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It's
hard to
imagine
a man
jumping
on top
of
parapets
to draw
enemy
rocket,
grenade,
and
machine
gun fire
away
from his
buddies.
But
Marine
1stSgt
Donnie
Brazeal
did just
that in
April,
2005
during
what
many say
was one
of the
largest
fire
fights
of the
Iraq
War.
Brazeal,
now
retired
after
serving
23 years
in the
Marine
Corps,
served
four
back-to-back
deployments.
One of
his last
deployments
was to
Iraq
from
January
to
September
of 2005.
While
the
attacks
were
endless,
one
stands
out from
all the
rest;
insurgents
hit
Brazeal's
company,
stationed
at a
combat
outpost,
on the
morning
of April
11,
2005.
Brazeal
said his
reason
for
risking
life and
limb on
that day
was
simple.
"Those
are my
sons,"
he said,
pointing
to a
group of
sergeants
and
corporals
who
attended
his
award
ceremony
at the
Naval
Academy
on
January
27,
2007. "I
was
bringing
young
Marines
home. We
fought
every
day, and
they
(young
sergeants
and
corporals
from his
unit)
are the
real
heroes."
"My
father
taught
me never
to run
away
from a
fight,
and my
mother
taught
me to
help my
fellow
man,"
said
Brazeal,
who was
raised
in
Council
Bluffs,
Iowa.
On April
11,
mortar
rounds
were
hitting
within
five to
10 yards
of each
other,
witnesses
said,
which
meant
the
attack
was well
planned.
As
the mortar shells, rockets
and grenades rained down,
the Marines found themselves
being hit directly with
machine gun and small arms
fire.
Brazeal
saw one
group of
Marines
that was
pinned
down,
and he
and
another
Marine
pulled
out two
anti-tank
missiles
and
mounted
the wall
they had
been
using
for a
barrier.
That
maneuver
drew
fire on
Brazeal,
but
allowed
the
other
Marines
to
regroup
and
return
fire.
Conventional
weapons
weren't
the only
dangers
in that
pitched
fight
that
lasted
seven
hours.
At one
point, a
dump
truck
headed
straight
for the
compound,
and the
Marines
knew
they
were
about to
be hit
by a
suicide
bomber.
They
stopped
the
truck,
which
exploded
within
40 yards
off
their
camp.
Then
came
another
vehicle,
an
ambulance
loaded
with
explosives.
And
after
that, a
fire
truck.
"They
detonated
a fire
truck-full
of
explosives
75
meters
away; it
is a
miracle
it
didn't
blow out
our
insides,"
said
Maj.
Frank
Diorio,
who was
a
captain
at the
time and
commander
of the
company.
The
explosions
flattened
all of
the
buildings,
Diorio
said,
and
wounded
some
Marines,
but they
suffered
no
fatalities.
Perhaps
the best
testament
to what
Brazeal's
men
thought
of him
was that
two of
the
Marines
in the
April 11
attack,
1stSgt.
John
Harman
and Sgt.
Josh
Hopper,
who had
just
returned
from a
subsequent
combat
tour in
Iraq,
gladly
gave up
their
first
weekend
home to
travel
from
Jacksonville
to
Annapolis
for the
surprise
ceremony.
"It was
leadership
from the
front,"
Harman
said
admiringly
of
Brazeal's
style.
"That's
why the
whole
company
loved
him and
Capt.
Diorio."
Brazeal
was
awarded
the
Bronze
Star
with
Valor.
His
award
citation
noted
that
during
one of
the
company's
many
fire
fights,
Brazeal
knocked
Diorio
to the
ground
and
threw
his body
over his
commander
to
protect
him from
enemy
mortar
fire.
"First
Sgt.
Brazeal
is a
Marine's
Marine;
he is
Gunny
Highway
times
10,"
Diorio
said
referring
to a
Clint
Eastwood
character
who
fought
at
Heartbreak
Ridge.
"He
feared
his God,
but
that's
about
it."
Excerpts
from
article
by Earl
Kelly,
Staff
Writer;
HometownAnnapolis.com,
Jan. 28,
2007 |
