SSG Clinton Romesha receiving Medal of Honor
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Fort Carson's Romesha gets Medal of Honor today
February 11, 2013 1:00 AM
JAKOB RODGERS
jakob.rodgers@gazette.com
WASHINGTON - Moments defined a day of hellish conditions and a near-constant combat against Taliban fighters for outnumbered Americans on Oct. 3, 2009.
In one of those moments, Clinton Romesha grabbed a Dragunov — a sniper rifle developed in the Soviet Union — and went to work.
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The married father of three, who lives in Minot N.D., is only the fourth living recipient of the medal for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Seven men received it posthumously for valor during the two wars.
... Romesha, a platoon sergeant, helped lead the fight to take back Combat Outpost Keating, which came under withering mortar fire at 5:58 a.m.
The number of attacking Taliban vary from account to account — some accounts say at least 300, and his medal citation said there were 400 insurgents.
Romesha killed more than 10 Taliban fighters himself using whatever weapons he could find in the burning outpost deep in Nuristan province, Afghanistan, his citation said.
He fired his issued rifle, an M4. He used a MK-48, a machine gun. He picked up the Dragunov — a sniper rifle used by the Afghan National Army — and later hurled hand grenades at attacking insurgents.
And at one point, he called in air strikes that killed 30 Taliban fighters, the citation said.
Romesha did nearly all of that after suffering shrapnel wounds to his shoulder, arm and neck — wounds Romesha didn’t acknowledge until another soldier spoke up after noticing him bleeding.
And he risked further injury by running through gunfire to recover his fallen comrades.
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[Wow2]
