thedrifter
06-28-08, 08:44 AM
CAMP PENDLETON: Marine awarded Bronze Star
By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- The black metal bracelet on Cpl. Francisco Valles' left wrist glinted in the sunlight Friday, pressed against the red-bound citation the young Marine held.
Watch the video
The bracelet bears the name of his best friend, Lance Cpl. Christian Vasquez, who died in Valles' arms, felled in a firefight in Iraq last summer.
The citation detailing Valles' heroism came with the Bronze Star he was awarded Friday for his actions during a brief but deadly eruption of gunfire and grenades on a hot August morning near the Syrian border.
The men were scouts with Camp Pendleton's 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. Their platoon was patrolling desert roads on Aug. 2 when they came across vehicles that caught their attention, according to Valles and two of the Marines with him that day.
They said they stopped a large truck and approached it on foot, backed up by armored cars full of Marines and firepower.
But the five men in the truck began firing at the four Marines on foot, Valles said.
Vasquez was mortally wounded and their team leader, Sgt. Randy Roedema, was hit.
Valles said he and a fourth Marine, then-Lance Cpl. Moses Cardenas, fought back as they tried to rescue their friends.
As Cardenas dragged the team leader away from the bloodbath, he too was hit, leaving Valles as the lone uninjured Marine.
"I was pinned down by myself," Valles said.
The wounded Cardenas fired at the attackers, buying time for Valles to reload.
"He made them duck their heads just a little bit," Valles said. "Gave me enough time to try and eliminate the threat."
The team leader, shot twice in the attack, said he remembers Valles shooting two weapons at the same time.
Valles also treated his comrades until medical corpsmen could arrive, according to the citation.
On Friday, the corporal pressed his lips together as his battalion commander spoke during the award ceremony.
"You have forever cemented a place in American history by your actions," Lt. Col. Scott Leonard said.
The Bronze Star is the fourth highest combat award Marines can earn, according to information provided by the Marine Corps. The addition of the V, for valor, signifies that the award comes as the result of an act of heroism.
As of the end of May, 3,045 Marines ---- about 190,000 Marines are on active duty ---- have been awarded the Bronze Star since the start of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 15 percent of the awards included a distinction for valor and were handed to enlisted Marines, according to the Marine Corps.
Cardenas' heroism brought him an even higher award. In late March, the young Marine was pinned with the Silver Star.
And there are others who may find themselves pinned with honors for their actions that day as well, including Lt. Chris Ferguson, 26, who was the senior Marine on the battlefield that terrible morning.
Ferguson said that as his Marines fought without anything to duck behind, he positioned an armored vehicle between the exposed men and the enemy fire, and ordered a second vehicle in to blow up the attackers' truck.
The lieutenant said the five attackers were killed that day, including one suspected to be a suicide bomber.
Ferguson, who bears a scar from bullet that grazed his right cheek and blew off communication gear on his ears, nominated Valles for the Bronze Star.
Valles was on his first combat assignment when he found himself in the middle of the firefight.
"I was amazed I didn't get shot myself," Valles said. "Maybe it was God, maybe it was something I did.
"This medal is not for myself, definitely not for me," he said. "It's to represent the Marines that were there with me, and the one that's not here. I'm just wearing it."
The 21-year-old newlywed is set to return to Iraq in September.
"The only reason I don't mind going back is because I don't want it to happen again," Valles said, "and if it does happen, I am ready and I want to teach my Marines."
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- The black metal bracelet on Cpl. Francisco Valles' left wrist glinted in the sunlight Friday, pressed against the red-bound citation the young Marine held.
Watch the video
The bracelet bears the name of his best friend, Lance Cpl. Christian Vasquez, who died in Valles' arms, felled in a firefight in Iraq last summer.
The citation detailing Valles' heroism came with the Bronze Star he was awarded Friday for his actions during a brief but deadly eruption of gunfire and grenades on a hot August morning near the Syrian border.
The men were scouts with Camp Pendleton's 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. Their platoon was patrolling desert roads on Aug. 2 when they came across vehicles that caught their attention, according to Valles and two of the Marines with him that day.
They said they stopped a large truck and approached it on foot, backed up by armored cars full of Marines and firepower.
But the five men in the truck began firing at the four Marines on foot, Valles said.
Vasquez was mortally wounded and their team leader, Sgt. Randy Roedema, was hit.
Valles said he and a fourth Marine, then-Lance Cpl. Moses Cardenas, fought back as they tried to rescue their friends.
As Cardenas dragged the team leader away from the bloodbath, he too was hit, leaving Valles as the lone uninjured Marine.
"I was pinned down by myself," Valles said.
The wounded Cardenas fired at the attackers, buying time for Valles to reload.
"He made them duck their heads just a little bit," Valles said. "Gave me enough time to try and eliminate the threat."
The team leader, shot twice in the attack, said he remembers Valles shooting two weapons at the same time.
Valles also treated his comrades until medical corpsmen could arrive, according to the citation.
On Friday, the corporal pressed his lips together as his battalion commander spoke during the award ceremony.
"You have forever cemented a place in American history by your actions," Lt. Col. Scott Leonard said.
The Bronze Star is the fourth highest combat award Marines can earn, according to information provided by the Marine Corps. The addition of the V, for valor, signifies that the award comes as the result of an act of heroism.
As of the end of May, 3,045 Marines ---- about 190,000 Marines are on active duty ---- have been awarded the Bronze Star since the start of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 15 percent of the awards included a distinction for valor and were handed to enlisted Marines, according to the Marine Corps.
Cardenas' heroism brought him an even higher award. In late March, the young Marine was pinned with the Silver Star.
And there are others who may find themselves pinned with honors for their actions that day as well, including Lt. Chris Ferguson, 26, who was the senior Marine on the battlefield that terrible morning.
Ferguson said that as his Marines fought without anything to duck behind, he positioned an armored vehicle between the exposed men and the enemy fire, and ordered a second vehicle in to blow up the attackers' truck.
The lieutenant said the five attackers were killed that day, including one suspected to be a suicide bomber.
Ferguson, who bears a scar from bullet that grazed his right cheek and blew off communication gear on his ears, nominated Valles for the Bronze Star.
Valles was on his first combat assignment when he found himself in the middle of the firefight.
"I was amazed I didn't get shot myself," Valles said. "Maybe it was God, maybe it was something I did.
"This medal is not for myself, definitely not for me," he said. "It's to represent the Marines that were there with me, and the one that's not here. I'm just wearing it."
The 21-year-old newlywed is set to return to Iraq in September.
"The only reason I don't mind going back is because I don't want it to happen again," Valles said, "and if it does happen, I am ready and I want to teach my Marines."
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
Ellie