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[...] 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,...

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...

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...

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....

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,...

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.'”...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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

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. ---------------------------------------------------------...

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...

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...

From the same New York Army National Guard unit that picked up escaped hostage Thomas Hamill comes word of a young soldier who killed 20 or more Iraqi insurgents when his patrol was ambushed on Easter Sunday. Spec. Timmy Haag of South Glens Falls, N.Y., made his remarkable display of courage and cool under fire as C Company, 2nd Battalion of the 108th Light Infantry was conducting a sweep of southern Samarra in open 5-ton trucks. The vehicles are so slow and high-riding that it borders on the criminal to transport soldiers on them into a known hot spot bristling...

Rochester, N.Y. Marine, receives Navy CrossSubmitted by: MCB Camp PendletonStory Identification Number: 200456162723Story by Cpl. Jeremy Vought MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(May 6, 2004) -- Marine Capt. Brian R. Chontosh received the Navy Cross Medal from the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, during an awards ceremony Thursday at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Training Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. Three other Marines received medals for valor at the same ceremony. Chontosh, 29, from Rochester, N.Y. , received the naval service's second highest award for extraordinary heroism while serving as Combined Anti-Armor Platoon Commander,...

NAJAF, Iraq - One of his friends was dead, 12 others lay wounded and the four soldiers still left standing were surrounded and out of ammunition. So Salvadoran Cpl. Samuel Toloza said a prayer, whipped out his switchblade knife and charged the Iraqi gunmen. In one of the only known instances of hand-to-hand combat in the Iraq (news - web sites) conflict, Toloza stabbed several attackers who were swarming around a comrade. The stunned assailants backed away momentarily, just as a relief column came to their rescue. "We never considered surrender. I was trained to fight until the end," said...

Valor under fireMadison soldier recommended for Bronze Star in Iraq actionBy Jim WarrenHERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITERMaybe she asked herself, "What in the world is a girl from Madison County doing in a spot like this?"Certainly, it would have been understandable if Army Spec. Theresa Lynn Flannery had wondered that, what with Iraqi sniper bullets buzzing over her head like angry bees and three of her fellow soldiers lying seriously wounded.But if the question did cross her mind, it never caused her to hesitate.The 26-year-old Flannery -- a former Miss Teen Madison County and "a 5-foot-3 fireball," according to her mother...

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Spc. Jonathan Roy Kephart laid down his life so that others could live. Kephart, 21, of the Kaiserslautern-based 230th Military Police Company, was a gunner in a three-vehicle patrol in north Baghdad when the squad ran into a hellish hail of weapons fire. The unit had been in Baghdad less than a month and was on its way to help soldiers whose Humvee had a flat tire. Suddenly, what seemed like hundreds of enemies besieged the squad with rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms fire and roadside-bomb traps. “They went into a firestorm no one could have anticipated,” Col. Susan...

THE 15 Marines were trapped in a house, surrounded by hundreds of Iraqis armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, their armoured vehicle in flames on the street outside. Each man was down to his last two magazines. “It was in my head, we just got to go. Whoever makes it back, makes it back, those who fall, fall,” said Staff Sergeant Ismail Sagredo, sitting in the relative safety of Bravo Company’s forward base yesterday, as mortars and machinegun fire sounded a few streets away. “That was the decision I’d have had to make, and I’m glad I didn’t have...

THE 15 Marines were trapped in a house, surrounded by hundreds of Iraqis armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, their armoured vehicle in flames on the street outside. Each man was down to his last two magazines. “It was in my head, we just got to go. Whoever makes it back, makes it back, those who fall, fall,” said Staff Sergeant Ismail Sagredo, sitting in the relative safety of Bravo Company’s forward base yesterday, as mortars and machinegun fire sounded a few streets away. “That was the decision I’d have had to make, and I’m glad I didn’t have...

Angels Watching Over Us: A Military Chaplain's Account of Miracles in Iraq April 8, 2004 CBN.com – As coalition forces charged into enemy territory on their mission to liberate Iraq a year ago, a different liberation was taking place in the hearts of many of the soldiers. Lieutenant Carey Cash, chaplain to the First Battalion, 5th Marine regiment, part of the first ground force to enter Iraq, says there is no doubt that God was with them. In his new book, "A Table in the Presence," Cash gives his first-hand account of how God was not only moving in the...

