Unit gets first combat awards since World War II

Courtesy Photo | Humility shadows heroics - Pfc. Justin Hair, a Task Force Baghdad Infantryman, is congratulated by his 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment commander, Lt. Col. Steve McCorkle. Hair was one of several Soldiers of awarded Combat Infantry Badges and the Purple Heart. But as a standout for the days occasion, he was the only Soldier awarded the Bronze Star.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

09.11.2005

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

Spc. Tracy J. Smith
48th Brigade Combat Team PAO

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq -- A Georgia Army National Guard unit deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom 3 recently received its first combat awards since World War II.

The ceremony was filled with mixed emotions for the 48th Brigade Combat Team Soldiers as they gathered in the same location where they had previously held memorial services for fallen Soldiers from the unit.

Soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge,

"Many of our Soldiers are not here with us," said Lt. Col. Steve McCorkle, commander of 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th BCT, 3rd Infantry Division. "We honor their memory today and will continue to have ceremonies like this so that we continue to award our soldiers who fight so bravely on the battlefield."

One Soldier, Pfc. Justin Hair, A Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Inf. Reg., made Georgia Army National Guard history by receiving three of the awards recognizing him as the first to engage and eliminate the enemy in combat for the 48th BCT in 60 years.

Hair thwarted the deadly attempts of a suicide bomber to penetrate a security checkpoint with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device June 13.

"Pfc. Hair engaged and killed the enemy before he actually detonated the device," explained Battalion Command Sgt. Maj. Cheyenne Fields of Albany, Ga. "He was, unfortunately, injured in that attack and is receiving the Purple Heart as a result."

Hair remains humble and does not speak of his actions. However, Fields and the battalion commander know the importance of recognizing Soldiers, when a job is done well.

"Although we could have easily given these awards to him at the company level, we wanted everyone to know that this one private, applying his basic soldiering skills, saved many of my Soldiers" lives. He deserves to be rewarded and honored for that."

At least one of the Combat Infantryman Badges was given to a 48th BCT Soldier who had decades of experience under his belt.

Decorated with his second CIB, Sgt. Leroy Kirkpatrick, a Bradley gunner, knew this day would come.

"Being in combat arms, things happen," said Kirkpatrick, of Lawrenceville, Ga. "I knew even before we got boots on the ground that I would get a second award."

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Kirkpatrick is able to share his experience with his fellow Soldiers. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. I believe in getting the job done."

The occasion was perhaps best summed up by Chaplain (1st Lt.) Jonathan Fisher, 2nd Bn., 121st Inf. Regt., in his opening remarks at the ceremony: "Courage takes many forms. I think there is no greater courage than to see Soldiers who know the dangers, who know what is under the road and yet go out anyway. You face it and you overcome it. I walk among men who have faced their strongest fears and won."

• Date Taken: 09.11.2005
• Date Posted: 09.11.2005 15:23
• Story ID: 2971
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