Marine to be awarded posthumous Navy Cross

By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : April 02, 2007

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The enemy machine gun raked the infantry squad as it burst into a house in Fallujah, killing the point man and injuring another Marine and a corpsman.

It was Nov. 10, 2004, in the opening days of the assault on that insurgent-held Iraqi city. Seeing his close friends fall, then-Pfc. Christopher Adlesperger assaulted the insurgents with heavy rifle fire and hand grenades, ignoring shrapnel wounds to clear a stairwell and moving the wounded men to the rooftop before he continued to attack the insurgents and knock out the enemy machine gunner.

Three weeks later, on Dec. 2, after a combat meritorious promotion to lance corporal, Adlesperger was leading his fire team on a clearing mission when he was killed by enemy fire. But for his “decisive leadership [and] unlimited courage” in that November battle, Adlesperger, a 20-year-old from Albuquerque, N.M., has earned the Navy Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for combat heroism, Marine Corps officials announced March 19.

Top leaders plan to present Adlesperger’s family with the medal during a Camp Pendleton, Calif., ceremony tentatively set for April 13, said 1st Lt. Ted Vickers, a 1st Marine Division spokesman.

The junior Marine’s actions in that Fallujah battle “destroyed the last strongpoint in the Jolan District of Al Fallujah and saved the lives of his fellow Marines,” according to the award citation.

Officials said Adlesperger and his platoon with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, were clearing houses that day in the Fallujah neighborhood, which teemed with insurgent fighters.

The point man on that mission was Adlesperger’s close friend, Lance Cpl. Erick Hodges. After the insurgents opened fire, Hodges, a 21-year-old from Bay Point, Calif., and Adlesperger sprung into action to protect their two wounded teammates, Hospitalman Alonso Rogero and Lance Cpl. Ryan Sunnerville. Hodges was later killed.

“With the majority of his platoon pinned down by insurgent positions, Private First Class Adlesperger single-handedly cleared stairs and a rooftop to move the injured to a rooftop where they could receive medical attention,” the citation states. “On his own initiative, while deliberately exposing himself to heavy enemy fire, he established a series of firing positions and attacked the enemy, forcing them to be destroyed in place or to move into an area where adjacent forces could engage them.”

Despite his wounds, Adlesperger demanded to take point for his platoon in a final assault on the same machine-gun position. When an assault amphibian vehicle barreled into a wall, he rushed into the courtyard, killing the remaining insurgent “at close range,” the citation states. “When the fighting finally ceased, a significant number of insurgents from fortified positions had been eradicated.”

Relatives said they were honored by the Corps’ recognition of his actions. “I am proud,” his father, Gary Adlesperger, told the Albuquerque Tribune on March 16. “Not too many people get the Navy Cross.”

Adlesperger will be the 15th Marine to earn the Navy Cross for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan He will be the second to receive it posthumously.

To read Adlesperger’s full Navy Cross citation, visit marinecorpstimes.com.

Ellie