A staunch protector

December 26, 2004

I don’t think anyone can fully appreciate the guts of a gunner until they’ve hunkered down deep in a humvee seat at the sound of incoming gunfire and rocket propelled grenades and wished the insanity would stop.

Gunners are the young guys.

They sit on a canvas strap in the middle of the humvee with the top half of their body exposed above the roof. There’s no armor to protect them, just their guns.

They help direct traffic, guiding drivers as to the best routes. And they fiercely defend their humvee in battle.

Not just anyone can be a gunner.

Not everyone has the fortitude to stay in that perch when all hell breaks loose and keep shooting until the bullets run out.

But the 39th is full of such soldiers.

Time and again, they protect convoys with all that they’ve got.

Many get shrapnel embedded in shoulders and arms, unwanted war trophies from roadside bombs or well-aimed bullets.

Some return to their gunner turret with stitches and a permanent piece of lead within their bodies. Others are sent home to recover.

Many gunners will be honored for their bravery before we all leave Iraq. Medals of various importance are expected to number well over a thousand for the men and women of the 39th.

Some have already been awarded.

Some are still being processed and scrutinized.

“It reinforces a mental attitude that keeps these guys going, you know?” explained Lt. Don Brewer of Texarkana. “It’s nice to see some of these awards finally coming through.”

Gen. Peter Schoomaker, U.S. Army chief of staff, pinned a green ribbon on Spc. John Lee’s chest this morning.

It was an Army Commendation Medal for Valor.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS Spc. John Lee receives his medal from General Peter J. Schoomaker.

Lee stood tall in his cleanest uniform as the four-star general congratulated him. The uniform had the tell-tale stains of a gunner — spatters of gun oil and gun powder that will never come out.

Lee said the fact that Schoomaker awarded him the medal is amazing.

“I looked at him and thought, ‘I’ve seen that guy before,’” he said. “Then I realized he was in a magazine I was reading last week. He’s one of the celebrities of the Army.”

Lee, of 3rd Battalion’s Delta Company, was recommended for a Bronze Star. That it was downgraded to an Army Commendation Medal somewhere in the upper echelons of army bureaucracy doesn’t seem to bother Lee.

May 10 wasn’t about a medal for this 23-year-old veteran.

Delta Company’s 5th Platoon was serving as the battalion’s quick reaction force that day and was called in to support Bravo Company, which was quickly running out of ammunition in a gunfight on the edge of Sadr City.

More than 100 insurgents had engaged the soldiers in battle, tossing continuous rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire from rooftops, alleyways and buildings.

“At 0935 it was a smothering 102 degrees and the sky was clear when we arrived to link up with [Bravo Company]. Immediately we noticed that the eastbound lane was blocked with vehicle tailpipes, truck tires stacks small and large, large sticks, heavy chunks of metal and burnt vehicle frames. Just before we arrived, the gunners noticed several teen-aged boys flipping us off,” Brewer wrote in his recommendation that Lee receive the Bronze Star.

Rocket propelled grenades launched at the platoon from all sided, “followed by the horrendous buzzing of small arms fire,” Brewer wrote.

As they fought through, three 57 mm rockets hit nearby and four roadside bombs detonated on the platoon.

As the humvees maneuvered to set up a fire base, Lee exposed himself to enemy fire to suppress incoming fire using his M4 rifle, his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and his MK-19 grenade launcher.

“Spc. Lee displayed bravery and courage under extreme enemy fire and was directly responsible for the platoon’s ability to bound out of the kill zone,” Brewer wrote.

Everyone escaped shaken, but safe and sound.

That day is remembered by both Delta and Bravo companies simply as “That day at Sadr City.”

That’s all anyone has to say.

Back in May, the platoon sergeants and platoon leaders like Brewer patrolled in humvees with canvas doors and newly added armored doors. None of the gunner turrets had shields around them. Gunners sat completely exposed out of the top of humvees.

“They were protecting my vehicle left and right,” Brewer said of his platoon.

“Everything was in slow motion,” Lee said. “It seemed like I could never catch up to what was happening around me.”

Lee remembers seeing a rocket propelled grenade blazing directly at a humvee near him when it made a sharp turn and sailed safely away.

“It was like God swept his hand and turned it,” Lee said. “Like he said, ‘No. Not today.’”

Lee is quick to say that he is not responsible for keeping his platoon safe.

“The Lord. He saved us that day,” he said.

Posted by editor at December 26, 2004 05:58 PM