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thedrifter
03-27-09, 11:19 AM
Marine to receive medal for bravery in Afghanistan
8:50 AM | March 27, 2009

Lance Cpl. Brady Gustafson is set today to receive the Navy Cross for bravery at a ceremony at the Marine base at Twentynine Palms.

Gustafson, 22, from Eagan, Minn., is credited with saving Marine lives by continuing to fire at the enemy during an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan in July, despite being seriously wounded. He lost the lower part of his right leg and now walks with a prosthetic.

A turret gunner, Gustafson helped his colleagues escape the "kill zone" and refused to be evacuated until Marines were out of danger.

Bleeding profusely, Gustafson "braved the effects of shock and reloaded his weapon twice, firing more than 400 rounds before he allowed himself to be pulled from the turret to receive medical treatment," according to the citation signed by Navy Secretary Donald Winter.

The Navy Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor for combat bravery by Marines and sailors. Gustafson was part of the 2nd battalion, 7th regiment, which suffered 20 killed in action and dozens of wounded during a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan.

-- Tony Perry

Ellie

thedrifter
03-28-09, 06:47 AM
Marine from Eagan is awarded Navy Cross for bravery in combat in Afghanistan
He helped others escape ambush though severely injured
By Frederick Melo
fmelo@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 03/27/2009 10:52:36 PM CDT




A 21-year-old Eagan man who helped his fellow Marines fight their way out of an ambush in southern Afghanistan despite losing part of his right leg received the Navy Cross on Friday, the highest award a Marine is eligible to receive aside from the Medal of Honor.

"The ceremony was amazing," said Kim Gustafson, mother of Lance Cpl. Brady Gustafson, in an interview from her son's Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Gustafson, a machine-gunner, was deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, which was the "hardest-hit battalion in the Corps" last year, according to the Marine Corps News. At least 20 of the battalion's Marines and sailors were killed in combat in 2008.

On July 21, the squad was in the town of Shewan in southwestern Afghanistan's Farah province, where Marines have attempted to contain a Taliban resurgence and train police officers.

Gustafson's citation from the Secretary of the Navy indicates his squad was ambushed from multiple sides by rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire.

A rocket-propelled grenade pierced Gustafson's heavily armored vehicle and then a neighboring vehicle. Despite suffering a "severe traumatic injury to his right leg," Gustafson scrambled to his gun turret and fired several hundred rounds, allowing the Marines behind him to exit their burning vehicle.

"Lance Corporal Gustafson braved the effects of shock and reloaded his weapon twice, firing more than 400 rounds, before he allowed himself to be
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pulled from the turret and receive medical treatment," reads the citation.

Gustafson was rushed out of the country for surgery. His leg was amputated below the knee and eventually replaced with a titanium attachment.

Gustafson, a fourth-generation military man, received his award in front of his parents, older brother, both sets of grandparents and his pastor from Eagan Hills Church.

His mother said an estimated 1,000 Marines attended the ceremony. She said her son has returned to Eagan and plans to buy a house in the area and enroll in college in the fall.

The Navy Cross, awarded for heroism in combat, dates to 1919.

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172.

Ellie