A Camp Pendleton Marine killed in combat in Fallujah has been honored with the Silver and Bronze Star medals.
First Lieutenant Travis Manion, assigned to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Marine Division, was killed in April 2007 while training Iraqi soldiers in Fallujah.
At a ceremony in Doylestown, Pa. Friday Lieutenant Gen. John Allen, Deputy Commander of United States Central Command, presented the awards to the Marine's father, Marine Colonel Tom Manion and his mother, Janet Manion, in front of an audience of 800 people.
Also in attendance was retired Gen. Charles Krulak, a former Commandant of the Marine Corps. Here are the details released by the USMC regarding the honor:
First Lieutenant Manion's patrol concluded a search of a suspected insurgent house, it came under precision small arms fire attack. With the corpsman grievously wounded by enemy fire and the attack developing into a full-scale ambush, First Lieutenant Manion and a fellow Marine exposed themselves to the increasing fire to pull the corpsman out of the kill zone. After recovering the corpsman and administering first aid, First Lieutenant Manion led his patrol in a counter attack personally eliminating an enemy position with his M4 carbine and M203 grenade launcher. As he continued to direct the patrol another Marine was wounded by the enemy's accurate fire. He again moved across the kill zone, under fire by five insurgents, to recover the wounded Marine. Iraqi Army reinforcements, halted by an improvised explosive device, were unable to advance on the flank of the insurgents, and First Lieutenant Manion and his patrol found themselves taking fire from three sides. While fearlessly exposing himself to gain a more advantageous firing position and drawing enemy fire away from wounded Marines, First Lieutenant Manion was fatally wounded by an enemy sniper. His courageous and deliberate actions inspired the eventual counter attack and ultimately saved the lives of every member of his patrol. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, First Lieutenant Manion reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
Only 90 Silver Stars have been awarded since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Iraqi soldiers First Lieutenant Manion served with chose to remember him by re-naming an outpost in his honor, one of only two outposts in Iraq named for an American.
