3/5 Marines awarded for heroism

[thedrifter]

3/5 Marines awarded for heroism
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification #: 2004514112222
Story by Cpl. Jeremy M. Vought



MCAGCC TWENTYNINE PALMS(May 13, 2004) -- They all charged savagely through enemy trenches ? each braving a hail of fire before squashing their adversaries to valiantly represent the fighting spirit of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

That's how four Marines were characterized May 6 in an award ceremony recognizing their combat exploits while serving in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. in 2003.

Two of them were awarded the Navy Cross ? the Navy's second-highest award. Two others received the Silver Star, the third-highest combat-only award given by the Department of Defense.

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee, along with Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John L. Estrada, were on hand for the presentation. Hagee conferred the awards during the battalion's Combined Arms Exercise.

"They are the reflection of (Marines) whose service to the Marine Corps and country is held above their own safety and lives," Hagee said, commending the "bravery" of four "great Marines."

"These four Marines are a reflection of every Marine and sailor in this great battalion," Estrada added.

Three of the awards went to members of Combined Anti-Armor Platoon, Weapons Company, 3/5, for action on a furious day of combat in the first few days of OIF. The fourth stemmed from a battle later on in the 1st Marine Division's march toward Baghdad.

The award recipients:

n Capt. Brian R. Chontosh, 29, from Rochester, N.Y., Combined Anti-Armor Platoon commander, received the Navy Cross for extrordinary heroism on March 25, 2003.

While leading his platoon north on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah, Chontosh's platoon moved into a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons fire, according to the award citation.

With coalition tanks blocking the road ahead, he realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone.

Chontosh instructed the driver to move the vehicle through a breach along his flank, where the vehicle immediately came under fire from an entrenched enemy machine gun.

"Without hesitation," the citation said, Chontosh ordered the driver to advance directly toward the enemy position, enabling his .50-caliber machine gunner to neutralize the threat.

He then directed his driver into the enemy trench, where he exited his vehicle and began to clear the trench with an M16A2 service rifle and 9mm pistol, the citation read.

His ammunition depleted, Chontosh twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his "ferocious" attack, according to the account.

When a Marine following him found an enemy RPG launcher, Chontosh used it to destroy yet another group of enemy soldiers.

The attack ? described in the citation as "audacious" ? cleared 200 meters of enemy trench and killed more than 20 enemy soldiers while wounding several others, it said.

"I was just doing my job. I did the same thing every other Marine would have done," Chontosh said.

He said "a passion and love for my Marines" fueled his onslaught.

n Pfc. Joseph B. Perez, 23, a Houston native, received the Navy Cross for "extraordinary heroism" while serving as a rifleman with Company I, 3/5, on April 4, 2003.

First Platoon came under "intense" enemy fire near Route 6 during the advance into Baghdad, Perez's award citation read.

Perez, the point man for the lead squad ? and therefore the most exposed member of the platoon ? faced the brunt of the enemy fire, he citation read.

But he didn't back down.

He continually fired his M16A4 rifle to destroy the enemy while calmly directing accurate fires for his squad, the citation said.

He led the charge down an enemy trench and ? amid "tremendous" enemy fire ? threw a grenade into the trench, the citation said.

But the enemy wasn't done ? and neither was Perez.

With a "heavy volume of fire" still directed toward the Marines, Perez fired an AT-4 rocket into a machine-gun bunker, completely destroying it and killing four enemy personnel, the citation said.

His actions enabled the squad to maneuver safely to the enemy position and seize it, the citation read.

But the job wasn't finished.

Attempting to link up with 3rd Platoon on his platoon's left flank, Perez continued to destroy enemy combatants with his rifle. As he worked his way to the left, he was hit by enemy fire, sustaining gunshot wounds to his torso and shoulder.

Although seriously injured, Perez directed the squad to take cover and gave accurate fire direction that enabled the squad to reorganize and destroy the enemy, the citation said.

"It is unreal. It is not what I expected. It is unbelievable," Perez said about receiving the award.

"This is real weird for me, because, I am not big on special events."

n Cpl. Armand E. McCormick, 22, a Mount Pleasant, Iowa, native, received the Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" against the enemy while serving as rifleman for Combined Anti-Armor Platoon, Weapons Co., 3/5, on March 25, 2003.

Under heavy fire, McCormick, a lance corporal at the time, exhibited "exceptional bravery" during the aforementioned enemy ambush.

McCormick "fearlessly" drove his light armored vehicle directly at an enemy machine gun position and purposely crashed it into an occupied trench line, the citation said.

Next, he sprang from the vehicle and, along with two other Marines, began an assault.

"Taking direct fire and outnumbered," he pressed forward, firing his M9 pistol despite repeated enemy fire.

As the group ran low on ammunition, he collected enemy rifles and an RPG and continued to press the attack forward several hundred meters.

As a follow-on company began to make their entrance into the berm, he returned to his vehicle and backed it out of the trench.

McCormick's "boldly aggressive actions greatly reduced the enemy's ability to inflict casualties on the rest of his battalion," the citation said.

Despite the glowing language in his award citation, McCormick downplayed his battlefield exploits.

"It's an honor of course. It is just another day in the Marine Corps," McCormick said.

"I'm ready to go it again and help out with the situation," he said about redeploying to Iraq.

Coincidentally, McCormick redeployed to Iraq on Friday .

"To me, I did what I was suppose to do. I did what was expected," he added.

n Cpl. Robert P. Kerman, 21, a Klamath Falls, Ore., native, received the Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in action against the enemy while serving as a rifleman for Combined Anti-Armor Platoon, 3/5, on March 25, 2003.

In the same enemy ambush that precipitated Chontosh's and McCormick's assault, Kerman exhibited "exceptional bravery," the citation said.

As the vehicle he was traveling in drove directly into machine gun fire and into a trench line, Kerman bolted from the vehicle and began assaulting down the enemy- occupied trench.

As enemy soldiers fired at him, he lunged toward them, firing his M16 with "lethal accuracy," the award said.

Continuing to move through the trench, he repeatedly came under enemy fire. Each time, he "calmly" took "well-aimed shots that had devastating effects on the enemy," the citation said.

As the group ran out of ammunition, they pressed forward 200 to 300 meters while firing captured enemy AK-47s.

"I was pretty scared at the time, but we knew what we had to do and we did it," Kerman said. "I did not expect (the award). Maybe I just did the right thing."

In effect since April 1917, and established by an Act of Congress on Feb. 4, 1919, the Navy Cross may be awarded for "extraordinary heroism not justifying an award of the Medal of Honor," according to the U.S. Navy Office of Information Web site.

The action must take place ... "while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States; in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or, while serving with friendly foreign forces ..."

The act must have been carried out amid "great danger" or at "great personal risk."

More than 6,000 Navy Crosses have been awarded since World War I.

Established in 1918, the Silver Star is awarded "for gallantry in action" ... of "a lesser degree than that required for award of the Distinguished Service Cross."



Capt. Brian R. Chontosh received the Navy Cross Medal fro the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, during an awards ceremony May 6 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.
Photo by: Cpl. Jeremy M. Vought

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...0?opendocument


Ellie