 As
enemy forces ambushed the
front of his convoy, and
with explosions going off on
the road ahead of him, Navy
Hospital Corpsman Joshua
Chiarini could have remained
in his vehicle and waited
for the action to pass.
Instead, the petty officer
bolted from his truck and
joined the battle. His
ensuing gallantry resulted
in a Silver Star and the
recovery of several wounded
Marines from the line of
fire, saving their lives.
Many of Chiarini's missions
took place in Al Anbar
province, a hotbed of
violence in early 2006. The
morning of February 10
started out like so many
others – with a patrol for
Chiarini, a combat medic
spending his third tour of
duty with the 1st Platoon,
2nd Marine Division. It soon
became clear the day would
be anything but routine. A
roadside bomb hit the front
Humvee in the convoy. The
vehicle sped out of the kill
zone and its occupants
escaped and took up
defensive positions against
the attacking force. A
second blast detonated in
the area where the four
Marines and one interpreter
stood, which was followed by
heavy small-arms fire in
their direction, causing
injuries. Chiarini's Humvee,
the third in the convoy,
remained far behind the
damaged truck and Marines.
Clouds of smoke and
nonexistent radio
communications blocked the
pinned down Marines from the
rest of the convoy.
Realizing his comrades lay
in harm's way, Chiarini
jumped out of the truck and
sprinted 100 meters to tend
to the injured men, dodging
insurgent fire the entire
way.
One by one, Chiarini helped
guide each person to safety.
Chiarini led the
interpreter, who had a
mangled arm, to a secure
Humvee. He guided the M-16
fire of a blinded Marine
toward the insurgents.
Chiarini then made three
separate trips from the
Humvee to the battlefield to
treat and retrieve each of
the wounded, all while
braving a high volume of
incoming rounds and laying
down cover fire. For much of
the time, Chiarini applied
aid to the wounded with one
arm, while providing
suppressive fire with the
other. After moving the team
to safety, Chiarini stayed
on the battlefield and
unleashed M-16 fire at the
enemy forces. He continued
the fight as reinforcements
arrived, eliminating several
insurgents.
This was not the only
mission that placed Chiarini
in harm's way. His team was
repeatedly fired on by
snipers. 30 of the convoys
he rode in were struck by
roadside bombs and three
suicide bombers. The
constant danger makes it all
the more impressive that of
the 100 Marines treated by
Chiarini, none lost his or
her life.
On October 22, 2007,
Chiarini received the Silver
Star medal in the Rhode
Island statehouse. He
presently serves at Naval
Health Clinic New England in
Newport, RI. |
