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thedrifter
11-23-06, 07:36 AM
Calm in a time of storm
November 23,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Staff Sgt. Richard Pillsbury was trained to be a leader the day he stepped off the bus at boot camp.

He had already served in the Army for eight years, so the 26-year-old Marine recruit was expected to lead the younger Marines.

It proved perfect training for the hard days of November 2004, when Pillsbury was forced into impromptu command of his platoon and tasked with leading them through the vicious streets of Fallujah, Iraq.

Those leadership skills and an inherent calmness during that battle earned Pillsbury, 38, of Orange, Texas, a Silver Star, which was presented to him Wednesday during a ceremony at Camp Geiger.

“It’s very humbling to be put in this position,” Pillsbury said. “You don’t wear this for yourself; you wear it for those Marines.”

Pillsbury was the platoon sergeant of 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, when that battalion entered Fallujah in November 2004 to clear the violent city of insurgents. On Nov. 10, the platoon commander was injured and had to be medevaced from the battlefield.

Pillsbury said he remembered bustling about a house they were in, following a trail of blood whenever he needed to find the wounded lieutenant.

The platoon turned to Pillsbury to lead them on. He did that with a “calm effectiveness,” according to the award citation.

“As platoon sergeant you need to be the calmness,” Pillsbury said.

During the following weeks, Pillsbury led his Marines through a harrowing array of events under regular enemy fire and direct combat. During one firefight, an errant 500-pound bomb landed 20 meters from the building the platoon was in, resulting in three casualties.

Despite that, Pillsbury was able to evacuate his men while continuing to fight, the citation reads.

On another instance on Nov. 15, one of the platoon’s squads entered a house to clear it. They came under attack, and one of the Marines was killed. Pillsbury ordered a tank to shoot into the house and then launched a rescue operation to recover the body of their fallen comrade.

Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin, the 2nd Marine Division commander who pinned the medal to Pillsbury’s chest, said Pillsbury is a hero and an example for all Marines.

“Our nation and our Corps can’t thank him enough for what he did,” Gaskin said. “At that day, at that time, Staff Sgt. Pillsbury was ready.”

Pillsbury, who is now a combat instructor at Camp Geiger, said the award reminds him of those days in Fallujah and of the Marines who served so valiantly under him.

“There’s not a day goes by I don’t think about the Marines,” he said. “Some (memories) bring a smile to your face; some put a knot in your throat.

“They are the most phenomenal group of Marines I’ve ever had in all my years of services. It was a band of brothers, just like they taught us in boot camp. They took care of me.”

Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.

Ellie