Seeing this day after day while growing up has to make an impression.
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| Iraq |
| Wounded, Surrounded, He Charged! |
| 2006-10-25 |
| Silver Star Hey, if I could award them, this guy would get a Medal of Honor. From the Army Times: It’s 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 |
| #18 Yeah! I remember seeing this story plastered all over the NY Times, Newsweek and Time NOT! |
| Posted by: Leonidas 2006-10-25 21:46 |
| #17 Carl, well I'm glad to hear that. I suppose my perceptions are distorted by my past experience. I have so little in common with my relatives in Rochester, I rarely go to see them. About the only time I go up there is with that traveling Southern exposition called NASCAR. HAHA. The seats are suprisingly filled in beautiful Loudon, and I would dare wager that most of THOSE people are not like my relatives! One funny story, YEARS ago when I was a wee lad. We were up there and a man of African extraction rode a bike across the street in front of my uncle's car. Being the enlighted liberal democrat that he is, guess what he said? 'Don't see too many of those up here.' Yeah, and southerners are racist? Keep the faith up there Carl. |
| Posted by: AllahHateMe 2006-10-25 13:41 |
| #16 Another great story Hollyweird will never understand. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-10-25 12:31 |
| #15 AllahHateMe -- we're not all liberal nutcases, that's mostly the border regions, where the Massholes have immigrated to. I read about Ghent in the Union Leader -- a great writeup for this man. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2006-10-25 11:38 |
| #14 "He's so bashful," said his grandmother, Loretta Lambert of Rochester. "He's like, 'Why am I getting a medal?'" This is typical of true heroes. I had the chance to interview two Medal of Honor recipients back in the 80's. Both of them echoed the same sentiments as this young man. One of them remarked, "I don't really know why they made such a big deal out of it. I was just doing my job." |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-10-25 10:22 |
| #13 Interesting, my mother is from Rochester NH. Very small place. I still have a lot of relatives there. Take my word for it though, Ghent is a rarity up there. By and large NH is a liberal nut house. My grandmother being case in point. I've got tons of aunts, uncles and cousins up there and for the most part they are LLL. There is one cousin who is a staunch Republican. The only reason my mother is not is because she's lived in the South since she was 19. Met my dad (born in the hills of Georgia) when he was stationed at Pease. It's funny cause the whole liberal mindset doesn't jive at all with the Catholic mindset. Perhaps it is this conflict that causes such strong cognitive dissonance? Anyways, HOOAH for Spc Ghent, may he go forth and multiply...New Hampshire needs more like him. |
| Posted by: AllahHateMe 2006-10-25 09:50 |
| #12 "...does not talk much about his year in Iraq..." I've seen this before. My father was of the WWII generation and he and his peers never had much to say. It wasn't till 30 years after the fact when I was an adult that, after a few beers, he told me about a couple of incidents he had while a CB in the South Pacific. All Hail Spc. Ghent!!! |
| Posted by: AlanC 2006-10-25 09:38 |
| #11 God bless you and yours, Spc. Ghent. These stories need to be shouted from the rooftops more and more. It absolutely amazes me that we still produce fine men like Ghent. And, I agree, this tactic should be implemented on Iraq as a whole. Imagine a bunch of red-heads running around with 9mm pistols taking out the enemy. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-10-25 09:34 |
| #10 A twenty year old National Guardsman. A son to make a mother proud. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-10-25 08:14 |
| #9 Something is wrong when people like him get the same medal than JF Kerry. |
| Posted by: JFM 2006-10-25 08:11 |
| #8 Brass. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-10-25 07:43 |
| #7 Seeing this day after day while growing up has to make an impression. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2006-10-25 07:40 |
| #6 It appears the best defense is indeed a good offense. Perhaps a scaled-up version of Ghent's response should be considered standard policy for Iraq as a whole. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-10-25 07:33 |
| #5 With a 9mm peashooter, no less. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-10-25 07:23 |
| #4 Wowsers. Thank you, Spc Ghent. Your bravery is splendid and those you saved are a gift. The blushing shyness is icing. Hooah! |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-25 04:45 |
| #3 The President has already taken counsel on new rules of engagement, from local Commanders. These should be implemented, sooner rather than later. Risks to US soldiers like Ghent, has to be lowered or we feed the opportunists. |
| Posted by: Snease Shaiting3550 2006-10-25 02:53 |
| #2 It's this type of soldier that will win us the War on Terrorism. I'm beginning to think that one good warrior like Ghent is worth a handful of officers. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-25 02:15 |
| #1 Words fail..Live free or die....Thank God we still produce men like this |
| Posted by: Warthog 2006-10-25 00:44 |