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Father Pins Silver Star on Son in Baghdad

Staff Sgt. Payne received the United States third highest award for heroism in combat.

U.S. Army Sgt. John Queen
3rd BCT Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 1, 2005 — Staff Sgt. William Thomas Payne of the 1st Cavalry Division received the United States third highest award for heroism in combat Feb. 27 during a brief ceremony held at the crossed sabers monument in central Baghdad. Although Maj. Gen. Pete Chiarelli, the division's commander, was on hand to present the award, Payne took the unique opportunity to have the medal pinned on him by his father, Carl Payne, a Department of the Army employee working in Iraq.

"I could never be more proud," said the elder Payne, a retired Army tanker.

"As a parent it's like a double edged sword though," he said, speaking of his sons actions. "I'm glad he was recognized for the duty that he did, but it is tough to know that your son risked his life in a situation like that."

"I've read a lot of citations since I've been here, but I have read none that talks of any greater act of heroism than what Staff Sgt. Payne did that day." Maj. Gen. Pete Chiarelli"

Payne, from Benford, Okla., and an infantryman assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, is credited with rescuing a group of soldiers from a disabled Bradley fighting vehicle while under fire last September.

"Staff Sgt. Payne displayed gallantry and valor that was truly amazing," Chiarelli said. "He did it in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Baghdad - Sheik Maroof."

The neighborhood has many areas that have been dubbed with nicknames like "Grenade Alley", and "Purple Heart Lane" by the soldiers who regularly patrol it. The infamous Haifa Street runs along the northern border.

"I've read a lot of citations since I've been here," Chiarelli added, "but I have read none that talks of any greater act of heroism than what Staff Sgt. Payne did that day."

During the late morning hours of Sept. 12, 2004, Payne's battalion was wrapping up an operation on Haifa Street. As Bradley fighting vehicles patrolled the streets, soldiers on the ground set up defensive positions in order to pick up other soldiers that had been manning observation posts in high-rise buildings throughout the night.

Payne and his dismounted squad were in their position along the side of the street when the unthinkable happened - a car laden with explosives sped onto the street and detonated into the rear of a Bradley.

"I looked back," Payne explained, "it was like; there is no way that this was happening."

A split second later the blasts powerful concussion hit his squad knocking one soldier to the ground.

"When I heard the concussion I knew it was real and it was time to go," he said.

Although Staff Sgt. William Thomas Payne was the recipient of the Silver Star medal, he credits his squad for their teamwork in the successful rescue of wounded soldiers from a burning armored vehicle last September. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. John Queen, 3rd BCT Public Affairs

While Maj. Gen. Pete Chiarelli watches, Carl Payne pins the Silver Star medal on his son, Staff Sgt. William Thomas Payne. Payne was awarded the decoration for his heroic actions on Haifa Street last September. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. John Queen, 3rd BCT Public Affairs

The force of the blast disabled the 33 ton Bradley bringing it to a halt. It's rear ramp was engulfed in flames and the upper cargo hatch was blown off.

Small arms fire began to rain onto the street, so Payne had Sgt. Richard Frisbie shift the squad into a new position so they could provide cover fire while he and Spc. Chase Ash went to help the soldiers in the Bradley.

"Luckily I had someone there to help out," Payne said. "I had a soldier to keep control of the squad and another to help me with the wounded."

Payne and Ash ran 50 meters to the burning vehicle while insurgents fired on them. At the Bradley, Payne climbed up on top and helped two of the crewman out of the turret. He then turned his attention to the infantrymen still inside the crew compartment. One by one he pulled them up through the damaged cargo hatch.

"I lowered them down the side of the Bradley to Spc. Ash so he could get them to safety," Payne said. "There was a lot of gunfire going on."

Within seconds of retrieving the wounded soldiers from the Bradley the vehicle's load of ammunition began to cook off from the heat and fire.

According to Payne the whole series of events lasted nearly five minutes.

"All the training just kicked in," Payne said about what happened. "It's hard to explain, I didn't really have time to think about it."

Once back in a safe position on the south side of the street Payne's squad teamed together again to further protect the rescued soldiers as the medic treated them.

"Some of the wounded were unable to get their equipment out of the Bradley," Payne explained. "We had one soldier that didn't have his helmet and another was missing his weapon."

Payne's men began giving them whatever piece of protective gear they could spare.

"They were giving up goggles and things like that," Payne added. "They were giving them anything they could to provide them better protection than what they had when they got out of the vehicle."

