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thedrifter
10-18-07, 05:21 AM
Oct. 18, 2007, 12:16AM
Texas Marine awarded Silver Star

Los Angeles Times

As a sniper Sgt. Chad Cassady, a quiet Texan with a master's degree in political science, helped protect his fellow Marines during the battle in Fallujah , Iraq, in late 2004.

But when insurgent mortars fell behind and in front of the Marines — a tactic called "bracketing" — Cassady and other Marines were forced to run across a rubble-strewn street. When another mortar landed in their midst, two Marines were knocked to the ground and Cassady was thrown into the courtyard of a home.

The explosion collapsed his right lung, lacerated his liver and kidneys, and peppered his knee and leg with shrapnel. Although he was bleeding and dazed, he went back into the street to drag two wounded Marines to safety as insurgent gunfire rained down.

On Wednesday, Cassady, now 33 and a 2nd lieutenant, was awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for combat bravery at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The ceremony had to wait until his return a week ago from his third deployment to Iraq.

Cassady did not speak at the ceremony. In an interview he was cordial but declined to suggest he had done anything special. "It was one of those days when Marines were doing what had to be done."

Cassady enlisted in early 2001 after receiving a bachelor's degree in political science from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and a master's degree from Southwest Texas State University.

He could have become an officer, but "he wanted the full Marine Corps experience," said his father, Joe Cassady, of Salado. "He's an action figure."

Ellie