thedrifter
06-23-07, 07:19 AM
Todd Desgrosseilliers Bit The Bullet In Fallujah
Brad Kelly
Fri Jun 22, 7:00 PM ET
Bullets were flying, with not much space to hide from enemy fire.
Todd Desgrosseilliers wasn't about to hide. He ran out from cover and into the courtyard to save one of his wounded Marines.
Hit by grenade fragments and a bullet that ricocheted into his leg, Desgrosseilliers, then a major in the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, ignored the pain and pulled the injured leatherneck to safety.
It wasn't the first time Desgrosseilliers risked life and limb to save one of his Marines. A week before, engulfed in another gunbattle, he threw himself between an enemy grenade and two of his men.
Now, as he fought in the courtyard on Dec. 23, 2004, Desgrosseilliers saw himself simply doing his job in Fallujah, Iraq.
But he and his men did more than complete the task at hand. Their efforts secured the city and let displaced citizens return to their homes.
That year, Fallujah had become one of the deadliest cities in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In the spring, images of charred bodies of civilian workers hanging from the Euphrates River bridge in Fallujah were broadcast worldwide. The graphic picture summed up the dire and lawless situation in the city west of Baghdad in the Anbar province.
The U.S. military knew it had to mount a counterinsurgency or concede that the city was lost.
Desgrosseilliers was put in charge of Task Force Bruno. The unit was part of a larger U.S. security force of 1,200 to 1,300 that conducted security sweeps throughout Fallujah from November to December.
The mission: Root out terrorists hiding in the city and destroy all caches of weapons. Desgrosseilliers led a force that at any given time ranged from 60 to 100 Marines.
With December coming to an end, two of the 40 city districts still had enemy strongholds.
Two days before Christmas, Desgrosseilliers received a call that some of his Marines were trapped in a building hit by gunfire. It was time to saddle up. He went directly to their aid with as many Marines as he could round up.
Desgrosseilliers remembers hearing gunfire as soon as he arrived on the scene. He had no communication with Capt. Al Butler, the commander of the troops trapped inside the four-story building.
Still, Desgrosseilliers knew the outfit had three dead Marines and others injured. He also knew the enemy outnumbered Butler's bunch 3-to-1.
"We were following the battalion, clearing a few places they didn't get to, and I had a bad feeling," Desgrosseilliers told IBD. "We then made contact with the enemy. I wanted to protect my Marines and kill the enemy ... in that order."
Butler, who received the Bronze Star for his heroic actions that day, says he and four Marines were ambushed on the second floor while conducting sweeps.
They continued to fight the terrorists in the building, but had no way to escape.
"Going into that house we had to accept that we may not make it out," Butler told IBD.
When Desgrosseilliers showed up, he and his men immediately came under attack.
The Marines managed to fend off enemy gunfire and get to the stairwell where Butler and his men were pinned down.
Amid a hail of bullets and grenade explosions, Desgrosseilliers was knocked out for a few seconds.
"They were throwing down grenades from the second floor at us, and I grabbed the Marines and then I was unconscious," he said. "We were along the outside wall, and I shook it off while regrouping to go back, where we killed three or four more insurgents."
The Marines were running low on ammunition during the battle. So they started picking up the rifles of dead terrorists in order to keep the pressure on.
Desgrosseilliers and his men were able to hold off the enemy and pull out the trapped Marines, including the three who had died.
"No Marine is ever left behind," Desgrosseilliers said. "My goal was to get everyone out of the building without letting the enemy go."
Desgrosseilliers refused to let the enemy sneak away and regroup to fight another day.
For the Marines of Task Force Bruno, the time was now or face weeks of deadly fighting and dangerous sweeps.
Tanks and air support were set and ready to destroy the building once Desgrosseilliers got the Marines out and gave the signal.
As the last Marine was pulled to safety, he gave the word, and 15 laser-guided bombs poured down. The buildings became rubble.
