Although wounded, Staff Sgt. Shannon Kay, of the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, directs his men onto enemy positions after they were attacked with a car bomb, December 11, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq. (M. Scott Mahaskey/ Army Times)
1/29/2006
By Michel Nolan - Staff Writer
Staff Sgt. Shannon Kay recalls the fireball as the suicide car bomber rammed the rear of his Stryker armored infantry vehicle in Iraq. The massive explosion and subsequent firefight are seared in his memory.
"It was a huge physical force -- the biggest I ever felt," said Kay, who grew up in Rancho Cucamonga and attended Etiwanda High School before graduating from San Bernardino High in 1995. "Some of the guys inside were kind of unconscious so we dropped a ramp and dragged people out. It was just a natural reaction -- any soldier would have done the same."
Kay's actions that day -- Dec. 11, 2004 -- and his courage under fire as he saved the lives of seven members of his squad on a bloody road in western Mosul, earned him the Silver Star, the Army's third-highest award for heroism in combat.
"I wanted to live up to what I thought a soldier is," said Kay, 29, by phone from Fort Benning, Ga., where he is now an instructor in the U.S. Army Squad Designated Marksmanship Program.
He was honored at a special ceremony last week by the Fort Benning post's deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Jim Yarbrough. Accompanying the award was the commendation, "His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, this command and the United States Army."
According to the military report, "The fireball was enormous and the Kevlar blankets, tires and other components of the Stryker were on fire. The entire area was littered with burning debris."
Kay, who was bleeding from shrapnel wounds to his head, shoulder and hand, refused medical attention and helped put out the vehicle fire while under ambush attack from small arms, rocket propelled grenades and mortar fire.
Later, Kay said, he was operated on in a small field hospital by a "great doctor and physician's assistant. They removed the shrapnel from my head and finger but had to leave the stuff in my shoulder."
"I've seen multiple firefights before but they do kind of surprise you," Kay said. "Once you're over there, you say "this is the drill now' and just do your job."
An all-around athlete, Kay played water polo at Etiwanda and San Bernardino high schools, and later at Chaffey College. He was named an All-American for water polo, swimming and basketball at the University of La Verne, according to his mother, Mary-Chris Kay.
"Shannon is a natural leader. He has a strong sense of duty and honor," she said. "He's always been a risk-taker and daredevil in sports. He was always the "go-to' guy."
According to Mary-Chris Kay, her son didn't have to go to Iraq but went because he didn't want to leave the men he trained with.
"Every one of his men had to have been something special or he wouldn't have chosen to go with them," she said.
The incident for which he was awarded the Silver Star took place along Route Santa Fe, where the platoon had discovered a large cache of enemy mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and partially-complete improvised explosive devices.
While civilian traffic was being diverted, the suicide car bomber broke the traffic pattern and accelerated toward the Stryker, where Kay was manning the left-rear hatch.
After evacuating his men and while still under fire, the report said, "Kay moved from Stryker to Stryker in his unit, securing additional equipment to get his Stryker back in the fight. He put his crew back in the smoldering Stryker and brought its heavy firepower to bear. After approximately 45 minutes of heavy fighting and after Kay killed at least eight of the enemy, the battalion commander called for a gradual withdrawal back to the forward operating base to treat casualties."
"That day was such a morale booster," Kay said. "We got banged up but no one got killed."
Kay, who lives in Georgia with his wife, Julie, and 18-month-old son, Killian, now plans to attend Officer Candidate School.
"I wanted to be with my guys, and so I deployed with my unit and postponed school," he said. "Now I'm back on track and will go to school in the near future."
Kay's mother and his father, Scott Kay, attended the ceremony.
"We both cried. The general had a lot of nice things to say," Scott Kay said. "It was quite an honor -- he acted so bravely. We are so proud and thankful that he survived."
Silver Star recipients from Fort Lewis, from left: Maj. Mark Bieger, Sgt. Joseph Martin, Staff Sgt. Wesley Holt and Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Prosser. A fifth soldier, Staff Sgt. Shannon Kay, also received the medal for valor. (RUSS CARMACK)