Posted on 09/26/2004 2:13:28 AM PDT by Nepalis
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton Story Identification #: 2004923193850 Story by Lance Cpl. Samuel B. Valliere
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Sept. 23, 2004) -- One Marine carried on a relentless, one-armed fight. Another is credited with spearheading a counterattack that left an estimated 30 insurgents dead.
Their tenacious response to an enemy ambush last spring near Fallujah, Iraq, earned them the Bronze Star Medal, awarded Friday in a ceremony at Camp Margarita.
According to command accounts, Sgt. Eric Kocher and Staff Sgt. Dan Lalota fought valiantly enough to merit the U.S. military's fourth-highest award for combat valor.
Brig. Gen. James C. Williams, I Marine Expeditionary Force's acting commanding general, presented the awards.
"What the Bronze Stars exemplify are Marines who are committed when they are engaged in combat," Williams said. "They have made a commitment to complete their mission, save their fellow Marines and take actions that would defeat the enemy."
The ambush occurred April 7. Lalota and Kocher, along with about 23 additional Marines, set out on a patrol to root out enemy mortar positions.
Kocher was out front, riding in the lead vehicle. An eerie emptiness at a gas station normally bustling with motorists tipped him off to impending danger, he said.
Several cars closed in on the Marines as they drew nearer to the fueling station. That's when Kocher's worst fears were realized.
"We expected to get hit out there, but we didn't expect it to be as bad as it was," said Kocher, 25, from Northampton, Pa.
Two rocket-propelled-grenades struck Kocher's humvee, sending shrapnel tearing through every Marine in the vehicle. Three more RPGs sailed wildly past them. The blasts left the humvee smoldering and nearly inoperable.
"At first I thought, 'if we get hit again, none of us are going to make it,'" Kocher said.
Kocher's Marines didn't think the vehicle would move. All four tires were destroyed and the explosion forced shards of metal into the engine block.
Kocher's arm was mangled. He tightened a tourniquet around it before pouring fire back at enemy positions. His driver jumped into the turret, the machine gun belching bullets at the enemy positions.
Meanwhile, Marines in the other four vehicles launched a counterattack of their own.
Lalota and his crew maneuvered around Kocher's vehicle to bear down on the enemy. They rushed across 100 yards of open terrain, climbing berms and crossing a canal. They silenced numerous enemy machine gun and rocket positions, according to command accounts of the battle.
Tragedy struck, though, as they scaled the final berm
A bullet hit Capt. Brent L. Morel, a team leader, who later died of his wounds.
"He fell right next to me," explained Lalota, 27, from Bay Shore, N.Y.
Two Marines pulled Morel to safety and worked frantically to save his life, Lalota said. Meanwhile, Lalota and his crew killed the remaining terrorists and provided suppressive fire so Morel could be evacuated.
The gun battle left 30 enemy dead and an unknown number wounded. Best estimates say 40 to 60 attackers mounted the ambush.
Kocher is still recovering from his wounds. He's almost back to full duty after nine surgeries.
"I went to physical therapy for a week and it wasn't fast-paced enough for me, so I just started going to the gym," he explained. "I lost about 50 pounds after I got hit, and I have about 10 more pounds to go to get back to where I was."
Lalota, a sergeant at the time of the attack, received a combat meritorious promotion at the ceremony as well as gold jump wings for his participation in combat parachute operations.
Ping !
I thank these brave Marines, Sgt Kocher and Staff Sgt Lalota, for their service..Well Done!
God bless our armed forces and all who wait for them at home.
WOW. We have a few great men in the Marines.
OoooohRaaaaah!
These guys are good but they are no John Kerry. Only kidding of course. I love hearing about these brave young men. The world needs more like them.
Just the Bronze? Sheesh, should have been the Silver, but there CO probably got that instead.
there=their
These are the stories that should be on the news at night for regular Americans to take pride in. These are the true events from ground zero in the war on terrorism. But then these stories would foster more patriotism. It's sad and sick that are news media is so screwed to the left. It's stories like this that should be told over and over...God bless you all.
