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SFC Frederick
Rowell
(Photo and information courtesy of US Army / DoD) |
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Sergeant
First Class Frederick Rowell
of the United States Army
was deployed to Iraq for two
tours, both of which took
place during some of the
most pivotal moments of that
ongoing campaign, and both
times he distinguished
himself with valor and
heroism.
In the “blitzkrieg” invasion
of Iraq, then-Sergeant
Rowell was involved in the
critical fight for the
Baghdad International
Airport. April 4, 2003 was
the first great test of this
young non-commissioned
officer's dedication to his
fellow soldiers. After
dismounting its Bradley
fighting vehicle, Rowell's
unit came under heavy
automatic and
rocket-propelled grenade
fire. After assessing the
severity of the fire, Rowell
covered his comrades as they
fell back to their Bradley
when he noticed another
squad was pinned down far
from cover and taking heavy
fire. Once his own squad was
in the relative safety of
its armored vehicle, Rowell
did not hesitate to act.
Charging across open terrain
under the aim of Iraqi
forces, Rowell arrived at
the scene of the isolated
squad to find it without
leadership and one soldier
severely injured. Rowell
sprang into action, laying
down cover fire and applying
first aid to the injured
private.As the enemy attack
became more focused and more
intense, Rowell threw
himself on top of the
soldier, using his own body
as a shield while a rescue
vehicle closed in on their
beleaguered position. Rowell
took a direct hit from an
AK-47 round in his back,
luckily stopped by his body
armor – a round that would
have almost certainly killed
the private under Rowell.
With the evacuation vehicle
blocked from coming any
closer, Rowell hoisted the
wounded private onto his
back and ran some 100 meters to
save the injured soldier. |
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With the
“Surge” operations
intensifying in Iraq in
September of 2007, Rowell,
now a Staff Sergeant, was in
charge of a squad on a
scouting mission to observe
insurgent activity in a
volatile part of Baghdad.
His squad – split into two
observation posts in two
buildings – came under fire
from multiple directions.
As enemy fire poured in on
them, Rowell planned to move
his team to the other
observation post, but as the
first soldier was severely
injured by an IED as he
stepped out of the door.
Rowell was knocked
unconscious by the blast,
but regained his focus –
despite being later
diagnosed with a traumatic
brain injury – and rose to
his feet, running to the aid
of his comrade. Under heavy
fire, Rowell pulled the man
back into the building and
defended him from the
numerous attackers. With a
group of Stryker combat
vehicles arriving on the
scene, Rowell helped
evacuate the wounded
soldier, directed the
reinforcements to the enemy
positions. On the way out of
the kill-zone, Rowell manned
the roof gun on the Stryker
as they evacuated the
injured to a combat
hospital.
In these two events,
Rowell's heroism was
undeniable. By ignoring his
own safety and using his
body as a shield to protect
a wounded soldier in 2003,
he earned the Silver Star.
For coming to the aid of
another wounded soldier and
displaying steadfast courage
under harrowing fire in
2007, he earned the Bronze
Star Medal with Valor. |
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