Silver and Bronze Stars awarded to Weapons Company Marines

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Friday, March 31, 2006 10:58 PM PST ∞

Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, flanked by Lt. Col. John Merna, left, congratulates Sgt. Timothy Cyparski, right, as he waits to be awarded with a Bronze Star, his second such medal for service in Iraq. 1st Lt. David T. Russell, middle facing left, was awarded with a Silver Star for his service in Iraq at the ceremony at Camp Pendleton on Friday.
JAMIE SCOTT LYTLE Staff Photographer
Order a copy of this photo
Visit our Photo Gallery

---

CAMP PENDLETON ---- The two Marines say they were just doing their jobs when they led their troops in beating back an insurgent assault last year in Ramadi, Iraq.

The Defense Department says they did a lot more, and Friday awarded a Silver Star to 1st Lt. David Russell and a Bronze Star with V for Valor to Staff Sgt. Timothy Cyparski.

Russell, commander of Camp Pendleton's 25-member Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, was recognized for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in action after a group of 13 insurgents attacked a roadside checkpoint on May 3, 2005.

Russell, 25, was cited for having crossed a 100-yard open area to resupply one his Marines who had run out of ammunition, rescuing an Iraqi soldier attached to the unit and putting himself in the line of fire so Cyparski and the rest of his troops could mount a counter-assault.

Cyparski, 27, joined his lieutenant in helping to resupply the Marine out of bullets and in directing the counterattack and now has two Bronze Stars, having been awarded the first for a similar display of courage during fighting in Fallujah in the spring of 2004.

First Marine Division Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski presented Cyparski with his second Bronze Star and Russell with his Silver Star during a ceremony at the headquarters of the 5th Marine Regiment in the San Onofre section of Camp Pendleton on Friday morning. The two represent the finest tradition of the corps, the general said.

"We don't just hand these out," Natonski said of the medals. "What they did that day was incredible."

The platoon was guarding an entry way into Ramadi when 13 insurgents opened fire with small arms, machine guns and grenades.

With a single shot, Russell killed an attacker who was wielding a machine gun. He and Cyparski then saw a young Marine was isolated and out of bullets and they crossed the open area to resupply him.

Russell then drew enemy fire on himself so Cyparski and the other troops could mount a counterattack.

In the course of the battle, Russell was hit in the head with a round from an AK-47 assault rifle, with the bullet striking his helmet and grazing his skull. He also suffered shrapnel wounds to his arm and face from a grenade thrown by an insurgent, but refused medical treatment until ordered to do so.

When Russell left the battle, Cyparski took command of the unit for the next three days.

Eleven months later, they say they were just doing their jobs.

"Awards are all about being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the right people," said Russell, a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who could have gone to medical school but opted for a posting with a Marine infantry unit. "They pinned it on me, but the rest of the unit deserves it as much as I do."

Russell said he chose the infantry to fulfill a long-held wish, and that he believes U.S. efforts to train and install an effective Iraqi army and security force are achieving success.

"It is absolutely, 100 percent working," said the native of Georgetown, Texas.

Russell's parents, Hugh and Charlotte, attended the ceremony and said they tried to keep their focus on a subject other than Iraq during their son's two deployments.

"You don't think about that knock on the door," said Hugh Russell, an immigrant from Ireland who met his wife in Tehran, Iran. He was an engineer who worked on large construction projects while his wife was teaching English to Iranian air force pilots. "The main thing is we have to support our troops regardless of what you may think about the war," he said.

Cyparski was joined at the ceremony by his pregnant wife, Alice, and 3-year-old son, Devon. He was awarded his first Bronze Star for coming to the rescue of a lost truck during a firefight in Fallujah.

"I don't go looking for fighting," said the native of Erie, Pa. "You don't think about nothing ---- just kill them."

His wife said she never worried too much during either of her husband's two deployments.

"I just always knew he would come back to us," she said.

Neither Marine is slated to go back to Iraq for a third time, but neither ruled it out.

Russell is considering his options while Cyparski said he was working to change an assignment to a job in Montana.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.

Name:

Email: (optional)

Comments:

Image Verification: