His Core Value Was Bravery

[jinelson]

This is a long read but one I guarentee will motivate you. This Marine, Pfc. Christopher Adlesperger has been nominated for the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his actions in Fallujah in 2004....

[Achped]

I think all poolees should read this, as well as all people thinking about enlisting, actually, I think everyone in general should read this. In my mind the Army's "join for college money/future training" program has ruined the reputation of the military. It doesn't have that "respect" it used to have by the general public, which view most of us as losers and high school dropouts.

One of my friends actually told me "Oh, joining the Marines? You are? Nice....a good escape from reality." No one understands just what the military is about, unless you're in it.

People need to realize that this is what they're getting into. It's not about bringing a STUDIO to Iraq, it's about fighting and possibly dieing for something you believe in.

I'm glad the Marines have people like Pfc. Adlesperger to watch my back. I can't wait until I can watch theirs.

[GriT]

Motivating Article

RIP MARINE

[Kildars]

This story is just a small piece of what everyday in Iraq is like, every morning when I wake up I hear "Another Soldier" "Another Marine" killed in Iraq today from a bomb or insurgent combat. It just hurts to know that we lost another soldier who was probably a young kid, just starting life and trying to better himself, I don't want to create a political thread but everytime I see that I think, "For What?" I still don't and I don't think anyone has a clear answer as to WHY we're over there, so why do they constantly allow Marines to die?

People like the PFC in this article and the two Marines standing by him make me proud to be a wanna be Marine, it just shows that if I did get in I would be joining a brotherhood of people who stick up and truly never leave a man behind.




One of my friends actually told me "Oh, joining the Marines? You are? Nice....a good escape from reality." No one understands just what the military is about, unless you're in it.


In my physics class, there's this Ex-Army guy. He did four years or so and got out as an e-4. Yesterday he said the stupidest comment, I was telling him about the Marine Corps, and he was telling me about the Army and he said, "Everyone joins the military for the same reason, no matter which branch." I responded, "Well, that's not true, but why do you think people join?" and he said, "Because they're broke, and need financial help." I asked him, "Are you stupid?" and I just walked away and ignored him while he tried to validate his point that had no backing.

It just goes to show you that the Marines are different from any other service, I was just tellling him that maybe people join the Army for money, but not the Marine Corps. So even ex army guys still don't understand the military.

[hawks]

Well written story, very touching, I hope he gets the Medal of Honor. Kildars and everyone - not everyone in the Army joined the Army for money. Not everyone joins the Marines for pride. Quit stereotyping the Army and the Marines. Its starting to get sick around this board. But not to take away from the article, it was a great article.

[Dave Coup]

Another example of our proud heritage and why we'll win this war with good brave young men like this, how can we lose? RIP Marine Well Done!
Semper Fidelis!
Dave Coup

[Kildars]

Well written story, very touching, I hope he gets the Medal of Honor. Kildars and everyone - not everyone in the Army joined the Army for money. Not everyone joins the Marines for pride. Quit stereotyping the Army and the Marines. Its starting to get sick around this board. But not to take away from the article, it was a great article.

That was my point if you knew how to read it, that not everyone who joins the Military does it for money.

[Adam1988]

Rest in Piece Marine...you served your time in hell.

[jinelson]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v660/jinelson/usflaghlfstf-1.gif

Rest In Peace Marine

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v660/jinelson/semperfi.gif

[Mama]

http://bestsmileys.com/usa1/8.gif
Thank you

[Kildars]

Rest in Piece Marine...you served your time in hell.

Peace ;)

[jackson07]

:iwo:

[jinelson]

Im bumping this up for the new pups that have joined us. Please take time to read it and you will feel the pride that we Marines feel!

Jim

[Dave Coup]

Thanks Jim. Everyone should re-read this. What an outstanding young man!

SF

Dave

[The1stSgt]

"Above and beyond the call of duty."

Outstanding read, makes me proud that I'm in the same Corps as this young warrior.

[thezero]

That story makes me want to turn 18 and get out of high school faster so I can serve along men like him. Its soldiers like that (it doesnt matter what branch) that I want to be friends with. Even though we lost a couple good Marines they died with honor and pride.May god watch over them

[jinelson]

I wanted to give you all an update on fallen Marine Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Adlesperger. For whatever reason he did not receive the Medal Of Honor but was awarded a Navy Cross instead. Go back and read the first post of this thread to see what this Marine did.

Jim



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v660/jinelson/25699931.jpg

Marine Lance Cpl. Erick Hodges, left, and Lance Cpl. Ryan Sunnerville, right, pose with Pfc. Christopher Adlesperger on Nov. 8, 2004. Two days later, in an attack in Fallujah, Adlesperger killed at least 11 insurgents. Hodges was killed and Sunnerville was wounded.


Parents were proud long before N.M. Marine was awarded the Navy Cross

By Ollie Reed Jr. (Contact), Sue Vorenberg (Contact)
Saturday, March 17, 2007

Gary Adlesperger's love for and pride in his late son, Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Adlesperger, has nothing to do with medals, commendations or campaign ribbons.

Adlesperger, of Albuquerque, said he was always proud of his son - even before Christopher joined the Marines; before his heroic efforts saved the lives of fellow Marines during a fierce firefight in November 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq; before the 20-year-old Marine was killed in December 2004 during another combat mission in Fallujah.

Still, Adlesperger said he was gratified to learn recently that his son had been awarded the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest award for valor. That means the younger Adlesperger will not receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military heroism.

"I am proud," his father said during a phone interview Friday. "Not too many people get the Navy Cross."

Adlesperger said family members will gather soon - probably early next month - at the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to attend ceremonies recognizing Christopher with the medal.

Lance Cpl. Adlesperger, a 2003 Eldorado High graduate, had been considered for the Medal of Honor, America's highest accolade for military heroism and, therefore, the hardest to get.

Since the first Medals of Honor were presented in 1863, about 3,500 have been awarded.

Adlesperger was awarded the Navy Cross because his actions fit the criteria for that medal more than the Medal of Honor, said Lt. Esteban Vickers, a spokesman for Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division.

"It was decided by the awards branch and through the process that it was the appropriate level of award," Vickers said. "This is a very heroic award."

A Navy Cross may be presented to any member of the armed forces serving with the Marine Corps, Navy or Coast Guard who distinguishes himself or herself in action by extraordinary heroism not justifying an award of the Medal of Honor.

It generally takes at least two years after the action before high-level awards like the Navy Cross or Medal of Honor are determined, Vickers said.

"The higher level award, the longer it takes," Vickers said.

Certainly, Christopher Adlesperger's actions were extraordinarily heroic.

On Nov. 10, 2004, in Fallujah, Adlesperger, a private at the time, killed at least 11 heavily armed enemy Iraqi combatants using his M-16 and grenade launcher to lay down a withering fire that is credited with shielding two wounded comrades from additional harm and likely saving the lives of others as well.

When the fight was done, Adlesperger's face had been bloodied by shrapnel and his uniform ripped by bullets.

For his action that day, Adlesperger was promoted to lance corporal on Thanksgiving weekend 2004 and considered for an award for heroism.

But on Dec. 9, 2004, he was killed while leading a sweep through a Fallujah neighborhood. It was reported that multiple rounds hit Adlesperger's flak vest, spinning him around and leaving him vulnerable to a bullet that struck him in an unprotected area on his side and plunged into his heart.

During a November interview with The Tribune, Gary Adlesperger said it meant more that his son's commanding officers thought enough of him to nominate him for an award recognizing his bravery than if Christopher actually received the Medal of Honor.

Now that Christopher has been awarded the Navy Cross, Gary said he is proud, as he always has been.

But, as he said in November, he'd rather have his son alive than any medal, ribbon or commendation.

Military medals

For action in Afghanistan or Iraq:

Army: (As of Oct. 31)

Medal of Honor: 1

Distinguished Service Cross: 4

Navy: (As of March 16)

Medal of Honor: 0

Navy Cross: 7

Marine Corps: (As of March 5)

Medal of Honor: 1

Navy Cross: 15*

*Adlesperger is the 15th

Air Force: (As of March 16)

Medal of Honor: 0

Distinguished Flying Cross With Heroism: 169

Source: U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force

Ellie
__________________
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY LATE HUSBAND, SSgt Roger A. Alfano, USMC
ONE PROUD MARINE
1961-1977
Vietnam 1968/69
Once a Marine...Always a Marine
www.geocities.com/thedrifter001/
http://www.thefontman.com/
http://p089.ezboard.com/bthefontmanscommunity
aka fontwoman

[PatriotGirl422]

Very motivational.

[yellowwing]

The Gunfight
(excerpt from the LA Times Article)

"That was Chris. Whatever he did, he always went in with the idea that nobody was going to beat him, nobody," said Dennis Adlesperger, 53, his uncle.

