Photo By Sgt. Michael Broughey | Sgt. Steven Grasso (second from left), Pfc. Kevin Nieves, and Spc. Stephen Leon of...... read more read more
CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan – Two months after base defense forces defeated an attack, Gen. David Petraeus paid tribute to members of the 1-181st Infantry June 4 for standing their ground like so many others in what he called the “New Greatest Generation.”
Petraeus, commander of International Security Assistance Forces, spoke to members of the base defense forces behind the main entry control point – near the site of the April 2 complex attack.
While the entire base was on alert during the attack, several soldiers distinguished themselves by preventing the insurgents - wielding automatic weapons, hurling grenades and wearing suicide vests – from entering the base April 2.
Despite the ferocity of the early morning attack, the insurgents failed to infiltrate the base. There were no deaths among coalition forces with only a few minor injuries sustained by the defenders.
As a result, Petraeus presented Pfc. Kevin Nieves with a Bronze Star Medal for Valor and the Purple Heart, Spc. Stephen Leon with the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and Sgt. Steven W. Grasso with a Purple Heart for a leg injury.
All three soldiers also earned the Combat Infantryman Badges, which they received when fellow members of the base defense force were honored during a previous ceremony.
Other soldiers, who were unable to attend the ceremony, also received high praise from Petraeus for their heroic actions at the ECP April 2.
They included, Staff Sgt. Mark Maslon, who was returning from leave, and Spc. Eric Blackburn, a member of the 1-134th Cavalry, who were both on duty when the attack occurred April 2.
Maslon received a Bronze Star Medal with Valor and CIB with Star Device – signifying a second award – while Blackburn received a Purple Heart for a shoulder injury and the CIB. Blackburn is currently home recovering from his injuries.
Grasso praised Blackburn for his courage since they both continued to fight even after being injured.
“I’d go into a firefight with him again,” Grasso said, adding they were eventually evacuated from the ECP for future treatment, but regretting leaving fellow soldiers in the fight.
“We kept engaging them,” Leon said April 2 as he was recovering from the attack. “We would not let them in our ECP.”
Nieves said he was more concerned about his fellow soldiers who were manning the ECP below him.
“I took it very personally,” Nieves said, adding he focused all his emotions and anxieties against the insurgents.
“There were definitely bullets flying since wood was splintering all around me,” Nieves recalled, adding he only stopped firing when he had to clear a jam in his weapon or when he was knocked down by explosions.
His quick action and accurate fires prevented the insurgents from entering the outbound gate and provided fellow soldiers time to get into position to defeat the attack on the ground below, according to Maslon.
“He took the wind out of their sails,” Maslon said in April, adding all the training they conducted and all the long days at the ECP paid off and saved lives.
After the initial attack, the ECP was fortified by fellow members of the 1-181st who have served on the base defense force since they arrived at Camp Phoenix in late October. The follow-on forces repelled the remaining insurgents, established security around the base and provided medical care for the wounded.
The following 1-181st soldiers also received the CIB for their actions on April 2: Sgt. Derrick Arroyo, Sgt. Robert Bahre, Pvt. Matthew Baritell, Pfc. Timothy Brewer, Spc. Stephen Cobb, Spc. David Cooley, Spc. Robert Heipt, Spc. George Laraba, Spc. Lito Liloc, Spc. Adam Miner, 1st Lt. Alan Molin, 1st Sgt. David Parella, 1st Lt. Sean Pillai, Maj. Timothy Sawyer, Staff Sgt. Eric Schultz, Sgt. Andrew Stanton, Pfc. Steven Scatto, Lt. Mathew Tina and Sgt. Arthur Ventura.
Sgt. Mikhail Dvoskin and Sgt. 1st Class Efrain Quinones earned the Combat Medical Badge for providing medical care under fire for Nieves, Blackburn and Grasso.
The following 1-181st Infantry soldiers received the Combat Action Badge for their actions: Spc. Jaime Bueno, 1st Lt. David Denninger, Spc. Adam Flaherty, Sgt. Ryan Frost, Sgt. Stephen Gagnon and Spc. Nicholas Gago.
“It has been a privilege to serve with you all,” Petraeus said as he expressed appreciation for their hard work, “which is worth doing.”
Like so many others, members of the 1-181st have been working “in harm’s way” in the shadow of the Hindu Kush, doing an important job for both Americans and Afghans, Petraeus said.
“You have become what I describe as ‘the New Greatest Generation,’ ” Petraeus said, adding all who have served in the Global War on Terrorism have earned that title, one given to those who served – both home and overseas – during World War II.
To honor their service, Petraeus presented his Commander’s Coin to numerous members of the 1-181st who have been mobilized for 24 months or more since Sept. 11, 2001.
The 1-181st provides security for facilities and numerous PRTs around Afghanistan. At Camp Phoenix, they serve as perimeter tower guards, protect the ECP, conduct foot patrols, serve as the quick reaction force and conduct various base support operations. All members of the unit were on full alert and responded in to the April 2 complex attack.
Petraeus said these soldiers helped add “another chapter or at least another page” to the unit’s already distinguished history.
He was honored to visit a unit which carries one of oldest lineages in the U.S. Army and is one of the few units which carry a streamer for the Battle of Lexington in 1775. He added how impressed he was at such a storied history.
“I also treasure it and feel part of it somewhat myself,” Petraeus said, adding in 2009 he administered the oath of office to his son Stephen – during his commissioning as a lieutenant in the Army – in the shadow of the statue of the minuteman at Lexington, Mass.
The 1-181st Infantry is one of four units which trace their lineage back to Dec. 13, 1636, when the Massachusetts Bay Militia was formed. Since that time, members of the unit served during the French and Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. More recently, members of the 1-181st deployed to Cuba, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the ongoing Global War on Terrorism.
When Nieves pinned a Purple Heart onto his father in Laghman Province in October, he never expected to receive one of his own.
Nieves recalled how his father, Staff Sgt. Brian Willette, who earned the Purple Heart after his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, warned him to be safe and not to seek one of his own.
“He gave me his Purple Heart coin, which I had in my pocket that day [April 2], so I wouldn’t have to get one,” Nieves said, adding he was grateful for the luck it brought.
Nieves said his only regret is that his father could not present him with a Purple Heart in Afghanistan. He added Willette has already promised to conduct another more personal ceremony when they reunite in Massachusetts this summer.
“The citizen-soldiers have been every bit involved as their active duty counterparts,” Petraeus said, adding members of the 1-181st have extended “the legacy of one of the oldest units in our history.”
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2011 23:50 |
| Story ID: | 71595 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,212 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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