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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (MCN - 9/7/2012) — The first
thing Staff Sgt. Matthew E. Faircloth did once he regained
consciousness after being shot in the head in a firefight in
Afghanistan in 2011 was look at his family picture in the back of
his Kevlar helmet. Never mind the blood gushing from the back of his
head, he just wanted to make sure the one thing that kept him strong
through his deployment was protected – a picture of his wife and
three children.
Staff Sgt. Matthew E. Faircloth, the
section leader with Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with
a combat distinguishing device Aug. 23 during the 2nd Marine
Division change of command ceremony. Faircloth, a Hedgesville,
W.Va., native, earned the award for his actions in combat on
February 16, 2011. Photo by USMC Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde |
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Faircloth, a section leader with Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion,
8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was awarded a Bronze Star
with combat distinguishing device Aug. 23 during the 2nd Marine
Division change of command ceremony.
Faircloth, a
Hedgesville, W. Va., native, earned the award for his actions in
combat on February 16, 2011 while leading his section in support of
Operation Steel Curtain I for a company clearing operation in Trek
Nawa, Helmand province, Afghanistan.
As his dismounted
section maneuvered to a blocking position, the enemy unleashed a
heavy volume of effective small-arms and medium machine gun fire
from multiple firing positions in a U-shaped ambush. As Faircloth
engaged the unit, he was shot and rendered unconscious by a bullet
impacting and penetrating his helmet and grazing his head.
“Myself and another sergeant jumped in a canal to relieve some
pressure off an over watch position, and as soon as we did we
definitely got their attention,” said Faircloth. “They focused their
fire on us, and when they did was when I got shot in the back of the
head knocking me out.”
Regaining consciousness, his first
thought was of his kids and his Marines, before he immediately
resumed command of his section orienting his machine gunners to
suppress the enemy positions in order to relieve pressure on the
Marines still caught in the ambush kill zone.
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“When I first came to, I immediately removed my Kevlar
(helmet), so I could save the picture of my kids, before my
blood got all over it and I realized the bullet had went
through the picture,” said Faircloth. “At that moment, I
told myself I wasn't going to let myself or my Marines die
on foreign soil.”
Refusing medical treatment, except
to make sure he was still ready to fight, he continued the
operation with his section for three days before returning
to the battalion aid station.
“When we got back I was
told I had a minor concussion and that I had to be grounded
for seven days,” said Faircloth. “After 48 hours, I was
ready to get back in the fight and leave the (forward
operating base).”
At the change of command ceremony,
Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, the former commanding general of
2nd Marine Division and Brooklyn, N.Y., native, recognized
the Marines receiving citations and the heroism they
portrayed.
“I want you to hear these citations of
Cpl. (Jason M.) Hassinger and Staff Sgt. Faircloth and
that's the indication of the type of heroism that goes on
every day,” said Toolan. “What is courage? Courage is being
able to act in the face of fear and that's what these
Marines did.”
By USMC Lance Cpl. Phillip Clark
Marine Corps News
Copyright 2012
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