A Table In The Presence: The Dramatic Account of How a U.S. Marine Battalion Experienced God's Presence Amidst the Chaos of the War in IraqClicking on the link will take you to the interview Pat Robertson has with Lt. Carey H Cash. The interview starts at 17:18 of stream feed. Lt. Cash recounts how the angels protected this Marine Battalion. I found the interview quite amazing. Clicking on the link will take you to the interview Pat Robertson has with Lt. Cash. The interview starts at 17:18 on stream feed. On April 10th, 2003, the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment,...

Marine awarded Bronze StarSubmitted by: MCRD Parris IslandStory Identification Number: 2004359350Story by Lance Cpl. Brian Kester MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C.(March 5, 2004) -- The recruits of Platoon 1033 have a hero in their midst, a man who has achieved what some can only dream of achieving -- a Bronze Star for actions on the battlefield. The heroic efforts displayed by this Marine in battle are a direct result of a humble man who was only "out there doing the job." Sergeant Edward R. Ferguson, drill instructor with Platoon 1033, Alpha Company, 1st RTBn., was presented with the Bronze Star for...

<p>At 2 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2001, two blacked-out Chinook helicopters carrying Master Sgt. John Bolduc and nine other Green Berets dropped from a star-packed sky into northeastern Afghanistan. The men carried six months of supplies and simple orders: Link up with the Northern Alliance and deliver the vengeance of America.</p>

The top family readiness programs in the reserve component for 2003 were honored today during the Defense Department's fourth annual awards ceremony in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes. Master of ceremonies Marine Lt. Col. Ian Ferguson, of DoD's reserve affairs office, emphasized that family readiness is a key component of mission readiness. "Robust family readiness programs have greatly enhanced the deployablity of the Guard and Reserve," he noted. "One need only look at the last few years to recognize the critical role the reserve components play in supporting our nation. Improved family readiness programs and command emphasis have enabled Guard...

A Tribute To A Marine Corps LeatherneckWho Stood In The Breach For America In IraqByLisa Fabrizio     Toogood Reports [Wednesday, December 10, 2003; 12:01 a.m. EST]URL: http://ToogoodReports.com/ I received some interesting email last week regarding my report on President Bush's Thanksgiving trip to Iraq. Mostly I heard from folks who were thrilled with W's visit, including Marci Warpness, who signed herself, 'A Proud Mother of a Marine': I thought it was wonderful, speaking as a mother of a Marine who was over there and will have to go back. It is just what the men and women of...

US sentry saves troops by killing suicide bomber By Jack Fairweather (Filed: 10/12/2003) Sixty soldiers were hurt in Iraq attacks yesterday. One man halted a bloodbath, reports Jack Fairweather in Talaafar Hundreds of American soldiers owe their lives to the prompt action of a 23-year-old sentry. In the faint pre-dawn light Specialist James Ross saw a car, its headlights on, accelerate towards his guard tower at the entrance of the Talaafar military base, near Mosul. The vehicle had already cleared the first line of defence, barrelling over a coil of barbed wire 80 yards away and was heading straight down...

(CNN) -- U.S. forces responded Sunday to simultaneous ambushes on convoys in northern Iraq with heavy firepower, killing at least 46 attackers, according to military officials. No Americans were killed in the gunfights, which took place in Samarra, about 75 miles north of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Bruce Jones described the intense battle Monday from Samarra to CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien. JONES: My mission and my platoon's mission was to actually escort the Iraqi currency exchange into two different banks in Samarra. ... We escorted them in. As soon as we got to that location, we started receiving direct fire via...

Edgerton woman's son earns Bronze Star for heroism in Iraq (Published Saturday, November 29, 2003 11:53:49 PM CST) By Brian E. Clark/Gazette Staff Staff Sgt. Jason Van Kleeck, son of Pam Wahl of rural Edgerton, has earned the Bronze Star for Valor for combat heroism in Iraq. Van Kleeck, 25, attended kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School in Janesville before moving to Indiana. Van Kleeck was decorated on Nov. 2 in Karbala. A military policeman with the 101st Airborne Division based in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, he has been in Iraq since February. "He's supposed to return to the United States...

