Navy SEAL Fought To the Death

New York Daily News ^ | 3/22/02 | MAKI BECKER

[kattracks]

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts — shot dead and dragged off by Al Qaeda fighters March 4 — went down fighting.

Thrown from his helicopter on the first night of Operation Anaconda, the Navy SEAL found himself alone and in enemy territory, according to two new accounts, including an e-mail circulating among military personnel.

His survival instinct in high gear, Roberts — a married father of a toddler son — grabbed a machine gun from a felled commando nearby, CBS News reported last night.

He opened fire with the machine gun and a pistol on the enemy fighters around him until he ran out of ammunition.

Roberts, 32, then stood and threw all his grenades before being cut down by enemy fire.

Helpless and horrified, his commanders watched via a reconnaissance drone's camera as Roberts' valiant last stand ended with Al Qaeda fighters dragging off his body.

According to the e-mail and other accounts given to CBS News by members of the Special Operations forces in Afghanistan, Roberts' helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade that didn't explode but caused the aircraft to lurch.

That ejected the chopper's tail gunner, who dangled from the aircraft by his safety harness.

Roberts then raced to action, putting down his rifle to pull the gunner inside.

But the helicopter was jolted again, and Roberts, who wasn't wearing a harness, fell 10 feet to the ground. His helicopter left without him, apparently unaware he was not on board, the reports said.

A second U.S. chopper also came under fire, and a commando aboard it was shot dead. He fell to the ground still clutching his machine gun, and Roberts made his way over to the dead soldier to grab his guns, according to CBS News.

Last Monday at a memorial service, Roberts was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star. CBS reported he is also being considered for a Medal of Honor.

[xsrdx]

What do you think? Could the award go higher?

That's for his peers and Commander(s) to sort out. We'd need a lot more detail regarding the specific circumstances, anything could happen but in general the MOH is reserved for individuals that, by their actions, perform in a manner that few others could, or would, under similar circumstances.

The common theme in MOH citations is not just bravery, but extraodinary sacrifice and disregard for personal safety, often under circumstances that indicate an easier, or safer, course of action was available. In this case, I think most other operators would have done the same thing.

That takes nothing away from his extraordinary sacrifice, but it has to be evaluated under the totality of the circumstances.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Well said.

[GussiedUp]

Thanks for the bump! Hard to read w/out tears coming to my eyes. God bless this dear brave man and be with his family at this time. May his son grow up to be as wonderful and brave as the father.

[sneakypete]

He's a hero in my book.

I clearly said he earned a Silver Star. If you somehow think Silver Stars aren't serious "hero badges",you need to check out some of actions of people who have everned them in the past.

[sneakypete]

or maybe they'll write the Big One, as you say, and then deny it and award the Navy Cross instead. That is still a very high honor,

You got THAT right! Anybody who casually dismissing a Navy Cross or a Distinguished Service Cross (Army) clearly has no idea what they signify.

and appropriate, I think, under the circumstances.

This could go either way,but from what has been said so far,I'd say a Silver Star was well-earned,and sufficient. We don't want "award inflation" to cheapen the Silver Star,which is a VERY significat valor award. I don't know about the Navy,but the usual way a soldier in the army earns the Army equivalent to the Navy Cross (DSC) it's because his MOH award was denied. Basically,this pretty much leaves the Silver Star directly below the MOH at best,and only 2 steps at worst.

[4CJ]

My friend, I am not arguing about whether or not he deserves this medal, or that I think lightly of it. From what was posted he attempted to save the life of a fellow soldier - friend or not - and in the process was thrown from the copter. On the ground he took a few of the enemy with him before his life was ended.

That said, is that enough to justify a Silver Star or CMoH or any medal at all? That's for someone else to decide. To me - anyone that dies trying to save another is a hero, whether they are soldiers or civilians, pilots or cooks, passengers or firemen.

Many of us go thru life without ever having such a chance, and those that sacrifice something other than their life for the sake of another could also be called a hero. Think of what you personally have sacrificed for your children, and of the values that you have instilled into them. The best that we can hope for is that our child will look at us and consider us their "hero". From the little I know about you - I believe that your children already have.

[sneakypete]

That said, is that enough to justify a Silver Star or CMoH or any medal at all?

You betcha! He clearly (in MY mind) earned a Silver Star for his actions on the ground. Please note that he did NOT savethe life of the crewman. The guy was hooked to the helicopter with a safety line,and there was no danger of him falling to the ground. Roberts was merely helping him back into the helicopter. As I stated before,his actions once he fell out of the helicopter qualifies him for a Silver Star,which is nothing to sneeze at. There are only two higher valor awards given by our country,and one is the MOH.

I pinged Chapita to get him to put a link here about how Roy Benavidez earned his MOH so those of you unfamiliar with these awards can compare the actions. Roy jumped out of a helicopter in Laos while only armed with a knife,and went to try to rescue a recon team that had all the members severely wounded and unable to move on their own. By the time it was over he had been wounded a bunch of times himself,had crawled to a crashed and burning helicopter with a broken back to resuce both the pilot and co-pilot,and as a final act,left his Bowie knife stuck in the ribs of the NVA who bayonetted him as he was trying to climb into the rescue helicopter that finally managed to land. He wasn't even supposed to be there to start with. He heard the distress call on the radio at the base camp,and jumped on a helicopter in case he could help.I mentioned this case because both involved leaving helicopters under fire while basically unarmed.

BTW,this takes NOTHING away from what Roberts did. This ain't a contest.

[4CJ]

I agreed, the Silver Star is nothing to sneeze at. Thank you for clarifying things for me. There is a difference in what Roberts did and that of Mr. Benavidez, who went out of his way to rescue a recon team. I'm glad for both men, and for their actions. I pray for their families as well.

[GussiedUp]

Thanks for that information and good to see ya around again :)

[Chapita]

Nobody should just sneeze at a Silver Star!

BENAVIDEZ, ROY P.

Rank and Organization: Master Sergeant, Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group, Republic of Vietnam. Place and Date: West of Loc Ninh on 2 May 1968. Entered Service at: Houston, Texas June 1955. Date and Place of Birth: 5 August 1935, DeWitt County, Cuero, Texas. Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. Benavidez United States Army, who distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions on 2 May 1968 while assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire. Sergeant Benavidez was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters returned to off-load wounded crewmembers and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant Benavidez voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team. Prior to reaching the team's position he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader. When he reached the leader's body, Sergeant Benavidez was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant Benavidez secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant Benavidez mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gunships to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt. He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed from additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary. He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded. Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant Benavidez' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.

[Chapita]

Everybody should read about Rocky Versace! Period!!!

[Chapita]

read about one hell of a man

[sneakypete]

Thanks,Chappy.