Posted on 05/05/2006 4:01:18 PM PDT by SandRat
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (May 4, 2006) -- Sgt. Maj. Bradley A. Kasal feels he did what any good Marine would’ve done.
That includes taking enemy rifle fire on Nov. 14, 2004, absorbing a grenade blast and refusing medical attention inside Fallujah’s “House of Hell” during Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn).
For his extraordinary heroism and leadership in Fallujah, Iraq, as the Weapons Company first sergeant for 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Kasal was awarded the Navy Cross during a ceremony here Monday.
“The word hero is tossed around pretty loosely these days,” said Maj. Gen. Michael R. Lehnert, Commanding General of Marine Corps Installations West, after awarding Kasal with the Naval service’s second-highest decoration, in front of an audience that included the 1st Marine Division’s past and present commanding generals, Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis and Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, respectively.
”Some may call a basketball player a hero for scoring the winning goal or a celebrity for donating a small portion of their earnings to a good cause, but Kasal is a true American hero.”
When then-1st Sgt. Kasal assisted one of his platoons with an over watch inside Fallujah that day, intense gunfire broke out in an Iraqi home to his immediate front.
Seconds later, Marines were rapidly exiting the building, known as the “House of Hell.” “That house was a death trap,” said Maj. Gen. Lehnert.
“It was set up for one purpose: to kill United States Marines.” Kasal could have easily stayed out of the house.”
When he found out that there were Marines still pinned down inside the infamous house, nothing the insurgents could put on the table would stop him from rescuing his Marines.
“Going in for them was the right thing to do,” said Kasal, 39, who hails from Afton, Iowa. “They’re Marines, and I’m a Marine. We look out for each other.”
Upon entry of the house, Kasal found himself face-to-face with an insurgent who he neutralized at extreme close range. Shortly afterwards, AK-47 gunfire was coming from all directions, and Kasal was hit from behind.
“While I was in that house, I made three life or death decisions,” Kasal said. “I never thought I would live through any of them, but I did what I did to help the other Marines.”
The first decision Kasal made was to expose himself to enemy fire in order to pull another wounded Marine out of the line of fire. Kasal took more enemy fire doing this.
While both Marines were under cover, they assessed their wounds. Both had multiple injuries, but there were only enough bandages for one of them to live.
Kasal made his second decision to forfeit his medical supplies to the other Marine.
“It made more sense to use all of the bandages on one of us then to split the supplies and have us both bleed to death,” Kasal said.
The insurgents deployed a hand grenade to get the Marines out of cover, and it landed within a few feet of the two bleeding Marines.
Kasal then decided to use his own severely wounded body to protect the Marine from shrapnel.
By the time he was carried out of the house by Lance Cpl. Chris Marquez and Lance Cpl. Dan Shaffer as Lucian M. Reed, an Associated Press photographer snapped the iconic photo displayed at Marine Corps installations all over the globe, Kasal had lost approximately 60 percent of his blood from more than 40 shrapnel wounds and seven 7.62 mm AK-47 gunshots.
One day prior to being awarded the Navy Cross Kasal’s father passed away.
However, a live video teleconference feed to Kasal’s hometown provided his mother, family members and friends an opportunity to watch him receive the Navy Cross, be promoted to the rank of sergeant major and reenlist for three years.
“It’s been a very emotional week,” Kasal said. “I am blessed to recover from my injuries, which the doctors thought would never happen, and regain my place in the Marine Corps. I would take the pain of surgeries any day over the pain of being away from my Marines.”
Sergeant Maj. Bradley A. Kasal (right) was awarded the Navy Cross, promoted to his present rank and reenlisted here Monday. Lieutenant Col. David L. Reeves, Assault Amphibian School Battalion’s Commanding Officer congratulates Sgt. Maj. Kasal who was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 13, 2004.A Marine Grip and Grin of Marine Merit
At the core, it's still the Corps!
Semper Fi
Uuuu rah!
Semper Fi
God bless you Sargent Major! God Bless the USA where such Heros are born!
What an unbelievably brave Marine. God bless him for protecting us.
Damn! That is one tough marine!
One can only conclude that God had a plan for this amazing man, which did not include him dying that day. A real hero indeed. Thanks for posting this.
Everytime I read of Americans like Kasal and remember the men I served with, I wonder how our country can get it so wrong when it comes to politics.
And he re-upped, too. Lifer fish, no doubt.
Well Done!
It should scare our enemies to the rotten core that such men exist. And they exist to kill those enemies.
And they look out for us. God bless them all.
Ooorah!!!
MIDI: FAITHFULLY - http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Galaxy/4242/alphaF.html
From a town...small town in Iowa
Came a hero whom you ought to know
Brad Kasal would protect his men
To the end he was prepared to go
Fallujah had been a living hell as they fought for their lives
Then, oh my God, he saw that grenade
He used his own body to protect his wounded comrade
He wouldn't let him die
Sacred words for you, Brad...Semper Fi
We are blessed to have such fine young men
Men who sacrifice so willingly
They stand up proud...it's their duty, they say
Heroes for all our kids to see
He now lives in constant pain but says there's no regrets
He says that he would do it all again
This is the measure of a real Marine
He wouldn't let him die
Sacred words for you, Brad...Semper Fi
Sacred words for you, sacred words for you, sacred words for you
Sacred words...Semper Fi
Sacred words for you, sacred words for you, sacred words for you
Sacred words...Semper Fi
Sacred words for you, sacred words for you, sacred words for you
Sacred words...Semper Fi
(fade out)
America's finest!
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