nastyleg
09-08-2011, 06:19 PM
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 6, 2011 15:47:20 EDT
GREENSBURG, Ky. — Two years later, it still hurts. The guilt. The frustration. The sadness. They’re all still there, although perhaps they have become more manageable.
Dakota Meyer, 23, will receive the Medal of Honor next week at the White House. He’ll be honored for his actions in the infamous Battle of Ganjgal, a six-hour ambush and firefight that killed some of his best friends on Sept. 8, 2009, in Kunar province, Afghanistan.
The White House announced the heavily anticipated decision Aug. 12, capping nearly a month of buzz that began when Marine Corps Times and other media reported July 19 that President Obama had approved the award.
Meyer, a sergeant in the Individual Ready Reserve, will become the first living Marine recipient of the nation’s highest valor award for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan when he receives the medal Sept. 15. No living Marine has received the medal since 1973.
The announcement has freed Meyer to talk — reluctantly — on the record about the battle. He braved enemy fire multiple times while making four trips into the kilometer-long Ganjgal Valley. The military credits him with fighting his way in a Humvee from a rear security position into the valley, where fellow members of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8 were pinned down under fire and pleading unsuccessfully with officers at a rear base for fire support.
Each time, Meyer evacuated coalition troops from the kill zone. That meant leaving the vehicle in the face of a hail of gunfire, rockets and rocket-propelled grenades. He killed at least eight insurgents, and pulled 12 Afghan soldiers from the kill zone into his vehicle during the first three trips — all before braving enemy fire one last time to find missing Marines and a corpsman. To his horror, he found them shot to death in a trench on a hillside terrace.
“I never once in the whole time thought they were all dead,” Meyer said here in his hometown. “I don’t know if that’s just me lying to myself, or just disbelief, or what it is. But, I never thought they’d all be dead. I thought somebody would be alive, you know?”
Handling the attention
Meyer spoke to Marine Corps Times on Aug. 16 at the country home of his paternal grandparents, Dwight and Jean. Married 58 years, they live in a 2,500-person rural community dotted with red barns and rolling hayfields.
It’s one of several sanctuaries in Kentucky in which Meyer has found normalcy and support as his actions have mushroomed into national news. He recounted with amusement how his grandparents were wowed this year by a new flat-screen TV. They told their friends it was “just like going to the movies,” their grandson said.
That isn’t to say there aren’t hassles. Meyer already had done more than 20 interviews with news outlets ranging from CBS News’ “60 Minutes” to USA Today. He anticipated doing more in coming days — all focused on “the worst day of my life,” as he puts it. He answers questions dutifully, but gets frustrated with journalists who don’t take the time to learn the basics about the battle first.
“That’s the thing that makes me madder than anything, is a reporter who comes in and asks a question and hasn’t done his research on what they’re talking about, and I’m having to correct them on what they’re asking me,” Meyer said. “That just shows you that they don’t have much respect for the story.”
But Meyer is having some fun, too. He still enjoys camping, working outside and football, and recently played golf with Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett. Meyer joked that he is a “way better” golfer than the Corps’ top enlisted Marine.
“Sergeant Major, he’s pretty good,” Meyer said deadpan, declining to reveal the score in their match. “I’m hoping to have a rematch with him when I go out there for the award ceremony. That’s really my main focus.”
Meyer also has found support in talking to other service members who have gone through similar events, including Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta. As an Army staff sergeant, he received the nation’s highest valor award last November, becoming the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. The two veterans have discussed how to handle the attention that goes with the award.
“He’s a great guy, and he’s given me lots of advice,” Meyer said. “He told me that anytime I need anything, to give him a call.”
Remembering the battle
The ambush began shortly after dawn when a 13-man team of U.S. Army and Marine trainers set out from Forward Operating Base Joyce with about 60 Afghan soldiers and 20 Afghan border police. The mountainside village, in violent Sarkani district, had a well-known insurgent presence, but village elders had agreed to meet with coalition troops.
The hail of bullets, rockets and RPGs swelled into a maelstrom coming from three sides — a deadly U-shaped ambush. Meyer and Marine Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez could hear the chaos, but were still manning a rear security position with about 20 Afghan soldiers.
They sprung to action after Marines pinned down in the village said they would die if they didn’t get fire support. Commanders in the valley ordered the two Marines to stay out three times, but with the situation appearing to be dire, the two made the gutsy decision to do it anyway. Army officers at FOB Joyce refused to send fire support, and were later cited for negligent leadership.
“We knew we were rolling the dice,” Meyer said. “You’re disobeying a direct order in a firefight like this. We either knew we were going to get in there and it was going to be the worst day of our lives, or we were going to get in there and it wasn’t going to be as bad as we thought it was going to be, and then we’d have to be answering for the decisions we made.”
