thedrifter
03-06-07, 08:09 AM
Modified: Mar 06, 2007 04:20 AM
Garner Marine gets Bronze Star
He helped patrol escape burning vehicle
Jerry Allegood, Staff Writer
CAMP LEJEUNE - Marine Pfc. Enrique C. "Henry" Sanchez was never really comfortable when strangers thanked him for his military service, but friends and family said he would have appreciated the Bronze Star he received posthumously Monday.
That award -- one of the Marine Corps' highest honors -- was different because it was from his fellow Marines in Iraq, said his grandmother, Pat Ayscue of Garner.
"Awards were not big things for him," she said. "He would have been proud to get the award, but he was even prouder to be nominated by his peers and the officers."
Sanchez, 21, died in July when his Humvee ran over an explosive device near Ramadi. He had been nominated for the Bronze Star for his actions a month earlier during an attack in which his Humvee was hit by a grenade and erupted in flames.
The award citation said Sanchez, a turret gunner with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 1st Brigade Combat Team, I Marine Expeditionary Force, was part of a four-vehicle mounted patrol ambushed by 20 insurgents.
His vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade, which exploded underneath the Humvee, causing the fuel tank to ignite. The Humvee was engulfed in flames, but enemy fire prevented the occupants from getting out.
"Exposing himself to a high volume of fire impacting his vehicle and disregarding the intensifying flames, Sanchez remained with the vehicle to accurately engage the enemy with his machine gun," the citation said.
Sanchez's machine gun fire silenced two enemy positions and allowed his crew to escape the burning vehicle. By the time he was out of ammunition, the entire vehicle was on fire and Sanchez was forced to exit by crawling out of the turret. He received second-degree burns, but was able to escape moments before grenades and rockets stored inside the vehicle exploded.
"It was automatic, he didn't think about what he was doing, " said Cpl. Daniel Webb, 22. "He jumped up and started shooting.
Webb remembered Sanchez for a big smile and playing his music loud.
"Pfc. Sanchez was a true friend and a true hero," he said. "If not for him, myself and other Marines would not be here now."
Marine officers presented the medal to Ayscue, who said her grandson was her best friend, and to his mother, Christie Otten from Winchester, Calif. He wasn't perfect, she said, smiling, but he was good to his friends and family.
Otten said that when Sanchez was a child, he wept while watching accounts of the Gulf War on television.
"We knew he was not going to be one of those kids who just went to parties and found everything as a joke," she said. "He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to save the world."
She said she was thankful that he was able to save some of his friends.
His mother and grandmother wore T-shirts on Monday with images of Sanchez decked out in Marine gear. "Our warrior, our hero," was on the front and a photo of Sanchez walking away was on the back.
"He just walked off," Ayscue said. "He's still out there."
Staff writer Jerry Allegood can be reached in Greenville at (252) 752-8411 or jerrya@newsobserver.com.
Ellie
Garner Marine gets Bronze Star
He helped patrol escape burning vehicle
Jerry Allegood, Staff Writer
CAMP LEJEUNE - Marine Pfc. Enrique C. "Henry" Sanchez was never really comfortable when strangers thanked him for his military service, but friends and family said he would have appreciated the Bronze Star he received posthumously Monday.
That award -- one of the Marine Corps' highest honors -- was different because it was from his fellow Marines in Iraq, said his grandmother, Pat Ayscue of Garner.
"Awards were not big things for him," she said. "He would have been proud to get the award, but he was even prouder to be nominated by his peers and the officers."
Sanchez, 21, died in July when his Humvee ran over an explosive device near Ramadi. He had been nominated for the Bronze Star for his actions a month earlier during an attack in which his Humvee was hit by a grenade and erupted in flames.
The award citation said Sanchez, a turret gunner with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 1st Brigade Combat Team, I Marine Expeditionary Force, was part of a four-vehicle mounted patrol ambushed by 20 insurgents.
His vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade, which exploded underneath the Humvee, causing the fuel tank to ignite. The Humvee was engulfed in flames, but enemy fire prevented the occupants from getting out.
"Exposing himself to a high volume of fire impacting his vehicle and disregarding the intensifying flames, Sanchez remained with the vehicle to accurately engage the enemy with his machine gun," the citation said.
Sanchez's machine gun fire silenced two enemy positions and allowed his crew to escape the burning vehicle. By the time he was out of ammunition, the entire vehicle was on fire and Sanchez was forced to exit by crawling out of the turret. He received second-degree burns, but was able to escape moments before grenades and rockets stored inside the vehicle exploded.
"It was automatic, he didn't think about what he was doing, " said Cpl. Daniel Webb, 22. "He jumped up and started shooting.
Webb remembered Sanchez for a big smile and playing his music loud.
"Pfc. Sanchez was a true friend and a true hero," he said. "If not for him, myself and other Marines would not be here now."
Marine officers presented the medal to Ayscue, who said her grandson was her best friend, and to his mother, Christie Otten from Winchester, Calif. He wasn't perfect, she said, smiling, but he was good to his friends and family.
Otten said that when Sanchez was a child, he wept while watching accounts of the Gulf War on television.
"We knew he was not going to be one of those kids who just went to parties and found everything as a joke," she said. "He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to save the world."
She said she was thankful that he was able to save some of his friends.
His mother and grandmother wore T-shirts on Monday with images of Sanchez decked out in Marine gear. "Our warrior, our hero," was on the front and a photo of Sanchez walking away was on the back.
"He just walked off," Ayscue said. "He's still out there."
Staff writer Jerry Allegood can be reached in Greenville at (252) 752-8411 or jerrya@newsobserver.com.
Ellie