thedrifter
02-11-06, 08:06 AM
Add hero to his résumé
February 11,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
While Lt. Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers may have the longest name in the Corps, he can easily be called something shorter.
Hero.
Desgrosseilliers — commander of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines — was awarded the Silver Star for valor during the battle for Fallujah in late 2004. He received the medal Friday during a sun-strewn ceremony aboard Camp Lejeune. His entire battalion was on hand to watch.
At the time of his “conspicuous gallantry,” Desgrosseilliers was the executive officer of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. According to the award citation, Desgrosseilliers went beyond the call of duty on two separate occasions.
As commander of Task Force Bruno, he and his men were following rifle companies as they pushed down into the city, clearing houses, hunting insurgents and searching out caches of weapons.
On Dec. 12, several of Desgrosseilliers’ men became trapped in a house. During the fight, insurgents began throwing grenades down from a top story on top of a group of Marines, including Desgrosseilliers.
He pushed two Marines against a wall and shielded them from the blast with his back. Shaking off the concussion, he led his Marines and killed the 15 insurgents in the building.
Later that month — on Dec. 23 — Desgrosseilliers’ task force came under heavy fire from insurgents hiding in a house. When a Marine was shot down in the house’s entrance, Desgrosseilliers and another Marine pulled the wounded man to safety, despite bullets flying around.
Then he ran behind a tank and ordered an assault on the house, his leg bleeding from a gunshot wound. The blast killed the roughly 30 insurgents inside.
“It was like a movie, was the best way to describe it,” said Capt. Robert Bodisch with 2nd Tank Battalion, who was there on Dec. 23. “I mentioned it to colonel (later). I said, ‘Sir, you wouldn’t believe what I saw your XO doing.’ ”
Brig. Gen. Joseph McMenamin, the assistant commander of the 2nd Marine Division who pinned the star to Desgrosseilliers chest, said it was the first time he had awarded a Silver Star.
“It was one of the highlights of my career,” he said. “He was way above the call of duty, taking care of his Marines and taking the fight to the bad guys.”
And bestowing the award before the entire battalion is a great motivator for the troops, McMenamin said.
“It’s inspiring to them,” he said. “After 32 years, I still get chills up and down my spine (listening to them read the citation). If you don’t feel a twinge then you just don’t understand what these Marines go through.”
Desgrosseilliers, thinking back on those days, said his thought process was two-fold.
“Protect the Marines, and then kill the enemy — pretty much in that order,” he said.
He declined to take any credit for the award.
“It’s about the men,” he said. “I was doing what I felt was my job as an officer. (The Marines) ensured we were successful. We were a good team. Every man would fight to the death if he had to ensure the life of his comrades.”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
February 11,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
While Lt. Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers may have the longest name in the Corps, he can easily be called something shorter.
Hero.
Desgrosseilliers — commander of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines — was awarded the Silver Star for valor during the battle for Fallujah in late 2004. He received the medal Friday during a sun-strewn ceremony aboard Camp Lejeune. His entire battalion was on hand to watch.
At the time of his “conspicuous gallantry,” Desgrosseilliers was the executive officer of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. According to the award citation, Desgrosseilliers went beyond the call of duty on two separate occasions.
As commander of Task Force Bruno, he and his men were following rifle companies as they pushed down into the city, clearing houses, hunting insurgents and searching out caches of weapons.
On Dec. 12, several of Desgrosseilliers’ men became trapped in a house. During the fight, insurgents began throwing grenades down from a top story on top of a group of Marines, including Desgrosseilliers.
He pushed two Marines against a wall and shielded them from the blast with his back. Shaking off the concussion, he led his Marines and killed the 15 insurgents in the building.
Later that month — on Dec. 23 — Desgrosseilliers’ task force came under heavy fire from insurgents hiding in a house. When a Marine was shot down in the house’s entrance, Desgrosseilliers and another Marine pulled the wounded man to safety, despite bullets flying around.
Then he ran behind a tank and ordered an assault on the house, his leg bleeding from a gunshot wound. The blast killed the roughly 30 insurgents inside.
“It was like a movie, was the best way to describe it,” said Capt. Robert Bodisch with 2nd Tank Battalion, who was there on Dec. 23. “I mentioned it to colonel (later). I said, ‘Sir, you wouldn’t believe what I saw your XO doing.’ ”
Brig. Gen. Joseph McMenamin, the assistant commander of the 2nd Marine Division who pinned the star to Desgrosseilliers chest, said it was the first time he had awarded a Silver Star.
“It was one of the highlights of my career,” he said. “He was way above the call of duty, taking care of his Marines and taking the fight to the bad guys.”
And bestowing the award before the entire battalion is a great motivator for the troops, McMenamin said.
“It’s inspiring to them,” he said. “After 32 years, I still get chills up and down my spine (listening to them read the citation). If you don’t feel a twinge then you just don’t understand what these Marines go through.”
Desgrosseilliers, thinking back on those days, said his thought process was two-fold.
“Protect the Marines, and then kill the enemy — pretty much in that order,” he said.
He declined to take any credit for the award.
“It’s about the men,” he said. “I was doing what I felt was my job as an officer. (The Marines) ensured we were successful. We were a good team. Every man would fight to the death if he had to ensure the life of his comrades.”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.