http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gutsandglory/ en-us Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:35:17 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1470566/posts [...] About fifteen seconds later our ramp dropped. We ran into combat. Folks who haven't done much urban fighting might take issue with the wild chases, and they might say that people should always "stack up" and do things this or that way, but men in Delta Force, SEALs and the like, all know that when chasing wild men into the labyrinth, soldiers enter the land of confusion. If soldiers don't go fast, the bad guys simply get away. Just a few minutes ago, these three guys were going "105 miles per hour," and outrunning a helicopter. There were shops,... Michael Yon: Online Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1470566/posts#comment Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:35:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1443820/posts Media Release 256th Brigade Combat Team Camp Tigerland Baghdad, Iraq APO, AE 09326 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 5, 2005 RELEASE 20050705-01 256th BCT Soldier survives sniper attack Spc. Chris Foster 256th Brigade Combat Team PAO BAGHDAD -- Being able to react to and maintain control of a situation in a combat environment can be a difficult task for Soldiers. They must be able to quickly react and assess a situation, in order to ensure their survival and the safety of those around them. “Stay alert, stay alive” is the reminder that is driven into the minds of Soldiers since the... 256th Brigade Combat Team http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1443820/posts#comment Fri, 15 Jul 2005 21:02:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1423214/posts Bronze Star Recipient Led Stunning Victory Strategic battle in Iraq was won with no deaths of U.S. troops June 14, 2005 By Terry Boyd Stars and Stripes European edition BAUMHOLDER, Germany — It was a hell of a show, and Lt. Col. T.C. Williams had a front-row seat. From his Bradley fighting vehicle, Williams had the perfect view as he directed the battle of Kut during which 1st Armored Division Task Force soldiers fought to retake Kut, south of Baghdad, from Mahdi Army militia. “I could see who was shooting whom. Streams of colors coming across the river — both... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1423214/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jun 2005 13:20:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1390916/posts I got the following in an email today and thought that I'd pass it on.This will make you proud! Those of you who might not know, the man on the left is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and he is proud to know the man on the right. Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored  the uniform he wears. Meet Brian Chontosh. Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant (now Captain) in the United States Marine Corps. And a genuine hero.... Email http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1390916/posts#comment Mon, 25 Apr 2005 23:25:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1388952/posts CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - When his platoon was ambushed in an attack by insurgents in Iraq last year, Marine Sgt. Willie L. Copeland III took charge. He led five Marines out of the heaviest fire, found cover and killed 10 of the enemy in close combat. When his commanding officer fell wounded, Copeland used his body to shield the officer as he administered first aid. For his leadership and dedication to duty, the 26-year-old from Utah on Thursday received the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest honor. Seven Marines have received the Navy Cross for Operation Iraqi Freedom through Jan. 10,... Salt Lake Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1388952/posts#comment Fri, 22 Apr 2005 13:21:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386412/posts As the convoy approached Mosul, an Iraqi man looked toward Tech. Sgt. Bob Busse and slid his hand across his throat. A short while later, the assemblage of about 70 gun trucks, armored Stryker vehicles, tractor trailers and heavy equipment transporters entered a section of Mosul that only a few days prior was the scene of a bustling outdoor market. On this day, however, “it was eerily quiet,” said Tech. Sgt. Robert Weis, who viewed the abandoned setting from the driver's seat of a 5-ton Air Force gun truck. “We looked at each other and said, ‘this is not good.'”... ©2005 Military Advantage http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386412/posts#comment Tue, 19 Apr 2005 06:34:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1376880/posts It was all over by 5:30 a.m. April 3, 2003. Lt. Col. Ernest P. "Rock" Marcone's Task Force 3-69th Armor had defeated three Iraqi brigades and captured the key bridge over the Euphrates 20 miles south of Baghdad known as Objective Peach. At the tip of the 3rd Infantry Division's spear pointing towards victory, they had what its leader called "the best armor mission in the world — lead the attack, blow a big hole in the enemy's defenses, get the rest of the division and V Corps in position to finish off Baghdad." Seizing that objective, the Al Kaed... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1376880/posts#comment Mon, 4 Apr 2005 05:33:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1370142/posts The Kentucky National Guardsmen were outnumbered and under heavy gunfire when they counterattacked Iraqi insurgents who ambushed a coalition convoy southeast of Baghdad. A 30-minute firefight ensued on a Sunday morning, pitting 10 guardsmen against dozens of insurgents. When the shooting ended, 26 guerrillas lay dead and another was mortally wounded, while six others were wounded and another was captured unharmed. The guardsmen didn't go unscathed. Three members of the military police unit were wounded and later transported for medical treatment in Germany, where they are recovering. "It was crazy," recalled Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester. "Adrenaline pumping, you didn't have... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1370142/posts#comment Fri, 25 Mar 2005 00:30:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1365268/posts Soldier wins VC for Iraq bravery A British soldier serving in Iraq who saved 30 members of his unit from an ambush has been awarded the first Victoria Cross for more than 20 years. Pte Johnson Beharry, 25, was struck by enemy fire as he guided a convoy of Warrior fighting vehicles through the town of Al Amarah last May. A month later he saved more lives in an attack which left him in a coma. He was one of 140 soldiers honoured for tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia and Africa. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said: "These honours... BBC News Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1365268/posts#comment Fri, 18 Mar 2005 08:19:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360595/posts FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Two Green Berets who carried wounded comrades out of danger as gunfire continued around them during separate incidents in Iraq were awarded Silver Star medals Thursday. The Silver Stars - the Army's third highest award for actions in combat - were pinned on Master Sgt. David Miles, 37, of Powellton, W.Va., and Master Sgt. Kelly Mahon, 40, of Virgil, Kan., during a ceremony at Fort Campbell. Miles killed or directed the killing of up to 20 Saddam loyalists on April 7, 2003, at a bridge overpass south of Baghdad where they had set up fighting positions... Kansas City.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360595/posts#comment Fri, 11 Mar 2005 07:37:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360349/posts It was in the third week of the Iraq war, as U.S. troops barreled toward Baghdad, that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith's band of combat engineers found themselves on the wrong end of 10-to-1 odds. In a walled courtyard not far from Baghdad's airport, Smith and his 15 lightly armed soldiers were trying to hold off 100 Special Republican Guard fighters wielding rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and AK-47 assault rifles. When wounds downed the U.S. crew of the armored vehicle bearing the Americans' sole heavy machine gun, Smith scrambled into the breach. In the gunner's hatch of that personnel carrier, with... Scripps-Howard News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1360349/posts#comment Thu, 10 Mar 2005 22:47:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1351859/posts Iowa Marine may be candidate for Medal of Honor Associated Press Saturday, February 26, 2005, 2:59:02 PM DES MOINES -- An Iowa Marine is receiving widespread praise for his bravery after leading a daring rescue mission in Iraq last fall. Sgt. Brad Kasal, of Afton, said he learned three fellow Marines were wounded inside an enemy-controlled house during house-to-house battles with insurgents in Fallujah on Nov. 13. "The insurgents would kill them, or worse -- torture them and then kill them, so time was essential," Kasal said. "So I gathered up a bunch of young Marines and tried to enter... Gazette online dot com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1351859/posts#comment Sun, 27 Feb 2005 01:53:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1342087/posts A Sanford man was honored Friday with the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping rescue a downed fighter pilot behind enemy lines more than 50 years ago. Elmer Davis receives the Distinguished Flying Cross from Air Force Gen. John W. Handy, left, Friday at Pope Air Force Base. Davis put his life on the line to help rescue a pilot in 1952. (Staff photo by Marc Hall ) Elmer Davis was a 19-year-old Air Force medic when he volunteered to join helicopter pilot Owen Clark on a rescue mission near Chongdan, North Korea, on Nov. 13, 1952. Davis, now 71, never... The Fayetteville (NC) Observer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1342087/posts#comment Sun, 13 Feb 2005 03:29:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328473/posts Military officials on Sunday decorated a Marine reserve sergeant who braved a hail of bullets during a street battle in Baghdad and helped four Marines and a civilian to safety. Sgt. Scott C. Montoya, 35, a reservist and scout-sniper with 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, received the Marine Corps' second-highest award for valor, the Navy Cross, from Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy, who commands Marine Forces Reserve, during a short ceremony in the courtyard at the Marine Corps Reserve Center, Encino, California. The Orange County sheriff's deputy received the award in front of 200 friends, family members and several officials, including... Los Angeles Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328473/posts#comment Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:55:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1303073/posts MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Dec. 16, 2004 -- In a mountain range in the barren, poverty-stricken country of Afghanistan, automatic-weapons fire and grenade explosions fill the air with soot and rock debris. The high altitude and polluted air choke the Marines and local military forces as enemy tracer rounds whiz past, forcing them to hunker behind whatever cover they may find. Amid all the chaos and destruction, one man returns fire, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Maintaining his composure and exhibiting poise under fire, he shouts out orders, directing his men to continue firing. After almost 45 minutes... Defense Link http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1303073/posts#comment Fri, 17 Dec 2004 00:51:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1300729/posts MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Dec. 9, 2004) -- He had nothing but a 9 mm pistol in one hand and a wounded Marine in the other as he struggled his way to the evacuation vehicle against assault weapon fire aimed at him. Ideally, a Navy corpsman or "doc" whisking a casualty out harms way will have plenty of cover fire. But Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason R. Duty - aptly named for such a precarious mission and recently awarded for his exploits with a Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device - had little such support on his... Marines.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1300729/posts#comment Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:06:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1233857/posts BAGHDAD -- Two U.S. Army sergeants were awarded one of the highest medals for heroism following fierce fighting against insurgents in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, the U.S. command said Saturday. Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Swope and Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger received Silver Star medals for "exceptional valor in combat during Operation Lancer Fury" in April in the Shiite slum. Both men are with the 1st Cavalry Division and were awarded their medals at a ceremony on Thursday. Swope, a platoon sergeant from Richmond, Va., hastily organized a defense as rebels ambushed his unit on April 4. Despite orders... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1233857/posts#comment Sun, 3 Oct 2004 03:58:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1227361/posts Two Marines awarded Bronze Star for counter-ambush 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.... usmc.mil http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1227361/posts#comment Sun, 26 Sep 2004 09:13:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219798/posts Courage amid chaos: How one Iraq battle unfolded The information in this story is largely based on an after-action report filed by 1st Lt. Lamar Breshears. Such reports are filed after military operations. This story also includes information from letters written to Sgt. Yadir Reynoso's family by Marines in his platoon. Interviews with Breshears' father, Larry, and John Pike, a military analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, offered additional background information. By Hal Bernton Seattle Times staff reporter LUCIAN M. READ / WORLDPICTURENEWS Marine Sgt. Yadir Reynoso, crouching, far right, and members of his platoon tend to the wounded during the Aug. 5... Seattle Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219798/posts#comment Sat, 18 Sep 2004 14:44:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219868/posts NORFOLK — Outnumbered, low on ammo, perched on a rooftop for hours in a battle against Iraqi insurgents, Lonnie Young figured his number was up. It was April 4, 2004, and the war had entered its deadliest month for Americans. Days earlier, four contractors passing through Fallujah had been ambushed, killed, and strung from a bridge. At least half a dozen other men from their firm – Blackwater USA , based in Moyock – handled security at the Coalition Provisional Authority’s base in Najaf, where Young, a 25-year-old Norfolk-based Marine Corps corporal, was working that day. After installing an antenna... http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=69719&ran=243515 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219868/posts#comment Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:43:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1208376/posts This is part 2 of the story of Tom Creek, a true hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in Viet Nam; part 1 is at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1207928/posts Editor's Note: Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas Creek put his boots on the ground in Vietnam on the Fourth of July, 1968. Less than seven months later, the flag being waved and burned across the United States draped his coffin. The U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee has approved a measure to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Amarillo in tribute to Creek, whose heroic actions in battle earned him the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1208376/posts#comment Mon, 6 Sep 2004 10:58:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1206679/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An 18-year-old private earned the first Silver Star medal awarded to a soldier from the 1st Cavalry Division serving in Iraq, after he helped fight off a deadly guerrilla ambush in May that killed two of his companions and wounded five AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1206679/posts#comment Fri, 3 Sep 2004 18:02:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1200410/posts Lance Corporal Randall K. McGlone was an Artillery Scout Observer with Company L, Third Battalion, First Marines, Ninth Marine Amphibious Brigade. In 1968 his unit was deployed along the Cua Viet River, a key supply route which linked the South China Sea with Dong Ha. From the air base at Dong Ha, supplies were shipped to Khe Sanh. The following account is from McGlone’s 1992 autobiographical book, Guts and Glory, and describes an incident which took place when Lima Company were defending positions around the village of Mai Xai Ti, from almost continuous attack by North Vietnamese Army regulars. ---------------------------------------------------------... 'Guts and Glory', pages 134-137 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1200410/posts#comment Thu, 26 Aug 2004 22:37:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1143756/posts Moore leapt from his tank and sprinted down the alley to the men. "They had expended all their ammo," Moore said. "These guys fought like tigers. The platoon leader was wounded in the head and left leg, and he was still commanding. When I got down there they had guys who were crying. I don't know if they were tears of joy. They fought like wonderful men." Moore and his men had to fight to get the unit out. The dead patrol soldier was laid gently on a tank turret along with the wounded. "While everyone else was fighting, time... Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1143756/posts#comment Fri, 28 May 2004 12:28:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1139679/posts WITH BAYONETS ATTACHED, THEY FINISHED OFF THE ENEMY WHO HAD NOT RUN AWAY.. May 21 2004 SCOTS TELL OF CHARGE By Keith Mcleod And Michael Christie SCOTS soldiers last night told how they launched a bayonet charge on Iraqi militiamen after hours of battle. An Army insider last night gave the Record an insight into the bravery of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. They were forced to use 'cold steel' as supplies of ammunition ran low. Many of the militiamen turned and fled but the close-quarters fighting left around 20 rebels dead. Thirty-five of Shia Moslem cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's followers... Glasgow Daily Record http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1139679/posts#comment Fri, 21 May 2004 11:18:58 GMT