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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. – Marines with Marine
Wing Support Squadron 373, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, earned awards
for combat actions in a ceremony aboard Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar, Calif., May 3, 2013.
The squadron was one of several
that came under attack by insurgents in September 2012 aboard Camp
Bastion, Afghanistan.
Marines with the support squadron
immediately fired upon the attacking insurgents, while setting up a
hasty defense. They held the enemy at bay while equipment from the
fuel station began burning uncontrollably less than 100 feet from
their post.
Three of the awardees, Sgt. Jammie Hawkins, a
Memphis, Tenn., native, Cpl. Michael Klapperich, a Fond du Lac,
Wis., native, and Lance Cpl. Cody Wallace, a Star, Miss., native,
all semitrailer refueling operators with the squadron recounted
their tale as though it were only the day before.
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Lt. Col. Seth Ocloo, left, Marine Wing
Support Squadron 373 commanding officer, pins the Navy Achievement
Medal with Combat “V” onto Lance Cpl. Cody Wallace, a semitrailer
refueling operator with MWSS-373 and a Star, Miss., native, during
an award ceremony aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.,
May 3, 2013. Wallace helped mount a defense against an insurgent
attack aboard Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, September 2012. (U.S.
Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher Johns)
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“We were just doing our jobs, no one expected to get
attacked,” said Hawkins, awarded a Navy and Marine Corps
Commendation Medal with a Combat “V” for his actions during
the attack. “At first you're scared, then training just
kicks in and you get a hold of yourself and start [doing
what you're supposed to do]. When a mortar round goes over
your head, into a fuel farm, it kind of pumps you up a
little.”
At that point the Marines knew that they
had to defend more than each other.
“We put ourselves between the insurgents
and those aircraft,” said Hawkins. “Without those aircraft
and our fueling equipment, Marines on the ground would have
suffered immensely. You do what you have to, to keep your
fellow Marines and contractors safe.”
Not only did
these Marines save millions of dollars worth of equipment,
they also greatly reflected their squadron as a whole,
explained Lt. Col. Seth Ocloo, commanding officer of
MWSS-373.
“We sent a great group of Marines to
deploy, of that I have no doubt,” said Ocloo. “They've made
their squadron proud, and we're glad no one was hurt.”
These heroic Marines came home to tell their tale to
their friends and peers, only to be received in surprise.
“Not a lot of people expect a fuel Marine to get into a
fire fight, but we were the only thing between [the enemy]
and our aircraft,” said Klapperich. “Those aircraft are
someone's lifeline, without them, Marines would have
suffered more than they had to.”
A common feeling all
shared about the night was a simple one.
“I was just
glad for it all to be over,” said Wallace, awarded a Navy
and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a Combat “V”. “Doing
what we did was a huge adrenaline rush, but I'm glad to be
home.”
These Marines are only a few of the Marines
who fought off the insurgents that night in September 2012,
saving millions of dollars worth of aircraft, equipment and
more importantly – the lives of the coalition forces serving
aboard the flight line.
More photos available in frame below
By USMC Lance Cpl. Christopher Johns
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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