When it was safe enough, Payne and his soldiers put the wounded into another Bradley for evacuation to the combat support hospital in the International Zone.

"I owe everything to my squad," Payne said. "If my squad wasn't there I couldn't have completed that mission. My squad was there for me - that's what it comes down to."

Lebanon Opposition Demands Total Syrian Withdrawal

Thursday, 3, March, 2005:

BEIRUT, 3 March 2005 — Lebanon’s opposition demanded yesterday the full withdrawal of Syrian military and intelligence services and the resignation of Lebanese Syrian-backed security chiefs. The opposition, in a statement after a meeting, said pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud must accept these demands before they would join any discussions on forming a new government.

“The ... step that the opposition considers essential in its demands on the road to salvation and independence is the total withdrawal of the Syrian army and intelligence service from Lebanon,” said the statement read by lawmaker Ahmad Fatfat. “This step requires an official announcement from Syria’s President (Bashar Al-Assad) on the withdrawal of the Syrian forces and its intelligence from Lebanon,” he said.

Fatfat and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said the opposition would agree on taking part in discussions of forming a new government only after Lahoud accepts the demands. “These are the principles that the opposition defined ... Only if the authorities agree on these conditions we might take part (in talks on government) formation,” Jumblatt told reporters. Two weeks of demonstrations forced the pro-Syrian government of Prime Minister Omar Karameh to quit on Monday, leaving officials with a complex search for a new head of government.

The opposition yesterday held talks with the Syrian-backed Hezbollah resistance movement, which leads an anti-Israeli struggle, in the hope of persuading the group to join its ranks to win a Syrian troop pullout. With the country in crisis sparked by the Feb. 14 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met with MP Ghazi Aridi, a close aide to prominent opposition leader Druze MP Walid Jumblatt.

After the meeting, Aridi told reporters that his talks with Nasrallah and an earlier meeting with rival Shiite leader, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, were part of opposition efforts to “engage in dialogue ...with people who can play a role in helping to save Lebanon.”

Nasrallah has also met with Christian opposition leaders. Hezbollah, which enjoys wide support from the regime, Syria and Iran, was instrumental in leading to the May 2000 Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.

The group, along with other Shiite movements, has remained under the wing of the pro-Syrian regime facing a growing opposition which succeeded in forcing the resignation of Karameh.

In an efforts appreciated by all sides, Nasrallah has repeatedly called for calm and national accord. “Our only choice is dialogue if we care for Lebanon ... as the internationalization (of the issue) only complicates things,” he recently said.

Walid Sharara, a specialist in Shiite affaires, said Hezbollah was seeking to “play the role of a mediator” between the parties in the dispute. “This crisis is embarrassing Hezbollah which feels that a polarization of political life in Lebanon carries dangers and risks to limit its role as a dissuading force against Israel,” he said.

“A few months ago, Hezbollah had a free hand in defending southern Lebanon by benefiting from the backing of the state and the Lebanese society,” he said.

Hariri’s assassination has dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah which lost a strong ally in the slain billionaire tycoon. “Hariri was engaged in contacts with his European friends to prevent them from putting Hezbollah on the list of terrorist organizations,” as requested by Israel, said Nasrallah.

As the political crisis deepened, the international community piled the pressure on Syria which has dominated military and political life in Lebanon for almost three decades.

In its latest broadside, the US accused Syria of being an obstacle to democratic reform in the Middle East and linked it to last week’s suicide bombing in Israel that shook a fragile Israeli-Palestinian truce.

And top US ally Britain warned Damascus against interfering in the political process in Lebanon with elections due by the end of May. “What I do know is that the international community will not tolerate anybody trying to interfere with the right of the Lebanese people to elect their own government, that’s their right,” Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview to be aired on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television.

Demonstrators returned to the site yesterday, with youth groups and local nongovernment organizations calling for a concert for “freedom and truth” about the Hariri killing. Sixteen days after the attack, the body of a 19th victim from the bombing was recovered from the site of the blast by civil defense workers who struggled to keep out angry relatives complaining of negligence.

A missing Lebanese businessman’s body was dug up yesterday, after angry relatives broke through army lines to search for his remains.

Abdelhamid Ghalayini’s body was found under a thin layer of earth about three meters away from the crater left by the explosion in a seafront neighborhood of central Beirut, an officer on the scene said.

The body was discovered as a newly arrived UN fact-finding team taking part in the investigation was visiting the site. “Where is the state? Do they have no shame? We had to do it on our own! Even the UN experts were witness to that,” shouted one of the relatives.