Far more than John Kerry has done in the past, is doing in the present, or will do in the future. And that SOB has the audacity to tout himself as a "war hero" while ads from his party run which depict demoralized U.S. soldiers surrendering.
God help this country if that communist/terrorist sympathizer gets elected.
Rather than a Bronze or Silver Star, Benedict Kerry should have gotten a hemp rope.
I bear no ill will toward the man apart from wishing him out of power. Indeed, it's my sincere hope that, after this election's loss to GWB, Kerry lives the remainder of his days in mute obscurity punctuated only by the taunts of children who gleefully point and shreik, "There goes the traitor!!" as he walks by.
That would be a fitting punishment for the likes of Kerry.
Marine Bump!
The CO was killed in action in that fight - or didn't you read the story?
LOL! For which we may all thank God!
WHY SQUANDER AMERICAN LIVES ON THIS VERMIN?
LEVEL ONE TOWN AT A TIME UNTIL THE INSURGENTS SURRENDER ARMS RAISED
I was going to say something but you said it for me. God Bless these Marines for what they do for us.
What?!
USMC. MIL refers to these vermin as "terrorists" and not "freedom fighters" or "minutemen".
The editor must have taken the day off because surely someone would have caught an error as blatant as this.
We don't fight because we like to, we fight because there comes a time where one must fight for the freedoms one holds dear. France, Germany, Spain, et al have never known a cause worth fighting for. THAT is their weakness.
Some say we're the most powerful country the world has ever known because of the technology advantages we have over our enemies. I say you could give the terrorists bazookas and arm our men with water-pistols and I'd still put my money on the Good Guys.
Duty . . . Honor . . . Country. Reflected everyday on the Iraqi and Afghanistan battlefields, ignored every day on the political trail. THAT is why Lurch will lose the election and WE WILL WIN THE WAR.
The liberals no longer have a monopoly on the disseminating of news and the American Public at large will not allow the traitors in our midst to stab our warriors in the back again. There will be no more Vietnams.
The MSM'ers still only report the bleakest of news from Iraq . . . but stories about the bravest of us, like this story, somehow manage to be told now. I salute these brave soldiers, just as I salute those organizations who manage to tell us their stories.
He might still do some good yet. If enough dems are disgusted by him and stay home on election day, and if enough centrists and republicans are convinced that they must go to the polls in support of conservative candidates, then we might get a bunch of republicans in office this November.
I'm still hoping for a Howard Dean-like breakdown that unravels the Democratic Party, though. =)
The Silver Star would have been more appropriate. Oh wait, I forgot they were not wounded by flying rice.(disqualified) Kerry would have eliminated the enemy with his " Death Stare." = a Medal Of Honor with band-aide attached.
You've always had a lot of good men in the Corps.
GOD Bless our Military and GOD Bless America.
These fine young Marines definitely deserve medals for their heroism. It is a pity that their medals were degraded by being given to someone for shooting a single wounded teenager trying to flee.
