Silver Stars Honor Valor of Enlisted Marines in Gulf : Gallantry: Camp Pendleton ceremony recognizing five men for bravery under fire during Desert Storm holds bittersweet link to Vietnam.

More than anything, Cpl. Michael Kilpatrick wished his dad could have been at Camp Pendleton on Wednesday to beam while the general pinned that Silver Star on the young Marine’s chest.

But that was sadly impossible, so Kilpatrick, 22, will tenderly carry his citation for bravery against Iraqi forces to a special place where somehow, maybe, his dad will know.

“I was going to take it down to the Vietnam Memorial,” Kilpatrick said quietly. “My father was killed in Vietnam.”

He was only 10 months old in 1969 when his father, Capt. Donald Kilpatrick, an Army helicopter pilot, died. His father’s name is etched in the black marble wall in Washington, along with 58,000 other names.

On Wednesday, the son couldn’t share the honor with his father, but he could with the four other Marines who were decorated with Silver Stars for valor amid ritual, 400 spectators, and congratulations from three-star generals on down to privates and corporals.

When the bands were through playing and the flags had passed in review, the five Marines, all enlisted men, were swamped by fellow Marines who shook their hands and slapped their backs.

“All right, dude,” said one well-wisher. “Good, baby,” added another.

It was more than the five Marines--who one sublime day in their lifetimes found themselves doing something utterly extraordinary and selfless--were quite ready for.

“It was the job to do, I wasn’t trying to be courageous or anything,” said Kilpatrick, who won his medal for coolly maneuvering his reconnaissance vehicle under fire and calling in air strikes.

The next morning, the native of Allentown, Pa., moved forward through thick fog and automatic-weapons fire and single-handedly disabled an enemy tank, halting a counterattack by Iraqis.

Kilpatrick said he only got the Silver Star because somebody saw his actions and that many Marines performed similar feats that have gone unrecognized.

For another Silver Star recipient, Staff Sgt. Daniel Kur, 31, of Warren, Mich., the awards ceremony was more harrowing than combat.

“I was more nervous up there than when the Iraqis were shooting at me,” Kur said. “I’ve never been the center of attention like this.”

That attention included having Lt. Gen. Robert Milligan, commanding Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, pin on the medal while Lt. Gen. Walter Boomer, who commanded Marine forces against Iraq, accompanied looked on.

Kur was cited for removing enemy mines by hand while under fire, critical to keeping an attack force moving. The next day, although knocked to the ground during action, he continued clearing the area of mines.

He said he wasn’t scared.

“I didn’t fear for my life, I was conscious about what my young Marines were doing. I was fearful for them,” he said.

But such actions sometimes take on a different perspective afterward.

Silver Star winner Sgt. Bryan Zickefoose said, “When I think about it, it seems a little crazy.”

The 24-year-old native of Omaha, Neb., was recognized for giving direction for two precision air strikes while in an exposed position and under fire. In further action the next day, he single-handedly destroyed an enemy tank.

For Gen. Boomer, honoring the Marines helped him to keep a promise he had made after serving in combat during the Vietnam War.

In that earlier war, he noticed that it was far more common for officers to receive decorations than courageous enlisted men. “I came out of Vietnam unhappy and disillusioned with the award system,” he said.

“It seemed to me almost impossible to have them (enlisted ranks) recognized,” Boomer said. “We’re not forgetting the young Marines this time.”

Nor is he forgetting Vietnam veterans, whom he believes should share in the spirit of the victory over Iraq. “I’d like to say something to the Vietnam veteran. That is, welcome home, brothers and sisters.”

Boomer credited national unity for bolstering the troops in the Gulf War. “I’ll be forever grateful for that support,” he said. “I think it made a difference.”

For the handful of Marines honored Wednesday, it’s still too soon to know whether having that little star suspended from a colorful ribbon will make a difference in their lives.

Perhaps to be expected, they said they were just doing their jobs the way they and their comrades were trained.

“I think we all should have won awards,” said Cpl. Bryan Freeman, 23, of Olympia, Wash., who received his medal for knocking out several enemy tanks, then, under fire, leading his men in an assault on antiaircraft artillery. Also receiving the Silver Star was Sgt. Gordon Gregory, 26, of Canton, Ohio. Gregory exposed himself to enemy fire while placing his troops into position and then led two endangered Marines from a minefield to safety.

Despite the glory and pride, awards are typically won for killing human beings. But warriors are trained not to dwell on that, and as Kilpatrick said, “you can’t really put the enemy in a personalized manner” and still function in combat.

Beside the award ceremony, there were some proprietary matters to take care of Wednesday that seemed to symbolically put the war behind the Marine Corps.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, deployed to the war with nearly 50,000 troops from Camp Pendleton, El Toro, Twentynine Palms and other bases, was formally returned home.

The V Marine Expeditionary Force, made up of remnants from other units to remain stateside in case of trouble in the Pacific, was deactivated. Its red flag was rolled up and encased.