thedrifter
07-15-06, 07:12 AM
July 14, 2006
Marine of the Year: Staff sgt. saved 10 female Marines
By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer
The 2006 Military Times Service Members of the Year were honored July 13 at a reception in Washington.
The sixth annual Capitol Hill event was packed with congressional, military and business leaders, but it was this year’s uniformed honorees who took center stage.
The Marine Corps Times Marine of the Year Staff Sgt. Kent Padmore was there with his son, Kemario, who was celebrating his fifth birthday.
“When I first found out I was selected, I thought, how can I celebrate something that’s a joy and an honor that came out of a tragedy. I thought about family members who are still mourning the loss of their loved ones. In perspective I saw it as something I accomplished based on my family, on my troops and my leadership,” said Padmore, a paramedic and Marine Reservist from Hialieah, Fla., with the 4th Tank Battalion.
He is credited with dragging 10 Marines from the wreckage of a burning seven-ton truck carrying a special detail of female Marines trained to search Iraqi women near Fallujah, Iraq, in June 2005.
The two-vehicle convoy he was assigned to escort on a short drive to Camp Fallujah was attacked by a suicide car bomber. Padmore jumped from his vehicle and dashed across 200 yards of open terrain to reach the wounded. He pulled six to safety then ran back to rescue four more, disregarding his burned hands and arms.
Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi hosted the awards ceremony, and Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and Sen. John McCain of Arizona served as co-hosts.
“These men and women are only an example of the millions of men and women who have served and are serving today,” said McCain, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who survived more than five years as a prisoner of war. “I’m honored when I’m in Iraq. I’m very proud when I have the opportunity to see these men and women with full gear on in 120 degree heat, pursuing their cause in search of freedom.”
The other winners of this year’s contest are Army Master Sgt. Richard Burnette; Navy Cmdr. Louis Tripoli; Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shane Hobrecht; and Coast Guard Yeoman 2nd Class Jeff Jackson.
Ellie
Marine of the Year: Staff sgt. saved 10 female Marines
By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer
The 2006 Military Times Service Members of the Year were honored July 13 at a reception in Washington.
The sixth annual Capitol Hill event was packed with congressional, military and business leaders, but it was this year’s uniformed honorees who took center stage.
The Marine Corps Times Marine of the Year Staff Sgt. Kent Padmore was there with his son, Kemario, who was celebrating his fifth birthday.
“When I first found out I was selected, I thought, how can I celebrate something that’s a joy and an honor that came out of a tragedy. I thought about family members who are still mourning the loss of their loved ones. In perspective I saw it as something I accomplished based on my family, on my troops and my leadership,” said Padmore, a paramedic and Marine Reservist from Hialieah, Fla., with the 4th Tank Battalion.
He is credited with dragging 10 Marines from the wreckage of a burning seven-ton truck carrying a special detail of female Marines trained to search Iraqi women near Fallujah, Iraq, in June 2005.
The two-vehicle convoy he was assigned to escort on a short drive to Camp Fallujah was attacked by a suicide car bomber. Padmore jumped from his vehicle and dashed across 200 yards of open terrain to reach the wounded. He pulled six to safety then ran back to rescue four more, disregarding his burned hands and arms.
Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi hosted the awards ceremony, and Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and Sen. John McCain of Arizona served as co-hosts.
“These men and women are only an example of the millions of men and women who have served and are serving today,” said McCain, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who survived more than five years as a prisoner of war. “I’m honored when I’m in Iraq. I’m very proud when I have the opportunity to see these men and women with full gear on in 120 degree heat, pursuing their cause in search of freedom.”
The other winners of this year’s contest are Army Master Sgt. Richard Burnette; Navy Cmdr. Louis Tripoli; Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shane Hobrecht; and Coast Guard Yeoman 2nd Class Jeff Jackson.
Ellie