Sgt. 1st Class Wendy Marie Butts
In a ceremony held in the Al Faw Palace, four Kellogg, Brown and Root employees were presented The Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom, Dec.16, by Maj. Gen. James E. Simmons, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, deputy commanding general for support.
The Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom is the civilian equivalent to the Purple Heart Medal and was presented to David Baker, John Doden, Craig Compton and Jeffrey Roark.
The award was established by the Secretary of Defense on Sept. 27, 2001, to recognize civilian employees of the Department of Defense who were killed or wounded in the line of duty.
The citation for the Medal read, 'in honor of heroism and selfless service beyond the call of duty. The medal symbolizes the principles of freedom on which this country was founded. The ribbon's four red stripes commemorate valor and sacrifice and represent the four terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The blue stripe represents strength and the strike against The Pentagon. The four white stripes represent liberty as represented in our national flag. On behalf of a grateful nation; signed Francis J. Harvey, Secretary of the Army."
During his remarks Simmons said, "I know that most of you being recognized today do not consider yourselves heros, or deserving of recognition. You are wrong. You understood the risks involved in serving over here and you chose to brave those hazards in order to support our service men and women anyway. Your sacrifice deserves our recognition and gratitude."
"A hero is an everyday person, like every single one of you that perseveres through adversity. You can make a difference in the world by just having your heart in the right place, by doing the right thing," said Mike Mayo, KBR Principal Program Manager of LOGCAP III.
On May 24, 2004, David Baker, a resident of Arlington, Texas, was driving in a mail convoy enroute from Al Taqaddum to Baghdad International Airport when the convoy encountered an improvised explosive device near Fallujah. His vehicle was thrown and jackknifed but Baker regained control of his vehicle despite the injuries he received.
On July 2, 2004, Craig Compton, a resident of Brooksville, Fla., was a driver during an ice delivery convoy mission from Al Taqaddum to Camp Anaconda when the convoy came under attack by insurgents using rocket-propelled grenades, IEDs and small arms fire. During the attack Compton's vehicle was struck by an explosive but he was able to continue driving through the 'kill zone'.
On June 1, 2006, Forward Operating Base Flacon received hostile rocket fire which impacted inside the FOB. John Doden, a resident of the United States Virgin Islands, was in the direct vicinity of the rocket impact area and sustained injuries from attack.
On April 12, 2004, during a mortar fire attack on Camp Anaconda Jeff Roark, a resident of Weatherford, Texas, sustained injuries when one of the mortars exploded in his immediate vicinity.
"Since the LOGCAP III project's inception, 101 KBR employees and subcontractors have been killed due to hostile action in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait," Mayo stated.