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thedrifter
11-08-05, 05:58 AM
Area soldier gets award
By Carrie Simmons / Daily News Staff
Tuesday, November 8, 2005

WALTHAM -- A local Marine stationed in Iraq has been honored for his heroic actions after a suicide car bomber attacked his convoy in Fallujah, killing five Marines and one sailor.

Lance Cpl. Andrew Champion was riding in the lead vehicle of a six-vehicle convoy on June 23 -- the day before his 22nd birthday -- when a suicide bomber drove a car into the vehicle behind Champion.

The 7-ton vehicle -- carrying female Marines assigned to checkpoints around Fallujah to search Muslim women -- exploded and flipped onto its side, while the convoy came under small-arms fire from insurgents.

After his vehicle stopped to block the area, Champion raced toward the burning wreckage to rescue the wounded, according to the citation accompanying his medal. He ran back and forth between the accident and the medical evacuation vehicles -- a distance of 110 yards -- while bullets hit the ground around him.

"Lance Cpl. Champion worked at a frantic pace to assist victims escape the burning vehicle," the Marine citation read. "Making repeated trips between the collection point and wreckage, he had to alternate between being a rescuer and stopping to provide suppressive fire against the enemy insurgents."

The Marine put himself in the line of fire again when a fellow soldier who had been helping move the wounded was shot. Champion dragged his friend to safety but the wounded solider died before they could get to the surgical clinic.

In Waltham, Champion's parents knew very little about the attack.

"He called us on his birthday. He said 'you're going to see some bad things on TV'," Champion's father, William, recalled.

"He said, 'I'm fine. I'm OK.' Then we saw it in the paper on Monday."

Champion asked his parents to pray for the wounded soldiers and downplayed the attack to keep from scaring them, according to his mother, Gloria.

Champion's parents only learned about their son's heroic efforts when his friend visited Waltham while on leave. In September, Champion was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a combat distinguishing device for valor, as well as a Combat Action Ribbon.

"I was so proud of him. He was doing everything they trained him to do," William said. "He was the first guy off the truck and into the activity. They were all friends of his."

Gloria was just as proud but doesn't want him to earn any more medals.

"One is enough," she said. "He saw good friends of his die in front of him. It was pretty tough."

Champion, a 2001 graduate of Waltham High School, decided he wanted to join the military when his sociology professor at Suffolk University walked into the classroom on Sept. 11, 2001 and said there had been an attack on the World Trade Center.

"We held him back for a year," said Gloria, the clerk for the Waltham Conservation Commission. "We felt he was too young."

Assigned to the Headquarters Company of the 8th Regimental Combat Team, Champion was sent to Iraq in March. For the first six months of his tour, Champion worked as the chaplain's assistant. He coordinated the distribution of toys, school supplies and clothing to Iraqi children.

Champion recently transferred to the security detail for the Headquarters Battalion.

Champion's niece, April Fitzgerald, and her fourth grade classmates wrote letters to the Marine last spring. But by the time Champion received the letters and could have replied, the school year was over.

When he was home for two weeks in September, Champion made a surprise visit to Bright Elementary School in September while on leave to tell his penpals about his experiences in Iraq. The students plan to continue their correspondence into the New Year.

Champion's tour of duty is set to end in March 2006. He has talked about becoming a Waltham firefighter. His brother, Bill, is a Waltham Police officer.

Gloria and her husband hear from their son every Sunday. They sent him a care package yesterday morning.

"It's cold over there at night now," Gloria said. "We just sent him extra warm stuff."

Carrie Simmons is a Daily News Tribune staff writer. She can be reached at 781-398-8009 or csimmons@cnc.com.

Ellie