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FORT CAMPBALL, Ky. (Jan. 16, 2013) -- Gen. David M. Rodriguez,
commander of U.S. Forces Command, awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross to the widow of Staff Sgt. Eric B. Shaw, Company C, 2nd
Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault), during a somber ceremony, Jan. 16,
at Liberty Chapel, here.
Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), and Maj. Gen. James C. McConville, 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell commanding general, present the Distinguish Service Cross to the widow of Staff Sgt. Eric Shaw.
SSgt. Shaw (bottom right) was posthumously awarded the second highest military award for valor that can be given to a service member, based on Shaw's actions while serving as a squad leader with 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in June 2010.
(Photo by Troy Langenburg, MVISC with Shaw's inset by USA
Patriotism!) |
Audrey R. Shaw accepted the award, along with his Eric's
mother, Michelle Campbell. Shaw died in combat, June 27,
2010, while assisting others to safety during a firefight in
Afghanistan. Only the second Screaming Eagle Soldier to earn
the honor since the Vietnam War, Shaw is remembered for
"acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call
of duty" according to the award citation.
He served
as a squad leader with "No Slack" in Marawara District, Kunar Province, Afghanistan,
during 1st BCT's deployment in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom.
The award citation explains Shaw encountered
enemy fire while his squad attempted to seize the village of
Daridam. He gave his own life after coming to the aid of a
12 Afghan National Army soldiers who got cut off from the
1st BCT squad and led them back to U.S. forces when enemy
fire struck him.
Shaw's actions that day are "an
inspiration to us for how he lived his life and sacrificed
it for his country," Rodriguez said. The incident occurred
during the 31-year-old's third deployment. Shaw joined the
Army in October 2004 -- at a time when U.S. forces remained
on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Eric wanted
to be part of that military -- to make a difference,"
Rodriguez said.
Family, friends and Shaw's fellow
Soldiers packed into the sanctuary of Liberty Chapel, all to
honor the Soldier whose selfless and heroic actions will be
remembered in the weeks and years to come.
"I'm very
proud and I'm very happy to be here," Campbell said.
"Obviously, I'm very saddened by my son's death, but I know
that he's a hero."
Campbell remembers her son as a
brave man, who "didn't want anybody to hurt" and
concentrated on the good of others above his own needs.
The Exeter, Maine, native came to Fort Campbell in March
2005. He chose to enlist as an infantryman, just as his
father had been during the Vietnam War.
"He wanted
to experience combat as his father had," Audrey explained,
who first met her husband when enrolled at the University of
Southern Maine.
Audrey recalls her husband as a
humble man, who became a Soldier not for glory or fame. She
said he would be humbled to receive the Distinguished
Service Cross, which is second only to the Medal of Honor.
"I don't do it so people can recognize me; I do it
because it's what I love," Audrey remembered him telling her
once as she affixed a 101st Airborne sticker to their
vehicle.
As the third anniversary of Shaw's death
approaches, Audrey keeps the memory of the man she loved
alive for their three daughters: Madison, 7; Victoria, 5;
and Julia, 2�. When thinking about him, Audrey remembers the
Soldier's love for comedian Chris Farley and his affinity
for a good joke.
"He was probably the funniest man
with the biggest heart that I've ever met," she said. "He
would always have a joke; usually it was making fun of
himself."
Shaw, who also wrestled through high school
and college, remained dedicated to his band of brothers.
"His Soldiers were everything to him," Audrey said.
"They were his family. He was more worried about them not
coming home than himself."
The Distinguished Service
Cross is the nation's second highest award for valor,
bestowed on someone who exhibits extraordinary heroism while
engaged in military actions against an enemy of the United
States. The heroism must be notable and involve risk of life
that sets the person apart from others.
"His Soldiers
knew him as a fantastic leader," Rodriguez added. "He spent
an enormous amount of time training them, not only on the
physical stress and strain of war, but the emotional toll
war takes on a Soldier. [Staff] Sergeant Shaw did everything
he could to prepare his Soldiers for what they were facing
every day. His superiors considered him a professional
warrior."
Shaw is the 166th Screaming Eagle Soldier
to receive the Distinguished Service Cross.
"Do I
wish he had been able to be here today to accept his award?"
Audrey asked, her voice wavering. "I would give every single
thing that I have right now so that he could be here and
that he could be with our girls and watch them grow."
By Megan Locke Simpson, Fort Campbell Courier
Army News Service
Copyright 2013
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