Los Angeles local earns Silver Star in Iraq

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.-- (August10, 2005) -- Cpl Danny S. Santos, a rifleman with the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) and a native of south-central Los Angeles, received a Silver Star Aug. 10 from Lt. Gen. James F. Amos, commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force, for his actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom April 2004.

The Silver Star is the nation’s third-highest award, after the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross, respectively.

“In all my years in the Marine Corps, I have pinned on a lot of medals and decorations, but this is the first Silver Star. I want to make sure everyone understands how significant this is,” he said, “this is extreme heroism.”

Santos was then part of 3d Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. On April 17, 2004 during a battalion attack against militia forces, the lead element of Kilo Company was attacked from several enemy strong points located in two story houses.

Santos’ point man was wounded and exposed to enemy fire. Exposing himself to enemy fire, Santos’ ran to the wounded Marine and dragged him to safety. Santos continued the fight, leading his squad against the positions, destroying one position while exposed to enemy fire.

In the course of the fight, Santos sustained wounds to his shoulder and stomach, but refused medical attention until his men were properly treated.

“Everyone from 3/7 deserves this,” said Santos, who was soft-spoken during the ceremony. “I was only able to do it because of the people who were with me.”

Santos’ company commander at the time, Capt. Trent A. Gibson, spoke on his behalf to let the audience know of his heroism.

Very heavy action that day. The jihadists were desperate to lift some of the pressure from Fallujah and Ramadi and initiated a forceful operation in Husaybah, a smugglers den on the Syrian border. Ron Harris, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was filing reports with these Marines at that time:

5 Marines die in ambush
By Ron Harris, Post-Dispatch, 4/17/2004

HUSAYBAH, Iraq - Lance Cpl. Dustin Myshrall knew things were going to be bad from the moment he responded to the call for help from his fellow Marines.

"There was nobody on Market Street (the city's busiest thoroughfare)," said Myshrall, 22, of Baton Rouge, La. "We were flying through the alleys and there weren't any of the little kids like you normally see. But we didn't know it was going to be this big."

In some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks, five Marines were killed and dozens of Iraqi insurgents slain in a daylong battle that began early Saturday in Husaybah. Marines beat back the offensive by what was reported to be hundreds of Iraqis from another area who had slipped into this city just 300 yards east of the Syrian border.

According to Marine intelligence, nearly 300 Iraqi mujahedeen fighters from Fallujah and Ramadi launched the offensive in an outpost next to Husaybah, first setting off a roadside bomb to lure Marines out of their base and then firing 24 mortars as the Marines responded to the first attack.

At least nine Marines were wounded and more than 20 Iraqi fighters were captured in the 14-hour battle. The Iraqi prisoners were taken to the Marines' main base, Camp Al Qaim, 22 miles east of here, for questioning.

Late Saturday night, Marine Cobra helicopter gunships were still strafing enemy positions around the soccer stadium near downtown Husaybah while medical evacuation helicopters carried wounded Marines back to Camp Al Qaim.

Marines awoke Saturday to the flurry of mortar rounds following the roadside bomb. According to the Marines, the insurgents apparently ignited the bomb as a decoy.

A Marine unit responding to the bomb pulled in front of the former Baath Party headquarters here at around 8:30 a.m. (11:30 p.m. Friday St. Louis time) and were met by rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun fire.

The unit radioed for help, and a second group of Marines trying to reach them were hit by heavy mortar fire as they traveled along their normal route into the city. Once the second group of Marines arrived in the city, they were strafed by small arms and machine gun fire from insurgents hiding in homes along their route.

All of the slain Marines were killed in the first 90 minutes of the battle, when they went to clear a house and were ambushed by Iraqis hiding in the building.

The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Lopez, said he believed he was able to crush the enemy forces by calling in reinforcements from the rest of his 1,000-plus man unit at Camp Al Qaim.

" I don't think they expected us to respond with the kind of force that we did," said Lopez, 40, of Chicago.

Cordoned city

Marines cordoned off the city of about 100,000 residents, halting all traffic in and out except for women and children who were fleeing the fighting.

At one point, many of the insurgents reportedly had gathered in a local mosque, and Marines were preparing to bomb the building. They decided not to attack, however, when they couldn't positively identify the occupants of the mosque.

According to Marine snipers reporting to their commanders by radio, some of the insurgents fired at Marines and then hid behind children.

"We're trying to get the snipers in position for a shot," Major George Schreffler told the other commanders through tactical radio communications. "They're looking at guys in blue uniforms and others with black clothes and black masks. Some are using children to shield themselves. We will not take shots in which we could possibly hit children."

By 2:30 p.m., Marines had begun sweeping through the city and closing down exit routes.

"Tell the Marines 'be careful,' because there are a lot of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on the East End Road," one commander told the other officers over the radio.

By 3 p.m., the entire battalion was either engaged in the fight or preparing to relieve those who were already fighting.

By 4:30 p.m., Marines had called in the first Cobra gunships, which strafed a number of enemy positions and backed ground units that were converging on enemy sites.

By 6 p.m., Marines had the insurgents on the run. Fire from .50-caliber machine guns, 40 mm grenades, M-16s and Marine mortars crackled and exploded through the city.

"Yeah, get some," said Pfc. Patrick Patenge, 19, of Mesa, Ariz.

For many of the Marines, the fight was a chance to finally strike back at an elusive enemy that has been killing and maiming their friends through roadside bombs, land mines and ambush attacks.

"It doesn't feel real"

Sitting in the back of a green ambulance at the soccer field, Lance Cpl. Raul Gonzalez, 18, of Monroeville, Ala., said he was trying to help a fellow Marine who had been shot through the cheek when he was injured in the foot by a rocket-propelled grenade that did not explode.

Lance Cpl. Christopher Nimbus, 19, was wounded in the left shoulder by shrapnel when another rocket-propelled grenade exploded as he and another Marine were making their way into the town from the south.

"The other guy, he was hurt really bad," said Nimbus, who sustained a minor injury. "He had leg wounds and his arms were hit pretty bad."

Lance Cpl. Austin Herbel, 21, escaped injuries when one of his tires was shot out and a bullet came through the window of his Humvee and ricocheted around the interior of the vehicle.

"I'm one of the lucky ones," said Herbel, of Colby, Kan.

Myshrall, who was in one of the first groups to respond to the early assaults, knew all of the men who were killed. Four were his close friends.

"It's tough," said Myshrall, who drove the bodies of his friends to Camp Al Qaim so they could be taken back to the United States.

"It doesn't feel real. It doesn't look real."

Lance Cpl. Francisco Villegas, 28, also knew the men closely. He drove the truck that carried the captured Iraqis who may have killed his friends.

"It hurts," he said. "It hurts. You don't think it could happen to people you know, and especially these guys. They were exceptional. You just never thought it would happen to them. They were everybody's friend."

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