In May of 2005, Marines
stationed in Anbar province
began a week-long hunt to
root out insurgents and
foreign fighters in the
volatile areas around the
Syrian border. Dubbed
Operation Matador, those
tasked with carrying out the
mission encountered enemies
who had dug in and were
ready to fight: deadly
roadside bombs, sniper
attacks, and several
well-planned ambushes.
One day after the operation
began, then-Lance Cpl. Camp
and his company were sent to
New Ubaydi on a
house-clearing mission. As
Camp's squad entered one of
the houses, insurgents
hiding in a closet and in an
underground crawlspace
opened fire, shooting four
Marines. Camp, outside,
heard the gunfight and
immediately ran inside to
help. Three separate times
he entered and exited the
building to recover his
squad members and clear the
house of insurgents.
On May 11, Camp was again
tested. This time, his
company was heading to
another small town to clear
other insurgent strongholds.
Camp was standing at the top
hatch of his amphibious
assault vehicle when he
noticed an eerie silence.
Camp was instantly on alert
– but that could not stop
the roadside bomb that
detonated at that moment,
hitting the vehicle and
throwing the man standing
next to Camp into a nearby
field.
Shrapnel dug into Camp's
right thigh, and the
explosion lit his hands and
face on fire. He was thrown
back into the burning
vehicle, and he began
beating out the fires all
over his body and head.
Then, Camp heard the call of
one of his teammates still
trapped inside. As he
crawled back into the
wreckage, heat was cooking
off ammunition all around
him, ammunition that
ricocheted inside even as
insurgents continued to fire
from outside. And then there
was another explosion. Camp
fell back out of the
vehicle, on fire once more.
Again, he beat his body
until the flames subsided.
His comrade was still in the
vehicle. So Camp went back
inside and tried to grip the
Marine's pack, his helmet –
anything – but by then
Camp's skin was melting from
his hands. Camp later told
the Columbus Dispatch, “I
[was] screaming for someone
to help me . . . someone
with fresh hands.” Finally,
some Marines answered his
calls, and pulled Camp and
the other Marine free.
For his actions and bravery,
Camp was awarded the Silver
Star on May 15, 2006. |
