Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor on Wednesday received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest valor award, for his actions during a 17-hour battle in Afghanistan.The 47-year-old Special Forces medical sergeant spoke with humor and humility after the medal was pinned on his uniform in a ceremony at Bank Hall on Fort Bragg. “My word!” O’Connor said, reacting to praise by a three-star Army general and a four-star Navy admiral. “My name is Brendan O’Connor, and I didn’t fully approve that message.”
In his self-effacing remarks, OÂ’Connor apologized to his children for missing birthdays and thanked his wife, Margaret, for what she has done in raising their family in his absence. Margaret OÂ’Connor writes a Home Front column for The Fayetteville Observer.
Master Sgt. O’Connor, who resigned his commission as an officer and then took the rigorous training to become a Special Forces medical sergeant, said his “momentary courage” pales in comparison to people who cope courageously with difficult situations daily, such as Capt. Ivan Castro, who is blind, and Harry Hubbard, a friend who suffered a stroke in his mid-30s.
The audience included former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, a friend of the OÂ’Connor family, and former 7th Group commanders.
The heroism of O’Connor and his team in the face of an attack by 300 Taliban fighters received national attention April 20 in a segment on the CBS news show “60 Minutes.”
Adm. Eric Olson, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command at Tampa, Fla., pinned the award on O’Connor’s uniform. Olson hailed the contributions of the Green Berets and said the demand for Special Forces may grow as conventional forces are reduced overseas. “Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor exemplifies the spirit of these warriors,” Olson said.
The admiral wore his white Navy dress uniform. OÂ’Connor was in his green Army dress uniform.
OÂ’Connor led a quick reaction force June 24, 2006, in Kandahar provinceÂ’s Panjwai District, described by Special Forces as one of the most hotly contested areas of southern Afghanistan. He maneuvered his force through Taliban positions and crawled alone through enemy machine-gun fire to reach two wounded soldiers, the citation said. He tied a signal cloth to his back to identify himself to aircraft overhead. While under fire, he provided medical care and carried a wounded soldier more than 150 yards across open ground. He climbed over a wall three times under enemy fire to help wounded soldiers seek cover. Then he took over as the operations sergeant and rallied, motivated and led his team.
“Thank God for men like Master Sgt. O’Connor,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Wagner, commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.
Maj. Sheffield Ford said after the ceremony that O’Connor picked up Sgt. Joseph Fuerst and carried him over his shoulder and ran while under fire. “Knowing that bullets were coming in all around him, he didn’t hesitate,” Ford said. “He continued to get up and move because he knew he had to get Joe back if he was going to have a chance to try to save him.” Fuerst died, and Staff Sgt. Matthew Binney survived, Ford said.
Former Sgt. 1st Class Abram Hernandez received the Silver Star, the ArmyÂ’s third-highest award for valor, on April 17 on Fort Bragg for his actions in the same battle. Master Sgt. Thomas Maholic was killed in the fighting and received the Silver Star posthumously Nov. 15.
During training, Special Forces medics, who have extensive training and upon whom the entire team depends, are told to wait for others to bring the wounded to them, but OÂ’Connor realized the soldiers needed immediate help and the battle was not going to stop, Ford said.
Staff Sgt. Charles Lyles said O’Connor paused before going out on the mission to make sure he was taking everything he would need. “The seconds he took to make sure he had everything ready, I believe, made the difference,” Lyles said.
Staff Sgt. Brandon Pechette remembers O’Connor being “calm and cool and very intelligently funny while we were there, keeping the morale high, which is very important because we were such a small force against overwhelming odds.”
The award came 40 years after OÂ’ConnorÂ’s father was killed in Vietnam.
The last time soldiers of the 7th Special Forces Group received Distinguished Service Crosses was in July 1964, Wagner said. Capt. Roger Donlon received the Medal of Honor, the nationÂ’s highest valor award, for his actions in the same battle, he said. He was the first Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam War.