CAMP FERRIN-HUGGINS, Iraq -- They were almost home. Pvt. Christopher Fernandez, a 19-year-old Multiple Launcher Rocket System operator from Tucson, Ariz., was on his way back to Camp Ferrin-Huggins after a routine patrol. Fernandez, and 16 other Soldiers from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment, were making one more stop at 10:45 p.m., May 5.
A few minutes later and a few blocks away from camp, Fernandez and his platoon would be in a fight for their lives. They were hit by an improvised explosive device and ambushed by insurgents with small-arms fire. Two of his friends would die early the next morning, while his two non-commissioned officers would be wounded badly enough to be sent home.
"It felt like a half hour but it went pretty quickly," Fernandez said recalling the ambush.
Three months later, Fernandez, a newlywed and new dad, was awarded the Silver Star Medal for combat valor for his selfless actions that night. It was the first Silver Star awarded to a 1st Cavalry Division Soldier this deployment.
That night, Fernandez was part of a "BOLO" or Be On The Look Out patrol. First Lt. Ryan Swindell, Fernandez's platoon leader said the patrol was quiet, until one of the vehicles wouldn't start. So the patrol rigged towing straps up to the second and third Humvees. They were slowly driving home when an IED detonated, hitting the towed vehicle.
The vehicle, carrying Sgt. 1st Class Landolph James, the platoon sergeant, and Sgt. Terry Saffron, Fernandez's squad leader, Pvt. Bradley Kreitzer and Pfc. James Marshall, took the brunt of the explosion. All four were wounded pretty badly, Swindell said. James and Saffron lived and were evacuated back to Fort Hood, Texas; however, Kreitzer and Marshall were mortally wounded and died early the next morning.
Fernandez, who was sitting in the back of the towing vehicle, was dazed. He later said he was temporarily deaf. The patrol quickly left the "kill zone" and almost immediately, they started taking small-arms fire from insurgents on rooftops, Swindell said. Swindell said he then received a radio call that the towing straps broke and the third vehicle was stopped. The situation was pretty dire, Swindell said. There were casualties to evacuate and an ambush to beat back. "The amount of fire was pretty heavy," said Capt. Thomas Pugsley, Fernandez's Battery commander. Most of the patrol was helping evacuate the wounded. Everyone else was returning fire. "If you weren't evacuating the wounded, you were firing your weapon," Swindell said. "There was no middle ground."
That left five or six guys to shoot back, Swindell said. Fernandez was one of them, shooting his M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon. After firing off the entire drum of 250 bullets on his SAW, Fernandez saw through the chaos of bullets, smoke and men working to treat the wounded, that no one was firing the M-240B machine gun on the wrecked Humvee.
On his own initiative, Fernandez ran over to the vehicle, dismounted the machine gun and its ammunition and put himself between the wounded and the enemy. The explosion had knocked the weapon's hand guards off the barrel. But Fernandez picked up it up Rambo style and started firing back at the enemy even though it began burning his hands, Swindell said.
Within minutes the patrol, now down to two Humvees, had left the area and evacuated the wounded back to their camp. The third vehicle was left behind, Swindell said. In all the chaos of getting the wounded out and beating back the ambush, Swindell said he didn't notice everything that Fernandez did. But Swindell gained the full picture of Fernandez's actions that night after talking to his Soldiers. Pugsley and Swindell aren't surprised at all. They both described him as a quiet, humble guy who would do anything for his friends. "He bought those Soldiers time," Pugsley said.
"We all know what he did, and if he didn't get [the award], then what matters is we know what he did." Three months later Fernandez stood in front of his brigade at Camp Ferrin-Huggins as Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the 1st Cavalry Division commander, pinned a small star-shaped medal, with red, white and blue ribbon on his chest. Fernandez admits it was a pretty heavy moment for him. "It's like a dream come true," he said quietly. As a kid, Fernandez watched war movies and intuitively knew the medal's significance.
But receiving one was the farthest thing on his mind. He said his family is very proud of him. His mom and wife, Maritza, were scared but realize he was doing his job that evening. "Deploying to war and winning the Silver Star after being here five monthsâ?¦ they're real proud of that," he said.
Fernandez said his instincts kicked in during the ambush and he just acted on them. "It was something I knew had to be done," he said.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2004 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 262 |
| Location: | CAMP FERRIN-HUGGINS, IQ |
| Web Views: | 87 |
| Downloads: | 27 |
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