Posted on 04/23/2004 10:42:55 AM PDT by tjwmason
Medal for soldier who stormed Iraqi gunmen
By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 23/04/2004)
A corporal in the King's Own Scottish Borderers who single-handedly attacked two groups of Iraqi gunmen under heavy machinegun fire has been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, the highest gallantry award after the Victoria Cross.
A second corporal from the same regiment who had made a similar attack on Iraqi gunmen in the same location the previous night is among five soldiers awarded the Military Cross for their bravery under fire in Iraq.
The attacks took place close to Majar al-Kabir where six Royal Military policemen had been killed by an Iraqi mob six weeks earlier.
Cpl Shaun Jardine was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his action after his platoon came under fire outside the al-Uzayr base, south of Amarah, in Iraq's south-eastern Maysan province, on Aug 9 last year.
After ordering his men to take cover, he decided that the best form of defence was attack, single-handedly storming one of the Iraqi positions, despite coming under heavy machinegun fire.
He killed the two Iraqi gunmen, captured their weapons and then turned his attention to a second Iraqi position, forcing the gunmen to stop firing, before calling on his men to join him.
Cpl Jardine then led his platoon against a third group of Iraqi gunmen who, in the face of the British attack, decided to withdraw. The citation praises his "courage and inspirational leadership".
The previous night, Cpl Anthony Currie, also of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, led his men in a frontal assault on Iraqi gunmen firing AK47 rifles and RPG7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
During the assault, another Iraqi gunman appeared suddenly between the British soldiers and the Iraqi positions, threatening the momentum and therefore success of the British attack. Cpl Currie shot the Iraqi dead and then cleared two buildings, wounding two other Iraqis. His men subsequently recovered one RPG7 launcher, two RPG grenades and three rifles as well as 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
The citation praises his "selfless courage and inspirational leadership" during the attack. "He led his men tirelessly, often placing himself in extreme danger to allow his men to better identify targets and engage them," it says.
Also awarded the Military Cross was a Territorial Army soldier on his first operational tour who rescued an officer wounded during a gun battle in Basra in July last year.
Kingsman Michael Davison, a builder from Liverpool serving with the King's and Cheshire Regiment, saw his platoon commander drop wounded to the ground and ran forward under fire to drag him to safety.
"Throughout this incident, Kingsman Davison showed courage and composure under fire," the citation says.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
No disrespect to Ranger Tillman who gave his life for his country, but heroic stories of REGULAR everyday Joes, are NOT told because they don't have "CELEBRITY", this nation's royalty.
I agree with you to a point. But stories like this are more for the people back home than just for the soldiers themselves. And they should be well known to the enemies who must face us. These stories inspire and they should be told. They speak to a part of the human spirit that we don't see celebrated on the evening news, but we should. Maybe our troops don't need these stories to be told as much as those back home need to hear them.
It maybe everyday Joes elevated to extraordinary performance, but that's what is so incredible about the human spirit, hence the inspirational nature of stories like this. Far better to hear about the heroics of soldies like this guy than the cowardice of the homicidal/suicidal bomber.
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