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Wounded, Surrounded, He Charged!
Silver StarHey, if I could award them, this guy would get a Medal of Honor. From the Army Times: Its the second Silver Star ceremony in a week. Spc. Richard Ghent, 20, of the New Hampshire National Guard, received a Silver Star for actions in Ramadi on March 1, for which he also received a Purple Heart his second. In the attack, Ghent, a member of B Troop, 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry, was thrown from the turret of his Humvee after a grenade was hurled at his vehicle, according to the citation. The driver was killed instantly, the truck commander severely wounded and Ghent sustained a gunshot wound in his back, among other injuries. Regaining his orientation, Ghent got to his feet and, using his sidearm a 9 mm pistol charged the enemy and drove them away from the observation post without benefit of concealment or cover fire. Ghent held his ground, expending nearly all his ammunition, until relieved by elements of his platoon. More from GX Magazine: SPC Ghent says he was just doing his job. He seemed almost embarrassed by the attention he received at the ceremony, held that afternoon in the drill shed of the National Guard Armory in Manchester. After the medal was pinned on his uniform, SPC Ghent faced the audience, which included 100 members of his unit, Battery C, 1st of the 172nd Field Artillery, who stood in formation. Up front with him were military officials, along with U.S. Reps. Jeb Bradley and Charlie Bass. Applause and shouts of "Hooah" echoed in the cavernous room, and SPC Ghent flushed red. "He's so bashful," said his grandmother, Loretta Lambert of Rochester. "He's like, 'Why am I getting a medal?' " Friends, relatives and local officials praised SPC Ghent for his actions, which helped save the life of SSG Jose Pequeno, who was injured in the attack. SSG Pequeno, the Sugar Hill police chief, suffered a serious brain injury and remains incapacitated at a rehabilitation center in Florida. A few Soldiers saw SPC Ghent's actions in Iraq, but mostly they heard about it afterward. SSG Matthew Bernard, who helped investigate the scene after the attack, remembers the trail of spent 9-mm ammunition heading toward the insurgents' position. "It spread quickly, what he had done," said SSG Bernard, 29, of Milford. "Courage under fire isn't something you can teach. It comes from within, and he definitely executed without flaw." And more from Boston.com: Ghent, who had volunteered to fight in Iraq, returned to his hometown of Rochester, N.H., in March while recovering from his wounds from the episode, with a gunshot wound to the back and laceration above his upper lip. ``I just wanted to be able to do something for my country and have an accomplishment that I can say I did on my own," he said yesterday. Ghent, who enlisted in the National Guard at 17 during his junior year in high school and was deployed a year after graduation, does not talk much about his year in Iraq, said friends and family who attended yesterday's ceremony. He said he only learned Wednesday that he would be honored for his bravery. ``I wasn't thinking at all during the attack," said Ghent, who turned 21 in July. ``I was just reacting." Still more from the Manchester Union Leader: Lambert, a retired officer who served 22 years with the U.S. Coast Guard, said his grandson's actions were a combination of good training, strong character and luck. "Luckily he had filled all his clips the night before. They use the pistols for warning shots, and they aren't always full. But because of that, he had a full 30 rounds," Lambert said. "And another thing; he didn't just hold them off. He went after them," said Lambert. "Iraqis are afraid of pistols. They see rifles all the time. But to them, a pistol is an assassination tool. To see this crazy red-head with a pistol charging at them, it probably scared the hell out of them." Yesterday's brief ceremony was followed by hearty handshakes and chocolate sheet cake all around. Among those present were fellow Guardsmen, family and friends, and a small faction of state and military officials who took turns at the microphone commending Ghent for his actions. It's not likely he'll remember all of what was said about him. But it will be hard for him to shake the thunderclap of applause and hoots that echoed through the Armory dome, once the pinning ceremony was over. His mother, Nancy Williams of Rochester, clutched a bouquet of roses throughout the ceremony. Afterward, she made her way to her son and then politely waited, as he posed with congressmen Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley for the press. Finally it was her turn. She reached down and touched the medal pinned to his shirt before wrapping her arms around him, tearfully whispering something in his ear. When asked what she said to him, she simply shook her head. "What can you say? It's bittersweet. His passenger who was killed was his best friend, and his commander is still in the hospital," she said. "He did was he was trained to do. I know it was a harrowing experience." Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-10-25 |
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