Marines, sailor recognized for heroic actions in the line of fire

What they saw as simply doing their duty, many see as an act of heroism.

Four Marines and a sailor assigned to Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command received recognition for heroic actions in the line of fire on Wednesday, receiving among them three bronze stars with combat “V” device, a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal with combat device, and a silver star.

While on a deployment to Afghanistan in 2008, the men, all assigned to Marine Special Operations Advisor Group, Marine Special Operations Team 5, came under attack from insurgents on Oct. 28 while on a patrol. Though they were outnumbered nearly three to one, and the Afghan insurgents were skilled, the American troops returned fire and defended each other, continuing to fight in some cases despite gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

The commander of MarSOC, Maj. Gen. Paul E. Lefebvre, presented the awards, pausing first to greet each the family members in attendance personally. For those at the ceremony unfamiliar with the terminology of war, he summed the events up simply.

“All you need to know is, all the guys who are receiving awards today are absolutely heroes,” he said.

And their work, he said, was a part of the larger task Marine Special Operations continues to accomplish.

“We are taking the enemy, and we’re taking senior leadership off the battlefield,” he said. “Thank you,” he said to the family members, “for supporting your warriors in terms of what they are doing.”

Capt. Christian Pfeffer, the assistant team leader of MSOT 5 and the recipient of a bronze star with combat “V” on Wednesday, said he saw the task ahead of him while in the field more simply: “take it to the enemy, and keep my Marines safe.”

Pfeffer received two gunshot wounds to the arm when his team was attacked, according to his award citation, and continued to lead the men, covering over a kilometer of ground under fire and assisting fellow Marines in the fight.

Master Sgt. Richard Wells and Gunnery Sgt. Jody Wagner also received bronze stars with “V” device; Wells, a team chief, for heroism in using accurate small arms fire and grenades to repel insurgent fighters and coordinating friendly fires, according to his citation, and Wagner, a team operations Staff NCO, for clearing enemy compounds and coming to the assistance of a wounded Marine while under fire.

Wells downplayed his role in the conflict.

“As a career Marine, I was doing my job and just doing my best to take care of the Marines in our charge,” he said.

Chief Petty Officer Joseph Clairmont, a Navy chief hospital corpsman, received a Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal with combat distinguishing device for rushing to the side of an injured Marine under fire, treating the injury and then returning enemy fire, using an M9 pistol after his M4 carbine was hit by gunfire.

Wagner and Clairmont were also recognized for heroic actions on Sept. 3, 2008, when their patrol was ambushed by insurgents.

And Staff Sgt. Mark Robinson, a team element leader, received a Silver Star, one of the Marine Corps’ highest honors, for single-handedly holding off an enemy counterattack with his M249 machine gun. When a rocket-propelled grenade blast threw him against a wall, he quickly threw himself back into the fight, according to citations, exposing himself to gunfire so that a wounded Marine could be treated, then fending off about 50 insurgents while the team withdrew from the area.

Robinson said the events of the day had happened so fast that he didn’t think; he just did.

“If you take the time to think about it, it might cost the life of a guy,” he said. “We do what we can for the guys to our left and our right.”

Robinson was joined on Wednesday by members of his family, who have a tradition of serving in the military, he said. But, he said, none of them had received recognition like this before.

“They were excited,” he said. “It was just shock and awe.”