Where There’s Battle, There’s Bravery -- and Recognition

The Marine Corps is usually conservative in distributing medals, but the battles of March and April here are certain to bring a significant number of citations for bravery, officials said.

For example, Sgt. Clifton Kirksey, 23, of Warrior, Ala., has been nominated for a Bronze Star.

When his convoy was ambushed from three directions, he directed his company’s counterattack and fired a shoulder-launched antitank rocket at the fighters’ prime position.

When a turret gunner in his Humvee was shot and wounded, Kirksey helped pull him to safety and then manned the .50-caliber weapon and began what Marines call “suppressive fire.”

Hostile fire struck the machine gun, splattering shrapnel into Kirksey’s hand and chest. The force of the shot pushed him out of the turret momentarily. But he refused to be evacuated.

“I didn’t want to leave my guys there,” he said.

Continuous fire pushed back the hostile forces that had closed to within 20 yards. Finally, a helicopter gunship arrived.

“He’s a true go-to guy,” said Lt. Mike Scott, Kirksey’s platoon commander. “He steps up, he takes charge, he leads from the front.”

Like many Marines who have been under fire, Kirksey recalled that there was little time to think. “The training kicks in,” he said.

Only later did he realize the danger of the moment. “When the adrenaline wears off, you feel a little woozy,” he said.

Later he called his wife, Melissa, in California to tell her of the fight, omitting details that she might find too scary. The couple are expecting their first child in September.

A year ago, Kirksey received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for bravery during a clash in the opening days of the offensive to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He said he doesn’t think of himself as courageous, however.

He noted that his father is a firefighter. “Now that’s a courageous man,” Kirksey said.

As for most things, the Marine Corps has documents explaining the criteria for medals and commendations. Boiled down, there are two basic rules: Significant bravery must have been shown, and the Marine or sailor’s actions must have had a positive effect on the battle.

Although each incident has its own characteristics, there are commonalities.

Navy medical corpsman Jason Duty, who has been nominated for a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, sprinted to the site of a mortar attack to help eight seriously wounded comrades. His skill and speed as the fight raged “saved lives,” according to a military report.

Lance Cpl. Carlos Gomez-Perez has been nominated for a Silver Star for helping to pull a wounded Marine out of the line of fire, trying desperately to apply medical care, then taking over a machine gun to blunt a hostile charge. Badly wounded, he has been sent back to the U.S. for treatment.

Cpl. Justin Rettenberger rushed ahead of a tank and kept enemy forces occupied during a skirmish until the rest of the squad could get into position. He has been nominated for a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

Lance Cpl. Shawn Seeley took the lead in fighting 20 insurgents who had advanced to within 30 yards of a Marine convoy after an ambush. He refused to take cover despite “intense machine-gun and rocket-propelled-grenade fire.” He has been nominated for the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Col. John Toolan, commander of the 1st Marine Regiment, said the bravery on display in recent months matches that of Marine battles of the past. He was not surprised.

“Those are the kind of guys we’ve got,” he said.