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thedrifter
03-07-06, 02:00 PM
March 13, 2006
Machine-gun battle leads to Silver Star for Marine

By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer

Lance Cpl. Mario Atrian was manning a machine gun in the turret of his Humvee on the night of April 9, 2004, when his unit drove into Husaybah, Iraq, to drop off a foot patrol.

Shortly after dropping off the leathernecks of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, he received a call over the radio that other units in the city had encountered enemy contact; he relayed the message to the Marines on foot.

What happened next would earn him a Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor, presented to him in his hometown of Los Angeles on Feb. 24.

Within a minute of the call, Atrian’s four-vehicle convoy began taking “pop shots from rooftops and from the top-floor windows of buildings lining the street,” Atrian said.


He aimed his machine gun at the muzzle flashes he could see clearly through his night-vision goggles as the convoy picked up speed.

“We couldn’t stop,” Atrian said. “It was like a drive-by.”

The convoy sped through the streets to get out of the ambush. What the Marines didn’t know, Atrian said, was that the shots were meant to channel them forward — the real ambush lay ahead.

“Out of nowhere, we started getting [rocket-propelled grenades] flying all over the place. They were coming from the top, the bottom, alleyways, all over,” he said.

An RPG struck the convoy’s lead vehicle, and the convoy halted in the middle of the kill zone.

Through his NVGs, Atrian saw armed insurgents moving across the rooftops and around buildings from his position in the convoy’s trail vehicle.

“I got guys moving up toward us from the left flank, guys from the buildings in prone positions, guys from everywhere,” he said.

Atrian guessed that about 40 to 45 enemy fighters were on the street, each concentrating their fire in his direction as they tried to silence his machine gun.

The young Marine fired, engaging targets as they appeared until he noticed an insurgent machine-gunner take up a position right in front of him.

What ensued could best be described as a machine-gun duel between him and the insurgent, he said.

The night-vision goggles were shot off his face, and the tactical radio attached to his vest was shot off his chest, but Atrian continued to fire.

Atrian sent 200 rounds into the air until his weapon began to click dry, gasping for ammo.

He ducked down into the Humvee to grab more rounds, which is when he noticed that his left arm felt damp and looked soaking wet, he said.

“It seemed fine, so I grabbed the ammo can, set it up to reload, and as soon as I reloaded an RPG hit the truck,” he said.

A piece of shrapnel from the explosion lodged in Atrian’s right arm.

With both arms bleeding and his Humvee on fire, Atrian still managed to get both his hands back on the gun, squeezing off another 50 rounds and silencing the enemy machine gun.

It wasn’t until another Marine in Atrian’s vehicle noticed the extent of his injuries and offered to man his position that Atrian finally left his gun and allowed his wounds to be treated.

Atrian was promoted to corporal and transferred into the Reserve after returning from Iraq. He moved back to Los Angeles in late 2005.

He said his arms are fine, though they go numb from time to time.

But for the “courageous actions and loyal devotion to duty” mentioned in his citation, Atrian was awarded the Silver Star by Brig. Gen. Darrell Moore, commanding general of Marine Corps Mobilization Command.

“I would like to dedicate this award here not only to myself but to all the fallen Marines who have served our country and are currently serving today,” Atrian said during the ceremony.

Ellie