More from the LA Times article:

Adlesperger, acting as the point man for the four-man fire team, had attempted to knock down a gate. Hodges moved forward and was immediately felled by a hail of bullets from inside, probably from a concealed opening in the masonry wall.

As they rushed the house, Navy corpsman Alonso Rogero was hit in the stomach and Lance Cpl. Ryan Sunnerville in the leg. Grainy, shaky film of the incident shows Sunnerville hopping on one leg, still firing his M-16. Marines and insurgents exchanged gunfire from no more than 20 feet. From inside the building, the insurgents also threw grenades.

The insurgents had hoped to spring what is called a Chechen ambush, named after the rebels who have fought Russian troops for years. The tactic is particularly successful when tanks cannot be used.

The strategy, Marines determined later, had been to wound Marines attempting to enter the building. When other Marines came to help them, an insurgent sniper down an alleyway would pick off corpsmen, radio operators and officers. And when enough Marines or vehicles were gathered, insurgents would fire rocket-propelled grenades.

Adlesperger fired at the insurgent machine-gun position as he ran toward Rogero and Sunnerville. He helped the two up the outside stairway to the roof. As insurgents tried to storm the stairway, Adlesperger killed them before they could reach the roof. Shrapnel ripped into his face.

From his rooftop position, he could see insurgents peppering Hodges' lifeless body with bullets, including two to his head. When one ran from the building to seize Hodges' weapon, Adlesperger killed him with a single shot.

Still, the machine-gun position inside the building had not been touched, and it was pinning down Marines gathering to assault the building from the front. With no time to consult officers, and with other Marine units engaged in firefights, Adlesperger was left to his own initiative.

"Chris essentially took over," said Malay.

Unable to penetrate the building with his M-16, Adlesperger shifted to the grenade launcher. Standing on the roof, he blew holes in the building and then rained down gunfire on the insurgents below him. They returned fire and then fled.

From his rooftop position, Adlesperger killed four insurgents who had fled into the courtyard, each with a shot to the head. By Malay's estimate, Adlesperger killed a total of 11 insurgents. The actual number may be higher.

[...]

That night, Starner went to Adlesperger to gather information for the official report. As Adlesperger spoke, he began to weep — not for the men he had killed, or even for the fact he had had to kill them, but for Hodges, a wisecracking Northern Californian who was on his second combat tour in Iraq and had turned 21 only the day before.

"He just kept saying, 'Hodges, Hodges, we had to get him out,' " Starner said.

Adlesperger, Hodges and Sunnerville were particularly close. Each had been a high school wrestler, each had learned to trust his life to the others.

"We were tight," said Sunnerville, 22, who has recovered from his wounds, been promoted to sergeant and recently finished his third combat tour in Iraq.

Semper Fi L/Cpl Adlesperger :usmc:

[RuffNight2007]

Yeah I'm def going to read this - when I wake up.

[HLeyb]

That's gut wrenching and awe inspiring.

I think it's time again that a Marine earned the Medal of Honor. He was more than a hero, he IS an inspiration.

[jinelson]

Adlesperger to get Navy Cross today

Staff and wire reports
Friday, April 13, 2007

The family of Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Adlesperger will accept the Navy Cross on his behalf at a ceremony today in Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The Albuquerque native was killed in combat in Fallujah, Iraq, in December.

Adlesperger was given the award - the second-highest that can be conferred on a Marine - for his heroism during a firefight in Fallujah on Nov. 10, 2004.

Despite sustaining a fragmentation wound from an enemy grenade, Adlesperger "destroyed the last strongpoint in the Jolan District of Al Fallujah, and saved the lives of his fellow Marines," a statement from the Marines said.

The 2003 Eldorado High School graduate served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division.

[yellowwing]

We strive to prepare each and every one of you poolees to be this kind of Marine. Brother Chris was a young Marine, but on that day his heart courage and commitment echoed in our Marine Corps History.

[yellowwing]

Adlesperger was hot, tired from months of long hours and 4 hours of sleep. Every sit up, pull up and bleeding sweat on the road paid off when he saw his friends go down. His PMI from boot camp was talking in his head when he put those mo'fos down, "Tight controlled groups". And his Senior Drill Instructor was telling him to Never Quit!

[bgsuwoody]

Thank you Marine for your unnerving service and utter self sacrifice. I hope tha someday I can be half of what you have become.