2 Marines Decorated for Risking Their Lives to Save an Iraqi Soldier

A Marine lieutenant and a staff sergeant were awarded medals Friday for bravery and leadership during a firefight in Iraq last year in which they risked their lives to save a wounded Iraqi soldier.

“He was attached to my platoon, and he was my responsibility,” said 1st Lt. David Russell, who received the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest medal for bravery.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Cyparski received the Bronze Star, his second in two tours in Iraq. He won his first for actions during the battle for Fallouja in 2004.

Last May, Cyparski, 27, of Erie, Pa., and Russell, 25, of San Antonio, were leading a platoon assigned to protect a checkpoint in Ramadi when insurgents attacked with AK-47s, hand grenades and other small-arms fire, according to the official account.

The two led a counter-assault that killed 13 insurgents and captured eight. Russell was struck in the helmet, suffering a concussion and “bleeding profusely.”

“When he discovered that a Marine isolated in a bunker needed ammunition, he raced to supply him by crossing 75 meters of open area while under fire from at least six insurgents,” said Russell’s citation.

The Iraqi soldier was wounded and pinned down away from the main part of the platoon. The two Marines dashed across an open area under fire to get him to safety so he could be rushed to a field hospital.

When Russell was forced to evacuate for medical attention, Cyparski took over and held the checkpoint for three days: “His actions prevented innocent loss of life.”

During a formation outside the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, the two received the medals from Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division.

Russell graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and joined the Marine Corps, selecting infantry as his specialty. His parents said they have never worried during his two tours.

“We don’t think about the knock on the door,” said Russell’s father, Hugh. “We’ve always been a lucky family. We figured we’d stay lucky.”

For Cyparski’s wife, pregnant with their second child, her husband’s two medals for bravery in combat are enough.

“I don’t want him to go back and do it again,” said Alice Cyparski, standing by the couple’s 3-year-old son, Devon. “I don’t want him to get another Bronze Star.”