An Army colonel was given the second-highest award for valor Wednesday for his actions during a furious firefight last year in Iraq when he rallied some Iraqi commandos to defend their position against an insurgent assault.Col. James H. Coffman Jr., who was wounded during the Nov. 14 gun battle at Mosul, received the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony in Baghdad.
Last November, insurgents attacked several police stations in Mosul, leading to chaos in parts of the city. According to the military's account of his actions, Coffman was with a group of Iraqi commandos moving to reinforce one police station that was under attack when insurgents ambushed them. All but one of the commando team's officers were killed or seriously wounded early in the fight, leaving Coffman, an adviser to the commandos, and the single Iraqi officer, to direct the battle.
"Coffman exhibited truly inspirational leadership, rallying the commandos and organizing a hasty defense while attempting to radio higher headquarters for reinforcements," his award reads. "Under heavy fire, he moved from commando to commando, looking each in the eye and using hand and arm signals to demonstrate what he wanted done."
During the fight, he was shot in his left hand, his shooting hand, a shot that wrecked his gun. He picked up AK-47s from the wounded Iraqis and kept shooting, using his right hand. He also redistributed ammunition among the surviving Iraqis who were with him.
Whoever has the "Duty Honor Country" image block, this is were to post it - he is one of my classmates - USMA 1978 - 'Nice job, Jim
The battle lasted four hours, ending only after U.S. armored vehicles and air support arrived. Coffman consented to be evacuated for medical treatment only after all of the Iraqi wounded were evacuated.