Their Humvee began taking fire less than 500 yards after it pulled into the valley. It was small-arms fire at first, but the insurgents also launched rockets at them from the surrounding mountains. They also took aim with RPGs and DShK machine guns, which fire heavy 12.7mm x 108mm ammunition with similarities to American .50-caliber rounds.
“It was enough to make it sound like static going overhead,” Meyer said of the gunfire they faced.
Handling the burden
On the third trip, Rodriguez-Chavez maneuvered their vehicle to provide enough cover to evacuate wounded Marines and U.S. soldiers from the kill zone. They dropped off several more rescued Afghan soldiers, then pushed in for a final time with Marine 1st Lt. Ademola Fabayo manning the gun turret, Rodriguez-Chavez and Army Capt. Will Swenson in the front seats and Meyer and an interpreter, Fazel, in the back.
By this time, Army and Air Force helicopters swooped over Ganjgal as U.S. forces searched for the missing Marines, but heavy enemy machine-gun fire prevented them from landing. Even the Air Force’s elite pararescue jumpers, better known as PJs, couldn’t help, according to documents obtained by Marine Corps Times.
Instead, personnel in a helicopter spotted the missing four-man team from overhead. A smoke grenade was tossed to mark the location, and Rodriguez-Chavez gunned the Humvee toward it. Meyer hopped out of the vehicle and climbed into the trench that has burned itself into his memory.
He found 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 25; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30; Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson, 31; Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Layton, 22; and an Afghan soldier they were training — all dead and bloody from gunshot wounds. They were spread out in the ditch, their weapons and radios stolen. Meyer recovered the bodies, and they returned to the base.
Meyer said he is in touch with several Ganjgal veterans, some of whom will be invited to the ceremony at the White House. He also has pondered options for his own future since the battle, even speaking with Commandant Gen. Jim Amos at one point about joining Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Meyer eventually decided it wasn’t in his best interests, he said.
Meyer now works in construction in Kentucky, primarily manning a Bobcat earthmover for a company specializing in concrete work. He’s honored to receive the Medal of Honor, but looking forward to moving on with his life.
“This has been going on for two years,” he said. “It’ll be good to finally get this over with and go on to the next chapter.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-dakota-meyer-prepares-to-receive-medal-of-honor-090611w/
Posted : Tuesday Sep 6, 2011 15:47:20 EDT
GREENSBURG, Ky. — Two years later, it still hurts. The guilt. The frustration. The sadness. They’re all still there, although perhaps they have become more manageable.
Dakota Meyer, 23, will receive the Medal of Honor next week at the White House. He’ll be honored for his actions in the infamous Battle of Ganjgal, a six-hour ambush and firefight that killed some of his best friends on Sept. 8, 2009, in Kunar province, Afghanistan.
The White House announced the heavily anticipated decision Aug. 12, capping nearly a month of buzz that began when Marine Corps Times and other media reported July 19 that President Obama had approved the award.
Meyer, a sergeant in the Individual Ready Reserve, will become the first living Marine recipient of the nation’s highest valor award for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan when he receives the medal Sept. 15. No living Marine has received the medal since 1973.
The announcement has freed Meyer to talk — reluctantly — on the record about the battle. He braved enemy fire multiple times while making four trips into the kilometer-long Ganjgal Valley. The military credits him with fighting his way in a Humvee from a rear security position into the valley, where fellow members of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8 were pinned down under fire and pleading unsuccessfully with officers at a rear base for fire support.
Each time, Meyer evacuated coalition troops from the kill zone. That meant leaving the vehicle in the face of a hail of gunfire, rockets and rocket-propelled grenades. He killed at least eight insurgents, and pulled 12 Afghan soldiers from the kill zone into his vehicle during the first three trips — all before braving enemy fire one last time to find missing Marines and a corpsman. To his horror, he found them shot to death in a trench on a hillside terrace.
“I never once in the whole time thought they were all dead,” Meyer said here in his hometown. “I don’t know if that’s just me lying to myself, or just disbelief, or what it is. But, I never thought they’d all be dead. I thought somebody would be alive, you know?”
Handling the attention
Meyer spoke to Marine Corps Times on Aug. 16 at the country home of his paternal grandparents, Dwight and Jean. Married 58 years, they live in a 2,500-person rural community dotted with red barns and rolling hayfields.
It’s one of several sanctuaries in Kentucky in which Meyer has found normalcy and support as his actions have mushroomed into national news. He recounted with amusement how his grandparents were wowed this year by a new flat-screen TV. They told their friends it was “just like going to the movies,” their grandson said.
