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‘War Dog' Marine awarded Silver Star
(July 27, 2010) |
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Corporal Daniel Hickey, a team leader with
2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, stands tall bearing his
Silver Star and holding his award citation in front of the
color guard and his battalion at Lance Cpl. Torrey Gray
Field, July 16, 2010. |
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MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT
CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (MCN -
July 23, 2010) — In the chaos
and danger of battle, Marines are trained to
look out for each other, take control and bring
chaos to their enemy.
Lance Cpl. Daniel Hickey, a machine gunner with
1st platoon, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th
Marines, did all these things and helped save
lives in Afghanistan in 2008. For his actions,
he was awarded a Silver Star during a ceremony
at Lance Cpl. Torrey Gray Field, July 16. Hickey
demonstrated great heroism during combat when
his patrol came under attack by medium machine
gun fire and rocket propelled grenades during an
ambush.
“We were doing a routine patrol in an area not
normally patrolled,” said now Cpl. Hickey, a
team leader with 2nd Bn., 7th Marines. “We
started taking contact from our right flank.
After we started taking contact, my vehicle
commander told my driver to stop.”
Hickey said, the commander dismounted the
vehicle and fired on the enemy. In a fierce
exchange, the vehicle commander was struck in
the upper right thigh and went down. Hickey
exited the vehicle and pulled the commander into
the cab while returning fire with his squad
automatic weapon.
“My squad leader came back around with his
truck, blocked in front of me because there was
another position that was engaging us,” said
Hickey a North Bend, Ore., native. “I ran over
to his door and told him what had happened.” He
told Hickey to get back in the vehicle and move
out of the area. “We went back eight, nine
hundred meters away. Set up a casualty
collection point and called in the bird,
triaging |
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him the whole time.” |
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When news of the engagement and the actions of Hickey
reached the forward operation base, his friends were not
surprised of his actions.
“It seemed just like something he would do,” said Lance Cpl.
Nick Wang, a mortarman with 2nd Bn., 7th Marines. “He is all
about his friends, family and his guys. He did his job well
and knew what he needed to do at all times.”
Looking back, Hickey credits the extensive live fire
training he received for getting him through that day.
“All the ranges we did, the training, basically all the live
fire we did, helped out a lot cause once [the ambush]
happened the training kicked right in and I knew what I had
to do,” Hickey said.
Two years after the firefight Hickey stood tall with a newly
pinned Silver Star on his chest as Lt. Col. John M. Reed,
the 2nd Bn., 7th Marines, battalion commander, took to the
mic at Lance Cpl. Torrey Gray Field to commend Hickey and
Marines like him for their devotion to duty.
“Cpl. Hickey is a hero. There is no doubt that his actions
as courageous as they were on the battlefield saved many
lives, the citation that described Cpl. Hickey's selfless
valor is inspiration to say the least,” said Reed,
addressing the audience. Turning to Hickey he continued,
“You are part of the reason that together as 2/7 we are
ready for all and yielding to none.” | |
Article and photo by LCpl. Andrew D. Thorburn
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
Copyright 2010
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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