thedrifter
02-01-06, 10:04 AM
January 31, 2006
Fallen captain gets Bronze Star
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Shaded from the afternoon sun, the men of Charlie Company gathered Jan. 20 to pay their respects to their former commander in Iraq last year by presenting his posthumous combat medal to his family.
A roadside bomb killed Capt. John Maloney, 36, on June 16 as he maneuvered the infantry company in an assault against enemy fighters in Ramadi, Iraq. Maloney’s widow, Michelle, and their two children joined relatives, friends and fellow Marines in a short ceremony to accept Maloney’s Bronze Star medal.
“This is an award which John Maloney earned and it should be presented,” said Lt. Col. Eric Smith, who commands 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, during the ceremony at Memorial Park at Camp San Mateo, in the northern part of the sprawling amphibious training base. “He is not here to receive it.”
Smith presented the Bronze Star medal, with a small bronze “V” fastened to the ribbon, to Maloney’s son, Nathaniel, 6, as Michelle Maloney looked on.
The medal honors Maloney’s heroics while he led his company in Ramadi, a provincial capital and hotbed of insurgent activity in western Iraq. Maloney, a native of Chicopee, Mass., and the oldest of three sons who joined the Corps, led them through 109 consecutive days operating in the city. “Ramadi is a tough place, and it’s even tougher to be a company commander. When you do it really well, you are recognized,” Smith said. “We’ve been waiting to do this for a long time … to present John with the award he deserved.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to remember the valorous acts of John Maloney,” he added.
Maloney, a prior enlisted Marine, had landed in Iraq last March with 1/5, which operated with the Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Marine Division.
When enemy forces attacked a battalion outpost on March 18, Maloney “decisively moved to counterattack the enemy when his vehicle was struck by a [roadside bomb],” the award citation reads. “Despite being thrown from the vehicle and badly injured, he called in his own medevac and forced the enemy to retreat by maneuvering his forces against them.”
Two months later, on June 16, Maloney led Charlie Company in a counterattack against a group of enemy fighters encountered as the company hunted insurgents in southwest Ramadi.
“Suspecting an ambush on his egress route, he instinctively placed his vehicle at the front of the company and began to lead them out of the danger zone. As he personally led his men out of harm’s way, a massive [roadside bomb] destroyed his vehicle and killed him,” the citation reads. “His selfless leadership continued to inspire his Marines as they fought for the next two hours against heavy machinegun, rocket propelled grenade and mortar fire.”
The attack also killed Lance Cpl. Erik Heldt, 26, of Hermann, Mo.
Maloney’s leadership inspired his men through those intense hours, said 1st Sgt. Michael Brookman, Charlie’s company first sergeant. “All our Marines are rejoicing in what Captain Maloney did for us,” he said, adding, “that Bronze Star is his gift for us.”
“I brought 150 Marines home,” said Brookman. “His legacy brought home the Marines of Charlie Company.
Fallen captain gets Bronze Star
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Shaded from the afternoon sun, the men of Charlie Company gathered Jan. 20 to pay their respects to their former commander in Iraq last year by presenting his posthumous combat medal to his family.
A roadside bomb killed Capt. John Maloney, 36, on June 16 as he maneuvered the infantry company in an assault against enemy fighters in Ramadi, Iraq. Maloney’s widow, Michelle, and their two children joined relatives, friends and fellow Marines in a short ceremony to accept Maloney’s Bronze Star medal.
“This is an award which John Maloney earned and it should be presented,” said Lt. Col. Eric Smith, who commands 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, during the ceremony at Memorial Park at Camp San Mateo, in the northern part of the sprawling amphibious training base. “He is not here to receive it.”
Smith presented the Bronze Star medal, with a small bronze “V” fastened to the ribbon, to Maloney’s son, Nathaniel, 6, as Michelle Maloney looked on.
The medal honors Maloney’s heroics while he led his company in Ramadi, a provincial capital and hotbed of insurgent activity in western Iraq. Maloney, a native of Chicopee, Mass., and the oldest of three sons who joined the Corps, led them through 109 consecutive days operating in the city. “Ramadi is a tough place, and it’s even tougher to be a company commander. When you do it really well, you are recognized,” Smith said. “We’ve been waiting to do this for a long time … to present John with the award he deserved.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to remember the valorous acts of John Maloney,” he added.
Maloney, a prior enlisted Marine, had landed in Iraq last March with 1/5, which operated with the Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Marine Division.
When enemy forces attacked a battalion outpost on March 18, Maloney “decisively moved to counterattack the enemy when his vehicle was struck by a [roadside bomb],” the award citation reads. “Despite being thrown from the vehicle and badly injured, he called in his own medevac and forced the enemy to retreat by maneuvering his forces against them.”
Two months later, on June 16, Maloney led Charlie Company in a counterattack against a group of enemy fighters encountered as the company hunted insurgents in southwest Ramadi.
“Suspecting an ambush on his egress route, he instinctively placed his vehicle at the front of the company and began to lead them out of the danger zone. As he personally led his men out of harm’s way, a massive [roadside bomb] destroyed his vehicle and killed him,” the citation reads. “His selfless leadership continued to inspire his Marines as they fought for the next two hours against heavy machinegun, rocket propelled grenade and mortar fire.”
The attack also killed Lance Cpl. Erik Heldt, 26, of Hermann, Mo.
Maloney’s leadership inspired his men through those intense hours, said 1st Sgt. Michael Brookman, Charlie’s company first sergeant. “All our Marines are rejoicing in what Captain Maloney did for us,” he said, adding, “that Bronze Star is his gift for us.”
“I brought 150 Marines home,” said Brookman. “His legacy brought home the Marines of Charlie Company.