Four Marines and a sailor were honored at Camp Pendleton on Thursday.
The servicemen received the Navy Cross and Silver Star Medals for their heroic service in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Joshua Mooi was presented the Navy Cross for extraordinary acts of heroism while engaging in enemy forces. Second Lt. Donald McGlothlin, Gunnery Sgt. Robert Homer, Cpl. Javier Alvarez and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jesse Hickey were awarded Silver Stars.
McGlothlin's award was posthumous.
Alvarez lost his right hand when he picked up an insurgent grenade and tossed it away, saving fellow Marines. He received a Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry as squad leader. Mooi was honored for charging into an ambush six times to rescue four Marines, was awarded the Navy Cross.
"It's easy to say someone is your brother, but you prove to them you will die for them and they would die for you," Hickey said Thursday. "You can't put that in words. It's an unbelievable thing."
"It's easy to say someone is your brother, but you prove to them you will die for them and they would die for you," Hickey said Thursday. "You can't put that in words. It's an unbelievable thing."
The men were honored for their actions during an Iraqi battle they fought together November 2005.
