SLC Marine awarded the Bronze Star
Ceremony at Capitol: The senior sergeant major fought alongside 1,200 fellow soldiers for three weeks
By Jennifer W. Sanchez
The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune
Governor Huntsman presented the Bronze Star to Marine Sgt. Jayme F. Winders for his bravery and leadership during the war in Iraq. photo by Rick Egan 8/31/2005
Instead of staying in a protected U.S. military compound, Sgt. Maj. Jayme Winders refused to let his 1,200 Marines fight alone in An Najaf, Iraq.
During a three-week battle against the Mahdi Militia, Winders fired guns, slept on the dirt under vehicles and ate packaged cheeseburgers - all at the side of young Marines. As a higher-ranking Marine, Winders didn't have to be on the battlefield in 130-degree heat, but he said he wanted to support his troops as they risked their lives for freedom.
"No one wanted to quit. They just really kept going," Winders said. "They inspired me by being so fearless and dedicated."
On Wednesday, a year after the combat ended with the militia surrendering, Winders received the Bronze Star - the fourth-highest medal in the military - for his "total effectiveness, forceful leadership and loyal devotion to duty" during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
During a brief ceremony at the Capitol, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. pinned the business card-size medal - a bronze star hung from a blue ribbon - on Winders in front of the Marine's wife and five troops. Winders, who moved to Salt Lake City in April, works as the senior sergeant major of the state's U.S. Marine recruiting station, where he oversees the needs of current and future Marines.
Maj. David Bradney, Winders' boss, said after the ceremony: "Every man feels fear, but it's about taking the step to go forward and lead. It's good to know that I'm working next to a man who understands leadership from the front."
Lisa Winders, Jayme's wife, said the two have spent only about half of their four-year marriage living together because of his three deployments, including two in Iraq.
Still, while he was deployed, she would "send him positive thoughts every day," along with weekly letters and care packages with chocolate-covered coffee beans.
"I'm ecstatic," she said of seeing her husband get the medal. "I'm beyond proud because of what he's done for his men and the risks he has taken."
For the sergeant major, a 38-year-old Illinois native, the Bronze Star is a highlight in a career that he has never questioned.
His father, grandfathers and uncles were in the military, and his boyhood dream was to follow the family tradition.
"I've never considered anything else," he said, "This has always been it for me."
jsanchez@sltrib.com

Ellie