Desgrosseilliers had snipers stationed on the rooftops nearby ready to pick off any terrorist able to survive the blasts.
"Without proper training ahead of time or a strategic plan, we might not have been successful," he said. "In the midst of battle, one must rely on their training and natural instinct, just like a boxer."
Butler says keeping morale high among Task Force Bruno's troops fell on the shoulders of Desgrosseilliers, who came through.
"He always had his door open and you could pick his brain," Butler said. "The things he did that day were heroic, but it was his planning ahead of time and his leadership as a mentor that saved a lot more lives."
Desgrosseilliers trusted each of his troops. That faith was a huge confidence booster that let them execute their missions, Butler says.
"If you don't trust your subordinates, you can't be successful on the battlefield," said Desgrosseilliers, who was promoted to lieutenant colonel last year. "Teamwork is key. When you're out on those streets, it's only you and your men against the enemy."
Desgrosseilliers risked life during the nine-hour battle. While the smoke cleared, he walked out while pulling an injured Marine to safety.
All the while, his men finished off the last of the terrorists and destroyed a large cache of weapons.
Desgrosseilliers is no stranger to military service. Honorably serving in the Marine Corps for 22 years, he has spent 17 of them as an officer.
His father, Edward, was in the Navy. While the family bounced among military bases, Todd always called Maine home.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1985. After graduating from Boston University in 1990, he was commissioned a second lieutenant.
It was a special moment for the young Marine. His dad, onboard the two-century-old USS Constitution in Boston, pinned the stripes on the new officer.
After returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq earlier this year, Desgrosseilliers, 43, plans to move with his wife, Chris, and their three children to Boston. He is enrolled in a fellowship at Harvard University for the upcoming year.
"If (the U.S.) calls on me again, I'll be there," he said. "It is a great honor and privilege to be a Marine."
Desgrosseilliers was awarded the Silver Star in January 2006 for his leadership and actions in Fallujah. It is the third-highest award given for valor in the face of the enemy.
Ellie
Brad Kelly
Fri Jun 22, 7:00 PM ET
Bullets were flying, with not much space to hide from enemy fire.
Todd Desgrosseilliers wasn't about to hide. He ran out from cover and into the courtyard to save one of his wounded Marines.
Hit by grenade fragments and a bullet that ricocheted into his leg, Desgrosseilliers, then a major in the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, ignored the pain and pulled the injured leatherneck to safety.
It wasn't the first time Desgrosseilliers risked life and limb to save one of his Marines. A week before, engulfed in another gunbattle, he threw himself between an enemy grenade and two of his men.
Now, as he fought in the courtyard on Dec. 23, 2004, Desgrosseilliers saw himself simply doing his job in Fallujah, Iraq.
But he and his men did more than complete the task at hand. Their efforts secured the city and let displaced citizens return to their homes.
That year, Fallujah had become one of the deadliest cities in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In the spring, images of charred bodies of civilian workers hanging from the Euphrates River bridge in Fallujah were broadcast worldwide. The graphic picture summed up the dire and lawless situation in the city west of Baghdad in the Anbar province.
The U.S. military knew it had to mount a counterinsurgency or concede that the city was lost.
Desgrosseilliers was put in charge of Task Force Bruno. The unit was part of a larger U.S. security force of 1,200 to 1,300 that conducted security sweeps throughout Fallujah from November to December.
The mission: Root out terrorists hiding in the city and destroy all caches of weapons. Desgrosseilliers led a force that at any given time ranged from 60 to 100 Marines.
With December coming to an end, two of the 40 city districts still had enemy strongholds.
Two days before Christmas, Desgrosseilliers received a call that some of his Marines were trapped in a building hit by gunfire. It was time to saddle up. He went directly to their aid with as many Marines as he could round up.
Desgrosseilliers remembers hearing gunfire as soon as he arrived on the scene. He had no communication with Capt. Al Butler, the commander of the troops trapped inside the four-story building.
