Courtesy Photo | Following the presentation of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals, Staff Sgt....... read more read more
By 2nd Lt. Jayson Hensley
555th Engineer Brigade
BAGHDAD – Staff Sgt. James Jenkins was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his heroic actions in saving the life of a fellow combat engineer following an improvised explosive device strike.
While conducting a route clearance mission on a particularly dangerous road in central Iraq on Nov. 22, 2008, the lead vehicle was struck by an IED. Staff Sgt. James Jenkins, of Georgetown, South Carolina and deployed to Iraq out of Bamberg, Germany, was in the lead vehicle.
As a result of the explosion, the vehicle commander was seriously injured by a piece of shrapnel in his left leg. Four other Soldiers sustained minor injuries, including Staff Sgt. Jenkins.
Immediately following the explosion, the Soldiers were administering first aid when Staff Sgt. Jenkins noticed the leg of the vehicle commander was bleeding. With assistance from the rest of the crew, Staff Sgt. Jenkins quickly applied a tourniquet to the injured leg and stopped the bleeding.
After the attack, Lt. Col. Christopher Lestochi, the commander of the 54th Engineer Battalion, went to visit the injured Soldier in the 86th Combat Surgical Hospital. While there, Lt. Col. Lestochi was informed by doctors that "whoever applied the tourniquet saved the Soldier's life." The skilled doctors at the hospital were able the remove the tourniquet and as a result, saved the Soldier's leg.
Recognizing the heroism of Staff Sgt. Jenkins, Lt. Gen. Kenneth W. Hunzeker, commander of the U.S. Army V Corps, awarded him the Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals while visiting Iraq immediately following the attack. Gen. Hunzeker, along with Lt. Col. Lestochi, pinned the metals on Staff Sgt. Jenkins in a ceremony in front of his platoon. The Soldier injured in the explosion is expected to make a full recovery thanks to the cool head and quick response of a fellow combat engineer.
| Date Taken: | 01.08.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.08.2009 09:32 |
| Story ID: | 28601 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 416 |
| Downloads: | 191 |
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