Mar. 25, 2011 -- Col. Willard Buhl, commanding officer, 5th Marine Regiment, congratulates Sgt. James Rodrigues after awarding him with the Bronze Star for actions under enemy fire in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Rodrigues a 22 year-old from Modesto, Calif., was part of the Regimental Combat Team 7 partnering team. Rodrigues saved an Afghan girl during a fire-fight with enemy forces on Feb. 22, 2010. |
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Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. (3/30/2011)Sgt. James
Rodrigues Jr., a communicator formerly with Regimental Combat Team 7
partnering team, 2d Brigade, 1st Battalion, 203d Afghan National
Army, was awarded the Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device
at the 62 area chapel, March 25.
Rodrigues, 22, from Modesto,
Calif., and his team were engaged by enemy forces with small-arms
fire from a position to their south on Feb. 22, 2010.
The
team immediately returned suppressing fire on the enemy position in
order to enable others a chance to perform a flanking maneuver. A
local family was observing the team's situation before the attack.
Once the fire-fight began, the family immediately moved to cover on
the side of the road. A small Afghan girl was left standing in the
middle of the road.
Rodrigues moved to a better firing
position after returning fire to the enemy. While taking cover, he
observed the girl, crying and frozen with fear.
“I just
reacted to the events as they happened,” said Rodrigues. “I was
running on instinct.”
Ignoring the chaos and heavy volume of
fire being |