That isn’t to say there aren’t hassles. Meyer already had done more than 20 interviews with news outlets ranging from CBS News’ “60 Minutes” to USA Today. He anticipated doing more in coming days — all focused on “the worst day of my life,” as he puts it. He answers questions dutifully, but gets frustrated with journalists who don’t take the time to learn the basics about the battle first.
“That’s the thing that makes me madder than anything, is a reporter who comes in and asks a question and hasn’t done his research on what they’re talking about, and I’m having to correct them on what they’re asking me,” Meyer said. “That just shows you that they don’t have much respect for the story.”
But Meyer is having some fun, too. He still enjoys camping, working outside and football, and recently played golf with Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett. Meyer joked that he is a “way better” golfer than the Corps’ top enlisted Marine.
“Sergeant Major, he’s pretty good,” Meyer said deadpan, declining to reveal the score in their match. “I’m hoping to have a rematch with him when I go out there for the award ceremony. That’s really my main focus.”
Meyer also has found support in talking to other service members who have gone through similar events, including Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta. As an Army staff sergeant, he received the nation’s highest valor award last November, becoming the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. The two veterans have discussed how to handle the attention that goes with the award.
“He’s a great guy, and he’s given me lots of advice,” Meyer said. “He told me that anytime I need anything, to give him a call.”
Remembering the battle
The ambush began shortly after dawn when a 13-man team of U.S. Army and Marine trainers set out from Forward Operating Base Joyce with about 60 Afghan soldiers and 20 Afghan border police. The mountainside village, in violent Sarkani district, had a well-known insurgent presence, but village elders had agreed to meet with coalition troops.
The hail of bullets, rockets and RPGs swelled into a maelstrom coming from three sides — a deadly U-shaped ambush. Meyer and Marine Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez could hear the chaos, but were still manning a rear security position with about 20 Afghan soldiers.
They sprung to action after Marines pinned down in the village said they would die if they didn’t get fire support. Commanders in the valley ordered the two Marines to stay out three times, but with the situation appearing to be dire, the two made the gutsy decision to do it anyway. Army officers at FOB Joyce refused to send fire support, and were later cited for negligent leadership.
“We knew we were rolling the dice,” Meyer said. “You’re disobeying a direct order in a firefight like this. We either knew we were going to get in there and it was going to be the worst day of our lives, or we were going to get in there and it wasn’t going to be as bad as we thought it was going to be, and then we’d have to be answering for the decisions we made.”
Their Humvee began taking fire less than 500 yards after it pulled into the valley. It was small-arms fire at first, but the insurgents also launched rockets at them from the surrounding mountains. They also took aim with RPGs and DShK machine guns, which fire heavy 12.7mm x 108mm ammunition with similarities to American .50-caliber rounds.
“It was enough to make it sound like static going overhead,” Meyer said of the gunfire they faced.
Handling the burden
On the third trip, Rodriguez-Chavez maneuvered their vehicle to provide enough cover to evacuate wounded Marines and U.S. soldiers from the kill zone. They dropped off several more rescued Afghan soldiers, then pushed in for a final time with Marine 1st Lt. Ademola Fabayo manning the gun turret, Rodriguez-Chavez and Army Capt. Will Swenson in the front seats and Meyer and an interpreter, Fazel, in the back.
By this time, Army and Air Force helicopters swooped over Ganjgal as U.S. forces searched for the missing Marines, but heavy enemy machine-gun fire prevented them from landing. Even the Air Force’s elite pararescue jumpers, better known as PJs, couldn’t help, according to documents obtained by Marine Corps Times.
Instead, personnel in a helicopter spotted the missing four-man team from overhead. A smoke grenade was tossed to mark the location, and Rodriguez-Chavez gunned the Humvee toward it. Meyer hopped out of the vehicle and climbed into the trench that has burned itself into his memory.
He found 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 25; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30; Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson, 31; Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Layton, 22; and an Afghan soldier they were training — all dead and bloody from gunshot wounds. They were spread out in the ditch, their weapons and radios stolen. Meyer recovered the bodies, and they returned to the base.
Meyer said he is in touch with several Ganjgal veterans, some of whom will be invited to the ceremony at the White House. He also has pondered options for his own future since the battle, even speaking with Commandant Gen. Jim Amos at one point about joining Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Meyer eventually decided it wasn’t in his best interests, he said.
Meyer now works in construction in Kentucky, primarily manning a Bobcat earthmover for a company specializing in concrete work. He’s honored to receive the Medal of Honor, but looking forward to moving on with his life.
“This has been going on for two years,” he said. “It’ll be good to finally get this over with and go on to the next chapter.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-dakota-meyer-prepares-to-receive-medal-of-honor-090611w/