Silver Star Recipient
Travis L. Manion
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Many believe
that leadership is an innate
quality rather than
something learned. If this
is a valid belief then First
Lieutenant Travis L. Manion
was certainly born a leader.
Manion began his military
career early as a student at
the prestigious U.S. Naval
Academy where he excelled
academically.
Upon graduating from the
academy in 2004, Manion
chose to become a Marine
Corps officer. Demonstrating
his intellect and leadership
abilities, this
servicemember was
commissioned and assigned to
the 1st Reconnaissance
Battalion, 1st Marine
Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force Camp in
Pendleton, CA. Shortly
thereafter, he was deployed
to Iraq for his first tour
of duty in 2005.
Manion and his unit were
part of many critical events
including support of the
election, discovery of
weapons caches throughout
the region and numerous
other Iraqi transition
missions.
In September 2006, he was
selected as an experienced
Iraq veteran and was pulled
from 1st Recon to become a
part of a military
transition team that would
train with 10 other Marines
that would be attached to an
Iraqi Army Battalion in
Fallujah.
Staying true to his
commitment to public
service, Manion geared up on
December 26, 2006, for his
second tour in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. He
served as the company
advisor for the 3rd
Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st
Iraqi Army Division Military
Transition Team, Regimental
Combat Team 6, II Marine
Expeditionary Force
(Forward). |
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Manion and his fellow
Marines labored diligently
to change the outcome in
Fallujah, building a
brotherhood with the Iraqi
Army units and setting the
example with strong
leadership.
He and his fellow Marines
aggressively took the battle
to the enemy on multiple
missions while mentoring
their Iraqi counterparts. On
March 19, 2007, his vehicle
was attacked by an
improvised explosive device.
Though disoriented from the
attack, Manion checked for
secondary devices, and then
led the pursuit to the
triggerman. Once identified,
he personally apprehended
the suspect. On March 27,
2007, he exposed himself to
enemy small arms fire on
multiple occasions in order
to physically position and
direct the return fires of
his Iraqi soldiers during a
complex enemy attack. On
March 28, he immediately
responded to a suicide
vehicle-borne IED attack on
the Iraqi Barracks at the
Fallujah Government Center.
Despite ongoing enemy small
arms fire, indirect fire,
two suicide vest attacks, a
second suicide-vehicle-borne
IED, and the heavy presence
of chlorine gas, he
repeatedly endangered
himself by entering the
damage barracks to remove
casualties, and then by
positioning and directing
the fires of Iraqi soldiers
on the rooftop of the
Government Center.
Manion and his fellow
Marines fought courageously
to change the tide in this
critical battle ground. As a
result of their efforts, Al
Anbar Province is now
recognized as one of the
more significant successes
of the surge in Iraq.
On April 29, 2007 during his
final patrol mission, Manion
made the ultimate sacrifice.
His patrol was concluding a
search of a suspected
insurgent house when it came
under precision small arms
fire attack. With the
corpsman seriously wounded
by enemy fire and the attack
developing in to a
full-scale ambush, Manion
and a fellow Marine exposed
themselves to increasing
fire to pull the corpsman
out of the kill zone.
After recovering the
corpsman and administering
first aid, Manion led his
patrol in a counter attack
personally eliminating an
enemy position. As he
continued to direct the
patrol, another Marine was
wounded. He again moved
across the kill zone, under
fire by five insurgents, to
recover the wounded Marine.
Iraqi Army reinforcements
were halted by an IED and
were unable to advance on
the flank of the insurgents,
leaving Manion and his
patrol to take fire from
three sides.
While fearlessly exposing
himself to gain a more
advantageous firing position
and drawing enemy fire away
from the wounded Marines,
Manion was fatally wounded
by an enemy sniper.
His courageous and
deliberate actions inspired
the eventual counter attack
and ultimately saved the
lives of every member of his
patrol, according to his
medal citation.
“He wouldn't put anyone in a
situation he would not be in
himself first,” said David
Borek, his brother-in-law
and close friend.
Manion was
posthumously awarded the
Bronze Star with Valor and
the Silver Star
for his heroic actions in
Iraq.
As a true testament to how
much Manion was admired, the
Iraqis named their new
headquarters Combat Outpost
Manion in honor of him.
Keeping the spirit of his
selfless nature alive, The
Travis Manion Foundation was
created and continues his
mission to assist the
families of Fallen Heroes
and wounded veterans,
according to Janet Manion,
his mother and executive
director of the foundation.
“He was a kid with a big
heart, never had a bad word
for anyone,” said Tom Manion,
his father. “He was all
heart; that is who he was.”
Excerpts from articles by
Gary Weckselblatt, Bucks
County Courier Times,
Nov. 29, 2008; by Kenneth
Harbaugh with
MissionContinues.org; and
The North Shore Journal |
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Photo and information courtesy of U.S. Marines / DoD
Silver Star Recipients |
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