The prestigious Silver Star medal was presented to Specialist Gerrit Kobes, a Washington Army National Guardsman from Kettle Falls WA, a medical specialist assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, by Major General Peter Chiarelli, Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, for his acts of heroism during an attack in early November last year.  The medal was presented during a ceremony held at a Forward Operating Base in Baghdad, on 09 Feb 05.

"I knew we did something special that day," SPC Kobes said, "but I didn't expect anything like this."

     During his deployment to Iraq, SPC Kobes had been temporarily reassigned to a California Army National Guard unit that helps the 1st Cavalry Division's Task Force Steel Dragon provide convoy security throughout Iraq.

     On 02 Nov 04, SPC Kobes was serving as a medic with two platoons from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, during a two-day escort mission in which troop carrying trucks were ferrying Iraqi Soldiers and equipment to Fallujah for the upcoming campaign there.

     On the first day of the mission their convoy was attacked with an improvised explosive device (IED) and small arms fire. "We just pushed through that," SPC Kobes said. "No one was injured and only one Iraqi vehicle was disabled."

     The next day however the convoy would not be so fortunate.

After rallying in the Abu Ghraib province west of Baghdad, SPC Kobes' convoy of nearly 60 American and Iraqi vehicles moved out. "It was a big, long convoy," explained SPC Kobes. "My truck was right in the middle of it."

     As the convoy moved towards Fallujah one of the lead vehicles carrying Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) was slammed into by a rocket propelled grenade (RPGs). The disabled truck halted the convoy making what insurgents hoped would be easy prey. From nearby buildings and other concealed areas, insurgents opened up on the column of immobilized vehicles with two heavy machineguns, RPG's and a hail of small arms fire.

To make the situation even more chaotic, SPC Kobes' vehicle couldn't move forward to the destroyed truck with the injured soldiers. "When we got the call that a vehicle had been hit, so we tried to drive around the ING, but they were already dismounting their trucks," SPC Kobes said. "They were shooting in all directions and taking cover on the side of the road in a ditch. We couldn't move around them."

     Unable to drive to the wounded, he grabbed his aid-bag and along with his platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant John Todd, ran to their position nearly 500 meters ahead through a storm of enemy fire. "I wasn't really thinking about what was going on around me," SPC Kobes said. "I was just focusing on what I had to get done."

     When he and SSG Todd reached the wounded they that found some United States Marines were trying to secure the site. After a rapid assessment of the wounded Iraqi Soldiers, SPC Kobes jumped into action.

     "There were four wounded ING soldiers there," SPC Kobes said. "One was pretty bad off with arterial bleeding on his right arm from shrapnel wounds."

     As Soldiers from Bravo Company's 4th platoon laid down suppressive fire to repel the attackers SPC Kobes quickly applied a tourniquet to the wound and stopped the bleeding. He then began to assess the others wounds. One Iraqi Soldier had a head injury and a hole through his hand. Another's leg was bleeding and the fourth had shrapnel wounds on his face.

     "I treated the wounds," he explained. "I put pressure dressings on the head injury and bandaged the guys arm - it was all happening pretty quick."

     The Soldier with the tourniquet appeared to be in a lot of pain so SPC Kobes called for SPC Haytham Ibrahim, an infantryman with Bravo Company that speaks Arabic. He had SPC Ibrahim explain to the wounded Iraqi what he was doing and to tell him everything was going to be alright. He also had Ibrahim tell him that SPC Kobes was going to give him morphine to ease the pain.

By this time the convoy was starting to move, SPC Kobes once again exposed himself to fire as he loaded the wounded on to the Iraqi vehicles so they could be evacuated to the nearest aid station.

     While on the ground there SPC Kobes assessed a fifth Iraqi soldier, the one who took the brunt of the first RPG round during the attack that disabled the truck. "They had tried to call in a MEDEVAC for him," SPC Kobes aid, "but once I saw his injuries I told them to call it off - It was too late."

The Silver Star

The Silver Star is the Armys third
highest medal for gallantry, and is
awarded to a person who, while serving
in any capacity with the U.S. Army,
is cited for gallantry in action against
an enemy of the United States while
engaged in military operations involving
conflict with an opposing foreign force.
Established by an Act of Congress in
1918, the Silver Star follows in
precedence, the Medal of Honor, and the
Distinguished Service Cross.

SPC Kobes and SSG Todd then returned to their vehicle and continued on to Fallujah.
"While all the soldiers that day fought as a team and attributed to the successful accomplishment of their mission," said Lieutenant Colonel Greg Schultz, the Task Force Steel Dragon Commander, speaking at the ceremony, "one Soldier stood out under fire in that action to save the lives of several Iraqi soldiers."

     MG Chiarelli added, as he looked at SPC Kobes standing in front of soldiers from Bravo Company after pinning the medal to his uniform, what makes his story so amazing is that it wasn't American soldiers SPC Kobes went to save. "It was coalition soldiers - Iraqi National Guardsmen," MG Chiarelli said. "Sir, you are a tremendous individual and a great hero, and I'm honored to be in your presence."

     SPC Kobes admits that although the division commander calls him a hero he could not have done what he did that day if it was not for the support of the Soldiers of Bravo Company.

• Washington Military Department Home
• Privacy Policy
• Contact Us

• Copyright 2007 Washington Military Department