2nd Combat Engineer Battalion Marine heroically helps fellow Marines in crash

Photo By Sgt. Walter D. Marino II | Marines from Alpha Company, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, use dump trucks to bring dirt to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment's positions in Marjah, Afghanistan. The dirt was used to build protective barriers around 1/6's positions. The 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion ran repeated convoys 24 hours a day, for numerous days, to accomplish their mission.  

MARJAH, AFGHANISTAN

03.10.2010

Story by Lance Cpl. Walter D. Marino II 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — As Lance Cpl. Brandon D. Meeks, a motor transport operator for 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, attempts to navigate his truck through the pitch blackness of Marjah, the truck ahead kicks up dust creating a dirty brown fog. A truck driver's nightmare has begun to unfold, luckily Meeks is not just a truck driver, he is a Marine.

Meeks's truck is just one dump truck of many, bringing dirt to help fortify 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment's positions in Marjah, Afghanistan, March 3. For many nights now, 2nd CEB and 1st Combat Logistics Battalion have run 24-hour convoys daily.

Meeks watches his perimeter closely. The narrow route he drives on is flanked by two canals. One mistake could mean disaster for Meeks or any other driver in his convoy.

The two glimmering red taillights of the truck ahead signal the convoy running smoothly on pace with one another.

However, as Meeks continued to watch the truck ahead, he suddenly noticed something was terribly wrong. The lights were far left and dangerously close to the canal.

Before Meeks could reach for his radio to warn the Marines ahead, it was too late. Meeks watched helplessly as the truck tipped over.

Immediately Meeks clinched his radio and shouted, "Halt convoy! Seven ton rolled over into canal!"

The dangers the Marines could face flooded Meeks mind. However, his biggest fear was that the Marines could have been stuck in their seatbelts and suffocating under water.

With the dangers that lurked, Meeks knew there was no time to waste. He jumped out of his vehicle and sprinted into the canal.

"Are you alright?" Meeks yelled. But there was no response.

Inside the vehicle, Pfc. Brian A. Rainey, an electrician for 2nd CEB, and Cpl. Adam R. Turco, a motor transport operator for 2nd CEB, were both busy unbuckling seatbelts and grabbing their rifles.

Upside down, the two Marines witnessed the water rise along their vehicle windows, and Rainey worried the weight of the water would lock their doors.

"That stuff was scary. I knew we had to get out quick," said Rainey. "We got out of our seatbelts in like 20-30 seconds, and Meeks was there right after. I heard he was there before his truck even stopped moving."

However long it was before Meeks arrived on scene, it was fast, said Rainey.

Meeks had opened the door, and helped the two Marines out of the canal before Rainey or Turco could reach for a door handle.

"It meant a lot knowing someone cared about us, even though we've only been working with these guys a couple days," Turco said.

Returning to their forward operating base, Meeks was revered as a hero by fellow Marines, to which Meeks modestly responded, "I was just doing my job."

Son to a volunteer firefighter and younger brother to a county sheriff Meeks learned about helping others from a young age, and had hoped one day to live up to their expectations.

"They inspire me," said Meeks. "Ever since a young age my family has inspired me to be the person that I am today. It was how I was raised and what I was taught in the Marine Corps that helped me react without hesitation. Instantly it popped in my head, and I knew this is what I had to do. I just reacted."

• Date Taken: 03.10.2010
• Date Posted: 03.22.2010 13:18
• Story ID: 47018
• Location: MARJAH, AF