Still, Desgrosseilliers knew the outfit had three dead Marines and others injured. He also knew the enemy outnumbered Butler's bunch 3-to-1.
"We were following the battalion, clearing a few places they didn't get to, and I had a bad feeling," Desgrosseilliers told IBD. "We then made contact with the enemy. I wanted to protect my Marines and kill the enemy ... in that order."
Butler, who received the Bronze Star for his heroic actions that day, says he and four Marines were ambushed on the second floor while conducting sweeps.
They continued to fight the terrorists in the building, but had no way to escape.
"Going into that house we had to accept that we may not make it out," Butler told IBD.
When Desgrosseilliers showed up, he and his men immediately came under attack.
The Marines managed to fend off enemy gunfire and get to the stairwell where Butler and his men were pinned down.
Amid a hail of bullets and grenade explosions, Desgrosseilliers was knocked out for a few seconds.
"They were throwing down grenades from the second floor at us, and I grabbed the Marines and then I was unconscious," he said. "We were along the outside wall, and I shook it off while regrouping to go back, where we killed three or four more insurgents."
The Marines were running low on ammunition during the battle. So they started picking up the rifles of dead terrorists in order to keep the pressure on.
Desgrosseilliers and his men were able to hold off the enemy and pull out the trapped Marines, including the three who had died.
"No Marine is ever left behind," Desgrosseilliers said. "My goal was to get everyone out of the building without letting the enemy go."
Desgrosseilliers refused to let the enemy sneak away and regroup to fight another day.
For the Marines of Task Force Bruno, the time was now or face weeks of deadly fighting and dangerous sweeps.
Tanks and air support were set and ready to destroy the building once Desgrosseilliers got the Marines out and gave the signal.
As the last Marine was pulled to safety, he gave the word, and 15 laser-guided bombs poured down. The buildings became rubble.
Desgrosseilliers had snipers stationed on the rooftops nearby ready to pick off any terrorist able to survive the blasts.
"Without proper training ahead of time or a strategic plan, we might not have been successful," he said. "In the midst of battle, one must rely on their training and natural instinct, just like a boxer."
Butler says keeping morale high among Task Force Bruno's troops fell on the shoulders of Desgrosseilliers, who came through.
"He always had his door open and you could pick his brain," Butler said. "The things he did that day were heroic, but it was his planning ahead of time and his leadership as a mentor that saved a lot more lives."
Desgrosseilliers trusted each of his troops. That faith was a huge confidence booster that let them execute their missions, Butler says.
"If you don't trust your subordinates, you can't be successful on the battlefield," said Desgrosseilliers, who was promoted to lieutenant colonel last year. "Teamwork is key. When you're out on those streets, it's only you and your men against the enemy."
Desgrosseilliers risked life during the nine-hour battle. While the smoke cleared, he walked out while pulling an injured Marine to safety.
All the while, his men finished off the last of the terrorists and destroyed a large cache of weapons.
Desgrosseilliers is no stranger to military service. Honorably serving in the Marine Corps for 22 years, he has spent 17 of them as an officer.
His father, Edward, was in the Navy. While the family bounced among military bases, Todd always called Maine home.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1985. After graduating from Boston University in 1990, he was commissioned a second lieutenant.
It was a special moment for the young Marine. His dad, onboard the two-century-old USS Constitution in Boston, pinned the stripes on the new officer.
After returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq earlier this year, Desgrosseilliers, 43, plans to move with his wife, Chris, and their three children to Boston. He is enrolled in a fellowship at Harvard University for the upcoming year.
"If (the U.S.) calls on me again, I'll be there," he said. "It is a great honor and privilege to be a Marine."
Desgrosseilliers was awarded the Silver Star in January 2006 for his leadership and actions in Fallujah. It is the third-highest award given for valor in the face of the enemy.
Ellie