  Special Forces Officer Honored for Heroism in Mazar-e-Sharif Prison Battle   By Jennifer K. Whittle & Army Reserve 1st Lt. Steve AlvarezSpecial to American Forces Press Service MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Nov. 14, 2003 — The first Distinguished Service Cross awarded since the Vietnam War, and the highest military decoration awarded to date in the war on terror, was presented today to Army Special Forces Maj. Mark Mitchell.Mitchell earned the medal for his leadership during the Battle of Qala-I-Jangi Fortress during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was the ground force commander of a rescue operation where he ensured the...

In the line of duty, a hero emerges Ambush at Afghan fortress leads Brookfield man into action and, Friday, to a distinguished honor Tampa, Fla. - Maj. Mark Mitchell had come a long way from the young boy who grew up in the shadow of Milwaukee's County Stadium, watching the Brewers, rising at 4:30 a.m. to deliver the Sentinel, dreaming that one day he'd be a soldier. Now he was. And not just any soldier. A Special Forces officer, schooled in Arabic and trained to make decisions in tense, fast-changing situations when lives are on the line. On the morning...

<p>Sgt. Sid Pollick was in France in the summer of 1944. Every Veterans Day, his son calls him to say thanks.</p> <p>The farmhouse near the German border was abandoned, and the two American soldiers thought it would make a good observation point. The Germans figured the same thing, and they didn't much care to be observed, so they started lobbing shells.</p>

  New Web site tells `Soldier Stories' WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 4, 2003) -- Acts of heroism, community service and deeds that exemplify Army values can be found on the Army Homepage's newest feature, "Soldier Stories." Soldiers who dodge bullets to pull their comrades to safety, and those who are working to improve the condition of run-down Iraqi facilities, schools and hospitals are among those spotlighted at www.army.mil. Sgt. Timothy Hicks, an artillery cannon crewmember, knew that the small-arms fire aimed at him was getting closer, but he remained focused. His goal was to get to two wounded...

A Profile in Valor from Operation Iraqi Freedom Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.comWednesday, Oct. 8, 2003Washington, D.C. -- One of the highlights of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting at the New Washington Convention Center (Oct. 6-8) was the cadre of young decorated heroes fresh back from the fighting in Iraq who were invited to participate in this year’s events. When NewsMax caught up with a couple of them, however, it wasn’t their own war stories that flowed, but the tale of valor of one of their own -- Sergeant First Class Paul Smith, age 33, Bravo Company, 11th Engineer...

The Javelin Missile FORT BRAGG, N.C., Sept. 16 — The low-slung ridgeline overlooking a strategic crossroads in northern Iraq offered scant protection for the small band of Green Berets, vastly outnumbered and under attack from four T-55 tanks, six armored personnel carriers and hundreds of infantrymen with artillery on call. "We all made a mental promise," Staff Sgt. Jeffrey M. Adamec recalled of that battle on Day 18 of the war. "Nobody had to yell out commands. Everybody just knew. We were not going to move back from that point. We were not going to give up that ground. We...

Staff Sgt. Don Chandler cupped two medals in his stocky hand -- a Bronze Star with a small V attached for valor, and a heavy Purple Heart with embossed with the image of George Washington. "I brought them home so my dad could see them," Chandler said Tuesday as he sat in an easy chair at his parents home in tiny Silver Grove in Northern Kentucky. The medals say he is a war hero who was wounded in action in Iraq. But Chandler says he was just a soldier, doing what he was trained to do. "I got the recognition...

TIKRIT, Iraq, (Agencies): Your average American soldier in post-war Iraq may want better food, more rest time and above all to go home, but the infantrymen out on night patrol in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit have only one wish - to get shot at. The soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment swear they have divine protection and say the easiest place to be attacked is in what they call ‘RPG alley.’ The mile-long main street’s two-storey homes, cafes and furniture shops are daubed with ‘Saddam is our leader’ graffiti and the road is holed by grenades. But the...

<p>QALAT, Afghanistan &#8212; Afghan and U.S. troops overran three suspected Taliban positions and pinned down fighters in a cave yesterday as fighting raged in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military and an Afghan commander said.</p> <p>American bombing echoed through the mountains as the troops tried to root out hundreds of Taliban holdouts who have offered fierce resistance for the past week.</p>