Marine of the Year for 2006 - Staff Sgt. Kent Padmore On June 23, 2005, then-Sgt. Padmore was leading a security force near Fallujah, Iraq, when his convoy was ambushed. The attack began when a suicide car bomber crashed into the lead vehicle. Padmore immediately jumped out to assess the damage to the lead vehicle.

Even with enemy fighters firing from rooftops – and with .50 caliber rounds firing off in all directions as the vehicle burned – Padmore dashed across 200 yards of open ground to reach those injured by the blast. Padmore, an emergency medical technician in civilian life, quickly set to removing the men from danger and administering medical attention. Padmore dragged six Marines to safety, then returned to the vehicle to save the four still at the scene . . . Despite second-degree burns on his hands suffered during the rescue, Padmore helped set up a triage and gave medical attention to the injured. He is credited with saving the life and leg of one of the wounded Marines, which earned him a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with “V.”The Trinidad and Tobago native credits his background growing up in a third-world country with helping him better understand the way Iraqis are used to conducting business and everyday life – which made him instrumental in helping bridge the societal and cultural differences between U.S. troops and local Iraqis.

For his actions in Iraq and his service, Padmore was named the 2006 Marine Corps Times Marine of the Year.

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