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Fort Rich soldiers win praise in firefight

Oct- 6-2005 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By TATABOLINE BRANT, Anchorage Daily News

Two Fort Richardson soldiers involved in a firefight last month in Iraq that wounded six are being recommended for the Bronze Star, according to a platoon leader who took part in the hours-long battle.

Lt. Jeffrey Marshburn said by telephone from Iraq on Wednesday that one of the soldiers up for the award braved heavy gunfire to save a teammate who had been shot in both legs and was trying to crawl to safety.

The other man nominated was shot through the ankle but continued to fight and help evacuate his comrades, only letting on about his injuries when everyone was safely back at the hospital and he passed out from blood loss, Marshburn said.

No American soldiers were killed in the Sept. 17 battle, which erupted in midafternoon in a rundown residential and industrial neighborhood in Mosul where members of the Fort Richardson Stryker battalion were patrolling.

The interview with Marshburn, and one with his battalion commander, provides the first glimpse into the eight-hour firefight -- the most serious the Anchorage-based unit has run into since arriving in Iraq in early September.

Lt. Col. John Norris, commander of the battalion, said Wednesday that he suspects his men disrupted a large cell of insurgents, which is why the gunbattle lasted so long. Usually the team encounters only drive-by shootings, he said. A pile of weapons was also uncovered in two vehicles involved in the fight, officials said.

"We did kick a hornets' nest," Norris said over a scratchy telephone line from the desert.

A full account follows.


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