More on the April battle in Fallujah
~*~
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Submitted by: 1st Marine Division. Story Identification Number: 2004421114623. Story by Cpl. Paula M. Fitzgerald. CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq (April 20, 2004)—The reflected sunlight, glaring off the aluminum slates of engraved metal, hung in silent tribute to Marines and sailors killed fighting the enemy in Ar Ramadi. Marines paused, heads bowed, to remember their dead. A memorial service was held at Camp Combat Outpost, Iraq April 11. Marines from 2d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment honored their fallen from the previous two weeks’ fighting. It was a final salute for the 1st Marine Division warriors who call themselves the "Magnificent Bastards." "The most honorable act a warrior can perform is to conduct himself with courage and honor in the face of the enemy," said SgtMaj James E. Booker, battalion sergeant major. According to many of the battalion’s Marines, that’s exactly how their buddies died and that’s how they will be remembered. "Those that do and do not return from that encounter deserve to be memorialized by their brothers that have returned from battle," Booker added. Seven of the 16 fallen men killed were from 3d Platoon, Company E. In fact, one squad alone lost four Marines and one Navy hospital corpsman during an ambush. Twenty-one-year-old Cpl Marcus D. Waechter was the squad’s leader. "We lost our whole squad that day," Waechter explained. "They split the rest of us in the other squads. It’s been a hard adjustment, but we just do it." Navy Petty Officer 3d Class Adam P. Clayton knew many of the Marines who were killed and was close friends with the fallen corpsman. He said most of the battalion is marching forward despite their losses. "The first few days after the fighting," Clayton remembered, "you could see the hurt and pain in the guys’ eyes, but now they know there is no more time for being upset. It’s time to go on with the mission." Booker said the Marines are hitting the streets even harder than before. "The ultimate way a Marine deals with losing their buddies is to take the life of as many of the enemy as they can," he explained. "Then Marines feel that they have not let their brothers’ lives go in vain and they can hold their heads high if they reap a hell of a payback on the bad guys." Clayton, who’s no stranger to combat, agreed with the sergeant major. "I don’t think we can kill enough of the enemy to make up for what we lost," he said. "But we’re sure as hell going to try." * * * |
 Sixteen ID tags
Sixteen sets of identification tags dangle from an inverted rifle honoring Marines and sailors killed in fighting in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Marines with 2d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment held a memorial service April 11 at Camp Combat Outpost. (Photo ID: 2004421115449. Photo courtesy David Swanson, Knight Ridder.)
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Marine Heros ~ Bump!
bmp
No you are kidding, but my first reaction is that Kerry doesn't even rate scrubbing the floor for these men. And that is based on what he did when he came back, and has continued to do since.
One Marine carried on a relentless, one-armed fight.
If that were kerry, he would have written himself up for the MOH! and kennedy would have given him that one also to go along the the silver star with "combat V"!
The Marines have no award inflation!
Semper Fidelis!
as well as gold jump wings for his participation in combat parachute operations.
Hmmmm, be interesting to hear more about that.
Semper Fi MARINES!
Oooohrah!
*we have a few great men in the Marines*
I disagree! We have a Corps full fo great men and women in the Marines.! :) These two are examples of what they will do when called upon..samples of what our Marines are all about! I am proud to be a retired officer of Marines!
Semper FI!
So when they ambushed the counter, what did they do with it?
* Just the Bronze Star*
It is possible they were recommended for the Silver Star and the board downgraded it to the Bronze Star and is sounds there is a Combat V on it and that is a very big deal.
The Combat V indicates Valor.
And then FORGED someone's signature on it. Pretty easy if they've got an autopen...
That is a powerful photo...
That is for sure..the Marines have no medal inflation.
Not to offend our sister services but some get a Bronze star just for being uncomfortable..no combat V o cours. I think that is why Marines get so hot about medals awarded for efforts which do not compare to the efforst expressed in this article..a one armed gun fight is something big. It reminds me of Mitch Paige who, when all were wounded or dead carried on a one man gunfight on Guadalcanal..he fired his weapon until his hands were burned and kept on until it was over. If you ever come upon a book, which is out of print now, Called A MARINE NAMED MITCH get it! It iw Mitch's autobiography and it is a powerful read.
Marine Corps, Bump
What a difference between an officer and an enlisted man.
Kerry got his Bronze Star for pulling a fat guy out of the river who couldn't hold on in the first place.
The first rule of boating is, "don't fall off the boat."
Bump!
That is a great poster
Gotta love it. These guys are great.
"as well as gold jump wings for his participation in combat parachute operations"
Recon has been participating in night time HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumps and other operations in Iraq.
The Navy Gold Jump Wings are awarded to Navy/Marines after their 10th qualified jump.
All begin with the Army's Silver Wings since everyone begins at Ft Benning (used ot be there anyway) Jump School.
Side note: The "Iron Mike", awarded to the #1 student for each class at jump school, was won by MARINES so often that the Army had to restrict how many times the Marines could win it so an Army soldier could get it once in a while!
TRUE STORY! ;>)
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