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Photo courtesy of US Army /
Dept. of Defense |
July 14,
2008 Sergeant Charles Claude of the United States Army went out on patrol like any other in Mosul, Iraq, but soon found himself in a life or death struggle that would pin him and his unit against an ambush perpetrated by fanatical terrorists.
On that September morning in 2007, Claude went "outside the wire" as the turret gunner mounted in a M1117 Armored Security Vehicle. Before long, danger was spotted ahead of them as their unit's alert eyes noticed an improvised explosive device (IED), a lethal killer of coalition forces. With Claude's men well aware that every minute they remained stationary they became more vulnerable in this still volatile part of Iraq, they called forward troops to neutralize the hidden explosive as fast as possible.
The moment the IED was disabled, all hell broke loose around the young soldiers. Insurgent fire came pouring in from all directions, with rifle rounds striking the vehicles and rocket-propelled grenades whizzing into their position. Under the hail of fire, Claude did the only thing he could do to survive the day: fire back. And with that, he unleashed the full fury of his machine gun on the attacking terrorists. Two insurgent vehicles – commonly referred to as "technicals" – came under the crosshairs of Claude's weapon and were quickly disabled.
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Under the
leadership of their First
Sergeant, the armored
vehicle moved forward
through the winding streets
of Mosul to drive off the
ambush. In hot pursuit of
the now scattered attackers,
Claude's vehicle came around
a corner, only to be hit by
a barrage of automatic
weapons fire, wounding him
and his vehicle commander.
The sights of Claude's
machine gun were also
destroyed by this vicious
barrage.
Ignoring his
wound, Claude doggedly
continued to engage the
enemy fighters from his
exposed turret, instead of
withdrawing into the
relative protection of the
armored vehicle. In the
close-quarters fighting,
another insurgent leaped
onto Claude's vehicle,
threatening the lives of
every man in it. With no
regard for personal safety,
Claude spun his turret
towards the enemy, while the
driver tried to jostle the
enemy off the M1117. Eye to
eye with the belligerent,
Claude reached for his M-4
battle rifle and fought off
the savage attack at point
blank range, wounding the
insurgent. Minutes after the
ambush was launched, all the
hostiles now lied dead,
wounded, or withdrawn.
When his
vehicle commander dismounted
and began providing medical
care to the wounded enemy,
Claude continued to provide
defensive cover for his unit
while the area was secured,
ignoring medical care for
his own wound until much
later. Reinforcements
discovered that the two "technicals"
disabled earlier, were
mobile weapons caches –
weapons that would no longer
be in terrorist hands.
Sergeant
Claude's courageous actions
on that day broke the back
of the insurgent's ambush,
pushing the initiative back
to the Americans' side and
saving the lives of many of
his fellow troops. Because
of his outstanding bravery
and disregard for his own
safety under such harrowing
fire, he was awarded the
Bronze Star Medal with Valor
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