an ambush, one had a severed left leg.”

While his acts are heroic in most of our minds, Sgt McDade says it was just part of his duty.

“No time to think, you have a mission and you need to get it done,” said McDade. “If you think about getting shot, that is more than likely what will happen.”

McDade remains humble about receiving the second highest award in the Marine Corps.

“It was an award for me but it was on behalf of all the Marines,” said McDade. “Like I said, the Marines who have fallen, the new Marines today and the Marines that deserve recognition that have not been recognized yet, so I feel good, but if I could give it back, though, I would for the Marine’s life to come back.”

U.S. Marines prepare to step off on a patrol through the city of Fallujah, Iraq, to clear the city of insurgent activity and weapons caches as part of Operation al Fajr (New Dawn) on Nov. 26, 2004. The Marines are (from left to right) Platoon Sergeant Staff Sgt. Eric Brown, Machine Gun Section Leader Sgt. Aubrey McDade, Radio Operator Cpl. Steven Archibald, and Combat Engineer Lance Cpl. Robert Coburn. All are assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division conducting security and stabilization operations in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan C. Knauth, U.S. Marine Corp.