thedrifter
09-12-05, 05:23 AM
09/12/2005
Humbling experience
By ALEX ROSE arose@delcotimes.com RIDLEY --
Like any Marine worth his salt, Sgt. Timothy C. Kilgore said the Bronze Star Medal he was awarded for his service during Operation Iraqi Freedom came because he "just did (his) job."
"It’s actually for service the whole time there," he said, the shiny new medal hanging from his fatigues. "I just thought I did my job. Somebody must have thought I did something good .. If it wasn’t for all the Marines that were there, I wouldn’t have been able to get this."
Kilgore was one of five Marines to be awarded the medal -- given only to those displaying meritorious or heroic achievement or service -- during a ceremony at the Marine Corps Training Center on Route 420 Sunday, the anniversary of the tragic catalyst that drove American fighting forces to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Among the small crowd gathered for the award ceremony were veterans, friends, family members, and U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-7, Thornbury, who gave a short speech on service to one’s country before distributing to the Marines a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
While the training center is home to the Bridge Company Bravo Reserve Unit, Kilgore, 23, is not actually in the reserves. He signed up at 17, and was the only active duty Marine to be awarded the medal Sunday. Having completed two tours in Iraq, Kilgore has been back in the United States for just about a year.
"When I first got back, everybody was here thanking us, it was great to be home," he said. "I’ve been back about a year now, so I’m kind of back into being at home.
"At first it was kind of weird. I don’t have to carry a gun every day here. After a week or two I got into the swing of things. I did alright."
While overseas, he assisted his fellow servicemen and women in repairing and laying at least five or six bridges, by his reckoning, for Iraqi travel or ground forces to use in missions.
Kilgore, who grew up about an hour south of Pittsburgh and now lives in Aldan, said he saw a good deal of mortar fire during these missions, though he was often too preoccupied to let it slow him down.
"There are times you don’t worry about it because you’re busy, and then there’s times when you’re laying in bed and you get woken up by it," he said. "But nothing that was too bad. It’s just sad that we lost three Marines while we were over there."
Cpl. John Todd III, 24, Lance Cpl. Patrick Adle, 21 and Sgt. Alan Sherman, 36, all members of Bravo Company, were killed on the morning of June 29, 2004 by a roadside bomb while traveling in a convoy.
While overseas, Kilgore was able to keep a connection to Delaware County by communicating with a friend-turned-fiancé, Alyssa Agovino, of Springfield.
The two actually got to know each other through the Internet while he was in Iraq, said Kilgore. When he got home, the couple got together and by Feb. 3, they were engaged.
"It was nice to have a good connection to home," he said. "It took my mind off of everything that was going on."
"We were real close friends when he went overseas and we communicated a lot through e-mail," said Agovino, 20. "I think the least favorite line I had from him was: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll call you in a couple of days.’ He used that on me a couple weeks ago when the Louisiana tragedy happened, and I thought, ‘Uh-oh, trouble’s a-brewing.’"
But Agovino need not worry, at least for her betrothed. Kilgore said he won’t be joining operations that head south, if any are called up from Folsom, as he is needed at the base.
As to returning to Iraq, said Kilgore, "If I gotta go back, I gotta go back. It’s not something I hope to do, but it’s not something I’m going to turn down."
Ellie
This is only a PRE
Humbling experience
By ALEX ROSE arose@delcotimes.com RIDLEY --
Like any Marine worth his salt, Sgt. Timothy C. Kilgore said the Bronze Star Medal he was awarded for his service during Operation Iraqi Freedom came because he "just did (his) job."
"It’s actually for service the whole time there," he said, the shiny new medal hanging from his fatigues. "I just thought I did my job. Somebody must have thought I did something good .. If it wasn’t for all the Marines that were there, I wouldn’t have been able to get this."
Kilgore was one of five Marines to be awarded the medal -- given only to those displaying meritorious or heroic achievement or service -- during a ceremony at the Marine Corps Training Center on Route 420 Sunday, the anniversary of the tragic catalyst that drove American fighting forces to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Among the small crowd gathered for the award ceremony were veterans, friends, family members, and U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-7, Thornbury, who gave a short speech on service to one’s country before distributing to the Marines a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
While the training center is home to the Bridge Company Bravo Reserve Unit, Kilgore, 23, is not actually in the reserves. He signed up at 17, and was the only active duty Marine to be awarded the medal Sunday. Having completed two tours in Iraq, Kilgore has been back in the United States for just about a year.
"When I first got back, everybody was here thanking us, it was great to be home," he said. "I’ve been back about a year now, so I’m kind of back into being at home.
"At first it was kind of weird. I don’t have to carry a gun every day here. After a week or two I got into the swing of things. I did alright."
While overseas, he assisted his fellow servicemen and women in repairing and laying at least five or six bridges, by his reckoning, for Iraqi travel or ground forces to use in missions.
Kilgore, who grew up about an hour south of Pittsburgh and now lives in Aldan, said he saw a good deal of mortar fire during these missions, though he was often too preoccupied to let it slow him down.
"There are times you don’t worry about it because you’re busy, and then there’s times when you’re laying in bed and you get woken up by it," he said. "But nothing that was too bad. It’s just sad that we lost three Marines while we were over there."
Cpl. John Todd III, 24, Lance Cpl. Patrick Adle, 21 and Sgt. Alan Sherman, 36, all members of Bravo Company, were killed on the morning of June 29, 2004 by a roadside bomb while traveling in a convoy.
While overseas, Kilgore was able to keep a connection to Delaware County by communicating with a friend-turned-fiancé, Alyssa Agovino, of Springfield.
The two actually got to know each other through the Internet while he was in Iraq, said Kilgore. When he got home, the couple got together and by Feb. 3, they were engaged.
"It was nice to have a good connection to home," he said. "It took my mind off of everything that was going on."
"We were real close friends when he went overseas and we communicated a lot through e-mail," said Agovino, 20. "I think the least favorite line I had from him was: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll call you in a couple of days.’ He used that on me a couple weeks ago when the Louisiana tragedy happened, and I thought, ‘Uh-oh, trouble’s a-brewing.’"
But Agovino need not worry, at least for her betrothed. Kilgore said he won’t be joining operations that head south, if any are called up from Folsom, as he is needed at the base.
As to returning to Iraq, said Kilgore, "If I gotta go back, I gotta go back. It’s not something I hope to do, but it’s not something I’m going to turn down."
Ellie
This is only a PRE