Troops honored for valor

By: DARRIN MORTENSON - Staff Writer | Friday, September 10, 2004 11:19 PM PDT ∞

Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, second from left, and Sgt. Major Kenneth Jones, far left, face recipients of combat medals at an awards ceremony held at Camp Pendleton Friday. Recipients are, from right: Sgt. Ronnie Garcia, Cpl. Bruno J. Romero, Cpl. Brandon J. Berhowgoll, First Lt. Stephen F. Shaw and First Lt. David R. Denial.
Jamie Scott Lytle
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CAMP PENDLETON ---- They braved a hail of grenades and fought off waves of Iraqi gunmen to rescue fellow Marines from a savage ambush in Fallujah in April. And after surviving Iraq and spending a month at home to make sense of it all, Marines from Camp Pendleton's 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were honored Friday for their valor under fire.

Five "1/5" Marines were awarded the distinguished Bronze Star medal or other combat commendations Friday at a short military ceremony at Pendleton's Camp San Mateo.

"These guys truly went into the heart of darkness," said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, the commander who led the 1,000-man battalion against insurgents for control of Fallujah in April. "These Marines did very well."

Cpls. Bruno Romero and Ronnie Garcia both received Bronze Stars on Friday for their actions in an April 13 firefight that left one Marine and scores of Iraqis dead.

Cpl. Brandon Berhowgoll was given the Bronze Star for fighting against an ambush after being wounded April 5.

First Lt. David Denial received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and 1st Lt. Stephen Shaw was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for their actions over the course of their four months in Iraq.

Most of the actions for which they were honored occurred during the bloody three-week siege of Fallujah in April.

As Byrne pinned on each man's medal in front of the battalion's nearly 1,000 Marines assembled on the blacktop of the parade ground Friday, an announcer described their deeds, often with flourishes like "with complete disregard for his own safety" and "ran through a hail of enemy fire."

On April 5, the 1st Battalion had fought its way into an industrial area on the southeast edge of Fallujah, a stronghold for Sunni Muslim insurgents some 30 miles west of Baghdad.

During the initial push, Cpl. Berhowgoll was severely wounded with shrapnel when a roadside bomb exploded, killing four other Marines in his vehicle, according to the official dossier of the event.

Along with the only other survivor, and despite his wounds, Berhowgoll helped defend the vehicle and regrouped his squad to fight back and eventually overwhelm the militants.

That same day, Shaw directed a platoon against attacking rebels and helped secure a traffic control point. His award stems from those actions and for leading more than 75 combat patrols and other operations during the battalion's four-month tour in Iraq.

On April 13, when a routine supply convoy was ambushed by rebels with rocket propelled grenades and small arms, an amphibious assault vehicle was set ablaze and another veered off and got lost in the hostile city. A response team rolled into action to save the men trapped in the ambush, and soon it, too, was under attack.

According to the official narrative attached to his award Friday, Romero provided cover fire until his fellow Marines could escape the burning vehicle ---- or "amtrack" ---- and take cover in a nearby house.

Garcia "sprinted through enemy fire" to secure the house for the ambushed platoon, according to the official narrative.

While later helping to defend the house, Romero was wounded by shrapnel. Still, he and Garcia fought their way back to the burning vehicle to try to recover the remains of a fallen Marine from the flames.

Finally running out of machine gun rounds, Romero helped repel the enemy onslaught with only a pistol, and he and Garcia helped evacuate their wounded mates once the reaction force arrived.

Byrne estimated that there were more than 100 fighters who pulled off the well-coordinated ambush on his men that day. In the end, few of the attackers walked away, he said.

"It was a hellacious fight," Byrne said after the ceremony Friday.

Lt. Denial was honored Friday for leading his men to kill 10 insurgents and destroy two enemy vehicles during a firefight in Fallujah on April 21.

Byrne said more than 150 Marines in the battalion have been selected for awards for combat valor. Eleven men from 1/5 were killed and more than 120 were wounded from March to July, he said.

"They did exactly what we want from Marines," Byrne said during a short post-ceremony pep talk. "When the chips get down, you can count on Marines day or night."

Contact staff writer Darrin Mortenson at (760) 740-5442 or dmortenson@nctimes.com.

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