fontman
07-24-06, 11:04 AM
Lima Company Marines honored for bravery
Monday, July 24, 2006
Mary C . Bridgman
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Janet DeJohn watched with moist eyes yesterday as her son received a commendation medal for his bravery in Iraq.
For seven months, Mrs. DeJohn, of Clintonville, had prayed her son would survive the war. The scary times ended for her in October when the Rickenbacker-based Lima Company, 3 rd Battalion, 25 th Marines returned to Columbus. The company, one of the hardest hit in Iraq, came home with 23 fewer members.
Yesterday's ceremony honored five from the reserve unit, including Lance Cpl. Dominic DeJohn, 21, for heroic achievements in battle.
DeJohn was honored with a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his actions July 28, 2005, when his unit was ambushed by 11 insurgents in western Iraq.
DeJohn, a 2003 Bishop Watterson High School graduate, said he had never been so close to death. "I didn't feel like I had time to be scared," he said. "I just did what I could to help those who were with me."
The Marines were searching for machine guns and grenades in buildings in the village of Cykla, about 120 miles west of Baghdad, when insurgents hiding in a house opened up with small- arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
In the mayhem, DeJohn, a radio operator, relayed his squad's position and spoke with other radio operators to establish their locations - while returning fire.
"Instinct is all you can rely on," said De-John, in the Marine reserve unit for more than two years. "You've trained so much, it's a (natural) reaction."
At the same time, DeJohn's squad leader, Sgt. Stephen Hooper, 29, of Reynoldsburg, led his dozen men through enemy fire to a courtyard next to the building where the insurgents were hiding. Hooper was wounded but refused medical treatment. Instead, with tanks backing him up, his squad killed the 11 insurgents. Two Marines also died.
Hooper was awarded a Bronze Star yesterday for his actions.
The memories of the battle and the two deaths still haunt him. "A million things go through your head," he said. "Could you have done something different? You think it's your fault as a leader."
Hooper, who joined the Marines a decade ago, plans to stay in the reserves for 10 more years. The service has instilled a sense of pride in him.
"It's a brotherhood," he said. "We look after each other."
Hooper and Sgt. Scot Campbell, of Sylvania, are the fourth and fifth members of the Lima Company to receive the Bronze Star since the start of fighting in Iraq.
Campbell was honored for directing a counterattack in April 2005, after his platoon was ambushed with mortars, grenades and small-arms fire. In the July 28 firefight, he and his Marines assisted in the counterattack that allowed others to recover one of the fallen Marines.
Also awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals were:
• Cpl. Tellis Hall, of De Graff, who in April 2005, directed his team through machinegun fire in Barwana. He was credited with killing 15 in a four-day assault.
• Lance Cpl. Timothy Matanick, of Strongsville, who was wounded when he backed up his platoon's assault on a house in May 2005. He got his wounded sergeant to safety and helped devise a strategy to evacuate other injured Marines.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Mary C . Bridgman
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Janet DeJohn watched with moist eyes yesterday as her son received a commendation medal for his bravery in Iraq.
For seven months, Mrs. DeJohn, of Clintonville, had prayed her son would survive the war. The scary times ended for her in October when the Rickenbacker-based Lima Company, 3 rd Battalion, 25 th Marines returned to Columbus. The company, one of the hardest hit in Iraq, came home with 23 fewer members.
Yesterday's ceremony honored five from the reserve unit, including Lance Cpl. Dominic DeJohn, 21, for heroic achievements in battle.
DeJohn was honored with a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his actions July 28, 2005, when his unit was ambushed by 11 insurgents in western Iraq.
DeJohn, a 2003 Bishop Watterson High School graduate, said he had never been so close to death. "I didn't feel like I had time to be scared," he said. "I just did what I could to help those who were with me."
The Marines were searching for machine guns and grenades in buildings in the village of Cykla, about 120 miles west of Baghdad, when insurgents hiding in a house opened up with small- arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
In the mayhem, DeJohn, a radio operator, relayed his squad's position and spoke with other radio operators to establish their locations - while returning fire.
"Instinct is all you can rely on," said De-John, in the Marine reserve unit for more than two years. "You've trained so much, it's a (natural) reaction."
At the same time, DeJohn's squad leader, Sgt. Stephen Hooper, 29, of Reynoldsburg, led his dozen men through enemy fire to a courtyard next to the building where the insurgents were hiding. Hooper was wounded but refused medical treatment. Instead, with tanks backing him up, his squad killed the 11 insurgents. Two Marines also died.
Hooper was awarded a Bronze Star yesterday for his actions.
The memories of the battle and the two deaths still haunt him. "A million things go through your head," he said. "Could you have done something different? You think it's your fault as a leader."
Hooper, who joined the Marines a decade ago, plans to stay in the reserves for 10 more years. The service has instilled a sense of pride in him.
"It's a brotherhood," he said. "We look after each other."
Hooper and Sgt. Scot Campbell, of Sylvania, are the fourth and fifth members of the Lima Company to receive the Bronze Star since the start of fighting in Iraq.
Campbell was honored for directing a counterattack in April 2005, after his platoon was ambushed with mortars, grenades and small-arms fire. In the July 28 firefight, he and his Marines assisted in the counterattack that allowed others to recover one of the fallen Marines.
Also awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals were:
• Cpl. Tellis Hall, of De Graff, who in April 2005, directed his team through machinegun fire in Barwana. He was credited with killing 15 in a four-day assault.
• Lance Cpl. Timothy Matanick, of Strongsville, who was wounded when he backed up his platoon's assault on a house in May 2005. He got his wounded sergeant to safety and helped devise a strategy to evacuate other injured Marines.