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| Soldiers of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division had the opportunity to meet two Medal of Honor recipients. |
| By Pfc. Jason Jordan 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division |
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| CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Nov. 7, 2005 — “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” These words prelude the citation that is read for Medal of Honor recipients. Soldiers of 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 10th Mountain Division had the opportunity Oct. 30 to meet two of the men who have heard those words read in their honor. Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Gary Littrell and retired Marine 2nd Lt. John McGinty III visited Operation Iraqi Freedom 3 soldiers to talk about the Medal of Honor and boost the soldiers’ morale. “We were asked last year if we could send some representatives from our society to Afghanistan and Iraq to meet with soldiers,” said Littrell, president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. “The response and enthusiasm of the soldiers were so overwhelming that we were asked again to come back this year.” The two met with soldiers from each battalion of the 1st BCT, and attended a luncheon with them at the Blizzard Inn dining facility.
The soldiers listened to accounts of each Medal of Honor recipient’s combat action and later had the chance to ask questions. “These guys were closer to action and danger than most of us will ever be,” said Spc. Michael Simpson, B Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment. “They stayed brave and risked their lives to save others in the kind of situations you only see in the movies.” |
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“We got caught in a bad situation that day,” Littrell said. “I didn’t feel like a hero. I just felt like I had a job to do. I think I was only a sergeant doing his job on that hill. That’s all.” In one particular assault, two squads became separated from the rest of the platoon. McGinty charged through intense enemy fire to reach the squads, where he found 20 men wounded and the medical corpsman dead. McGinty reloaded ammunition for the wounded, and directed their fire at the enemy. McGinty killed five of the enemy at point-blank range when they attacked again, and then directed artillery fire to within 50 yards of his position – which helped route the enemy. When asked if he knew that he was committing heroic acts that day, McGinty replied, “I never considered myself a hero, and I don’t to this day. I acted upon instinct and training that day. Ten of my fellow Marines died that day. I don’t wear this star for me, I wear it for them.” The visit made a distinct impression on the Iraq-based troops. “You see people like these men, and talk to them — men who have displayed courage during life-and-death situations — and it motivates you,” said Spc. Daniel Nieto, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry. “These men have seen war as ugly as it gets, but they are still happy to be here – motivating us and encouraging us to drive on. It makes you feel differently about being here.” |
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