Sergeant Lee’s grandfather was a Soldier at Guadalcanal. He earned a Bronze Star with “V” for his actions there.
Two generations later, his grandson Andy was serving in Afghanistan with the Marines, routinely huffing over 90 pounds of equipment as a .50 caliber machine gunner.
After a day of checking houses for IEDs in 2009 and maneuvering in squads, the team ahead of his began taking small arms fire. He and his team ran toward the fight. He carried the .50 caliber gun fully assembled for a distance of two football fields in the 110 degree weather, then began to provide covering fire.
When he ran out of ammo, he ran back for more in the blistering heat, then ran back into the fight. While he was gone, one of his gunners had been injured by a rocket propelled grenade, and Lee coordinated his evacuation while continuing to fire his weapon. His actions allowed the Marines ahead of him to move out of harm’s way.
Sergeant Lee was awarded a Bronze Star with “V” for his actions. He is our hero of the week.
His grandfather would be proud.
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