thedrifter
08-05-08, 02:50 PM
August 4, 2008
Area Marine earns Bronze Star
By BOB SCOTT
bscott@journalandcourier.com
Marine Maj. Jay N. Rice, who was born in Lafayette, has received a Bronze Star Medal for combat actions in a remote region of eastern Afghanistan during 2006.
He deflected praise from himself. Instead, he lauded other members of his unit.
"It was nice to be recognized, but I am most proud of the Marines I had the privilege of leading in combat for 12 months," he said via e-mail.
"I have never served with a finer group of men."
The Bronze Star Medal was established in 1944 during World War II. It is for all ranks of the armed forces to honor heroic or meritorious achievement during military operations.
Rice, 44, grew up in Newtown, Fountain County. His mother, Jane Rice, still lives there.
He is serving in Okinawa as the operations officer with the 12th Marine Regiment.
On June 10, 2006, Rice was in a convoy that came under heavy small arms fire from a Taliban ambush near the Pakistani border.
An excerpt from the Bronze Star report follows:
"Due to his courage and decisiveness, Major Rice, disregarding his own safety and welfare, immediately directed heavy machine gun counter-fire and coordinated artillery fire on enemy positions. Within minutes, the enemy ambush was suppressed, resulting in several enemy KIAs (killed in action)."
He also was praised for being a "diligent leader, mentor and adviser" who "was enormously respected by his fellow Marines and Afghan counterparts alike."
Rice said he recommended five men for Bronze Stars and two for awards with the "V" device for valor in combat. He said most of them have since been promoted, and several already have returned to either Afghanistan or Iraq.
"God bless them all," he said.
His mother said she never imagined her son would grow up to be a Bronze Star winner.
"I'm very proud of him. Our entire family is," she said. "He had a grandfather who served in World War I and a couple of uncles who were in World War II."
Rice and his wife, Anita, have three children. He recently returned to Okinawa, but his family stayed to finish a short visit in Newtown. They will return today to Okinawa.
"He doesn't like the limelight," said Anita, originally from Oklahoma. "He never tries to make himself look bigger than the others.
"He has high moral standards and is a great leader."
Anita said her husband has a great affection for the people of Afghanistan.
"He told me about a time his unit treated a 2-year-old girl who was hurt by shrapnel from an enemy shell," she said. "The mother brought the girl in. She had just lost two other children in the attack.
"That shook him up. He had little kids back home."
Rice is in his 19th year with the Marine Corps. He extended the three-year tour that would have ended this summer by another 18 months to make a second deployment to Afghanistan. His deployment will happen later this year.
Ellie
Area Marine earns Bronze Star
By BOB SCOTT
bscott@journalandcourier.com
Marine Maj. Jay N. Rice, who was born in Lafayette, has received a Bronze Star Medal for combat actions in a remote region of eastern Afghanistan during 2006.
He deflected praise from himself. Instead, he lauded other members of his unit.
"It was nice to be recognized, but I am most proud of the Marines I had the privilege of leading in combat for 12 months," he said via e-mail.
"I have never served with a finer group of men."
The Bronze Star Medal was established in 1944 during World War II. It is for all ranks of the armed forces to honor heroic or meritorious achievement during military operations.
Rice, 44, grew up in Newtown, Fountain County. His mother, Jane Rice, still lives there.
He is serving in Okinawa as the operations officer with the 12th Marine Regiment.
On June 10, 2006, Rice was in a convoy that came under heavy small arms fire from a Taliban ambush near the Pakistani border.
An excerpt from the Bronze Star report follows:
"Due to his courage and decisiveness, Major Rice, disregarding his own safety and welfare, immediately directed heavy machine gun counter-fire and coordinated artillery fire on enemy positions. Within minutes, the enemy ambush was suppressed, resulting in several enemy KIAs (killed in action)."
He also was praised for being a "diligent leader, mentor and adviser" who "was enormously respected by his fellow Marines and Afghan counterparts alike."
Rice said he recommended five men for Bronze Stars and two for awards with the "V" device for valor in combat. He said most of them have since been promoted, and several already have returned to either Afghanistan or Iraq.
"God bless them all," he said.
His mother said she never imagined her son would grow up to be a Bronze Star winner.
"I'm very proud of him. Our entire family is," she said. "He had a grandfather who served in World War I and a couple of uncles who were in World War II."
Rice and his wife, Anita, have three children. He recently returned to Okinawa, but his family stayed to finish a short visit in Newtown. They will return today to Okinawa.
"He doesn't like the limelight," said Anita, originally from Oklahoma. "He never tries to make himself look bigger than the others.
"He has high moral standards and is a great leader."
Anita said her husband has a great affection for the people of Afghanistan.
"He told me about a time his unit treated a 2-year-old girl who was hurt by shrapnel from an enemy shell," she said. "The mother brought the girl in. She had just lost two other children in the attack.
"That shook him up. He had little kids back home."
Rice is in his 19th year with the Marine Corps. He extended the three-year tour that would have ended this summer by another 18 months to make a second deployment to Afghanistan. His deployment will happen later this year.
Ellie