Photo By Master Sgt. Dengrier Baez | During an award ceremony at Camp Courtney Dec. 4, 1st Lt. Colin P. Boynton, right,...... read more read more
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CAMP COURTNEY -- Instead of Christmas carols last Christmas Eve, 1st Lt. Colin P. Boynton heard the crack of bullets.
Boynton and two other Marines, part of an embedded training team, were with 30 Afghan troops returning from Mirdesh in Nurestan province, Afghanistan, to their command post after meeting with Mirdesh elders, when the shots rang out.
The area had not been patrolled for 10 months prior and was known to be dangerous since it provided a safe haven for enemy fighters, said Boynton, now with 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.
On Dec. 24, 2008, Boynton was a training team leader embedded with 1st Infantry Company, 2nd Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 201st Corps, Afghan national army.
As his team walked along a ravine near a river, about a mile from post, Boynton and 13 others were separated from the patrol, he said.
Boynton had been involved in firefights with the enemy before but never on a patrol, he said.
"We did all the preplanning, but the enemy knew we couldn't fire into the village, and they were very patient, attacking us at a weak moment," Boynton said. "They waited where most of the patrol had turned on a bend in the trail. We were stuck in a kill zone."
One Afghan soldier was shot through the knee and within minutes three others were hit with enemy fire from the village boundaries about 250 yards in the distance, Boynton said.
"We were able to suppress the fire and get the casualties out and into safety," Boynton said of the Afghan soldiers caught in the kill zone. Boynton coordinated fire support with coalition helicopters and the casualties were evacuated, all survived the firefight, he said.
"I was honored to have embedded with people from a different culture and religion" Boynton said. "We were brought together for the same cause."
Boynton received a Bronze Star with combat device in a ceremony in front of 3rd MarDiv's headquarters at Camp Courtney Dec. 4 for his actions Dec. 24, 2008, and throughout his deployment in Afghanistan, Nov. 27 to Aug. 22, 2008.
"I'm honored, and it's extremely humbling to receive this award being a young officer doing what I was trained for and looking out for my troops," he said.
During the deployment, he led more than 27 mounted patrols and conducted more than 30 convoy operations. He also directed direct and indirect fire during eight enemy engagements, according to his Bronze Star citation.
"You can't ask for a higher caliber Marine," said Lt. Col. Ted A. Adams, commanding officer of 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistic Group, III MEF, during the award ceremony.
| Date Taken: | 12.13.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.13.2009 21:30 |
| Story ID: | 42703 |
| Location: | CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 158 |
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