Thursday - May 08, 2008
Mil Blogging - Special Forces Soldier Awarded Distinguished Service Cross
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A Special Forces Soldier who crawled 200 feet while being fired upon to save a wounded colleague, then led a group of besieged Soldiers to safety, received the Army’s second-highest award for valor April 30. Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor received the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony April 30 at Fort Bragg for his actions in Afghanistan. The award is second in achievement only to the Medal of Honor.
“He made a conscious decision to do whatever it took to get to our wounded Soldiers,” said Maj. Sheffield Ford, the team’s commander during the June 2006 battle in southern Afghanistan.
...
With his Special Forces team surrounded by Taliban fighters, O’Connor volunteered to lead a relief force to rescue two wounded colleagues. He got to the edge of a field, but intense Taliban machine-gun fire made him turn back. After shedding his body armor so he could press himself flat in a ditch, he crawled the last 200 feet to the wounded Soldiers. Taliban fire was so close that it sheared off the blades of tall grass around the ditch as he crawled. Finally reaching the two wounded Soldiers, he stabilized them and led the relief force back to safety.
Olson, who recounted the battle in his speech, described O’Connor’s actions as legendary.
“Master Sgt. O’Connor exemplifies the spirit and ethos of these warriors,” Olson said. “We stand in quiet awe and in the deepest admiration.”
The ceremony marked only the second time the award has been presented to a Soldier for actions in Afghanistan.
O’Connor, 47, doesn’t believe he is a hero. He said that police officers and firefighters are courageous every day and that he was only completing his mission.
Outstanding. Completely selfless actions under the most dire conditions. That’s true heroism to me. Thank you M SGT O’Connor, and congratulations on your award.
Posted by Drew458
on 05/08/2008 at 09:02 AM
Filed Under: • Military •
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