August 26, 2012 - Staff Sgt. Alec
Haralovich was presented the Silver Star Medal, the nation's third
highest award for combat heroism, for his actions during a combat
deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. After Haralovich was shot twice
in his body armor by an insurgent, he destroyed an enemy stronghold
with a rocket and led his Marines on a two-hour assault after their
ambushers. Haralovich is a
reconnaissance Marine assigned to E Company, 4th Reconnaissance Bn.,
4th Marine Division. Photo by USMC Sgt. Ray Lewis |
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CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. (9/14/2012) - “I thought I was going to die,”
Staff Sgt. Alec Haralovich pondered as he lay on his back in
Afghanistan.
Taliban fighters had just ambushed his patrol of
dismounted Marines with automatic gunfire. The enemy's aim was
accurate. Two bullets struck his body armor with such force that he
was knocked backward into the dirt.
Haralovich didn't let his
fears get the best of him though. He had survived two other combat
deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. As a reconnaissance Marine who
knows how to treat his own wounds, Haralovich applied pressure to
his side while he checked for bleeding.
There was no blood.
Leading up to the attack, Haralovich had seen all the signs. It
was quiet as they patrolled Ghorah -- a village that was usually
filled with people.
“As we were pushing through we were all
feeling confident like we were going to get a drop on these guys,”
thought Haralovich. “They're not going to have anywhere to run to.”
He was wrong. The insurgents set up a complex ambush that
lured his Marines into a death trap.
“I was really angry,”
he recalled. “I was angry because it basically was like they had
duped us, they had out maneuvered us, outsmarted us.”
Immediately after Haralovich was hit, Cpl. Matthew Chen, a combat
medic bounded forward to treat who he thought was critically
wounded. However, assured that he had taken rounds only to his
armor, Haralovich yelled at Chen to get back. |
As Chen was returning, he was wounded in the leg, with a
minor grazing wound from an enemy bullet.
Seeing the
injured medic, Haralovich grew even more emboldened.
“That's when I was like, time for the rocket shot,” he
said. “It's time to end this now.”
He yelled for a
Marine to bring him the M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon, a rocket
launcher that can deliver a warhead thousands of feet and
penetrate more than 8 inches of steel.
He knew this
weapon well. He trained extensively with it on active duty
before he became a reconnaissance man in the Reserves.
Haralovich and his team sprinted forward through an open
field, headed directly toward their attackers, while two of
his Marines were sending rounds steadily at the enemy.
Haralovich armed his rocket launcher. He knew he had to
hurry because the two Marines shooting were laying prone,
with less than one foot of cover.
“Running out with a
prepped LAW on your shoulder, you're definitely a target, I
realized like halfway into the field,” Haralovich
remembered. “I had to basically hurry up, take the shot.”
Haralovich fired.
The explosion blew up the
enemy stronghold and caused all of the attackers to cease
fire and retreat. But Haralovich and the Marines weren't
finished. He wasn't just going to let insurgents attack
them.
Haralovich then tried to contact the other
Marine team, but couldn't. One of the rounds that struck his
armor also destroyed his radio.
He had to find, and
link up with his other patrol element.
After making
contact, both elements patrolled forward as a stronger,
combined unit.
“We knew there was an enemy command
and control element that was well known within the region
that was near this mosque, so we pushed to the north,”
Haralovich said. “We pushed toward that area, ran into a
couple more fighters. They were surprised to see us; they
took off.”
After hours of additional patrolling, and
the insurgents nowhere to be seen, Haralovich gathered his
men and headed back to the patrol base. His company
commander, Capt. Jonathan Joseph, said he had to convince
him to rest after he had returned.
After returning
from deployment, Haralovich eventually left active duty, but
continues to serve with the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion.
During his assignment with the Marine Forces Reserve, the
process to award Haralovich for his heroism was completed.
Maj. Gen. James M. Lariviere, the 4th Marine Division
Commanding General presented Haralovich the Silver Star
Medal for gallantry in combat. Awarding the nation's third
highest award for combat heroism took place at Camp
Atterbury, near Haralovich's hometown of Bloomington, Ind.
More than 100 Marines, sailors, soldiers, family and
friends attended the event.
This was the same place
where his grandfather, an Army veteran, was stationed before
serving in WWII and on D-Day in 1944. It made for a
historical occasion for Haralovich and his family who
attended the ceremony.
“I'd have to say that he's
made me extremely proud,” said Peter Haralovich, Alec's
uncle. “We followed his three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan
and communicated with him regularly by satellite phone and
email. We've experienced the stress that any family
experiences. And of course we're relieved that he's healthy
and in one piece and looking forward to the rest of his
career in the United States military.”
“I couldn't be
prouder,” said Capt. Joseph. “Not just because he got the
award. What he did that day; he did that countless other
times. It wasn't just an isolated incident. He did that
every day. He was by far the best team leader I have ever
had.”
According to his uncle, heroics run in the
family. Haralovichs' have fought as Marines in the Pacific
and executed bombing missions as soldiers in Germany during
World War II. Haralovich now adds a new daring chapter to
his family's long legacy of war fighters who have lived for
something greater themselves.
By USMC Sgt. Ray Lewis
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
SSgt. Alec Haralovich Receives Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone Award
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