Afghanistan
Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller
In January 2008, Miller, at age 24, died in action in Afghanistan, charging the enemy through a hailstorm of bullets to give 22 other soldiers a chance to survive. Today, Miller’s family, teammates, and friends gathered at the Pentagon alongside the U.S. military’s most-senior leaders to honor their fallen son’s life, heroism and courage.
Today’s Pentagon ceremony marked Miller’s entry into the building’s Hall of Heroes, where his name and the details of his service will join those of other Medal of Honor recipients.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates praised Miller’s bravery and sacrifice, and the sacrifice of Phil and Maureen Miller, the fallen soldier’s parents.
“Every evening I write notes to the families of young Americans -- as I did to the Millers -- who have given this country the supreme sacrifice,” Gates said. “They are our country’s best, the nation’s sons and daughters, who answered the call of service to defend this country in a time of war.”
Service members such as Miller, Gates said, had “answered what Theodore Roosevelt described as ‘the trumpet call,’ which he said: ‘Is the most inspiring of all sounds, because it summons men to spurn all ease and self-indulgence and bids them forth to the field where they must dare and do and die at need.’"
“Rob [Miller] was one who answered that trumpet call, one who also possessed that extra measure of courage and determination to be at the very tip of the spear in America's wars,” the secretary said.
Gates also recounted the medal’s history and meaning.
“Over the past century, it has gone only to the bravest of the brave, with fewer than a thousand recipients out of the millions of Americans who have served in uniform during that time,” Gates said. “It goes to those who demonstrate exceptional bravery in the face of enemy fire. But it also demands something more of an individual: The knowledge that by embarking on a course of action, losing one’s life is not only possible, it is quite likely.”
During Army Secretary John M. McHugh’s remarks at the ceremony, he described Miller’s interests in gymnastics, basketball, history, languages and the military as he was growing up. Later, as a young Green Beret, Miller brought his characteristic intensity, enthusiasm, leadership and dedication to the job, the Army secretary said.
“He was funny, generous, passionate and determined,” McHugh said of Miller. “He was someone we would all have liked to know … a life that while too short, was a life of extraordinary measure.”
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said during the ceremony that Miller’s life offered “a glimpse of what is best about our country.” And watching Miller’s parents, brothers and sisters interact, Casey said, made it clear how the young man had turned out to be so extraordinary.
“Each of them had a role in making Robert the man that he was,” Casey said.
The Millers accepted a Medal of Honor flag on their fallen son’s behalf, and unveiled the plaque bearing his name that will be displayed in the Hall of Heroes.
Phil Miller spoke of his son before the ceremony’s conclusion.
“Robert loved what he was doing very much,” Miller said. “He was proven to be very good at what he was doing. And there was no question that he was confident he was fighting and serving for a good cause.”
Miller said his son was a normal, active, mischievous boy while growing up.
“My wife and I believe he is a great example of
what America’s youth can do, and how well they can perform, when
they’re given the responsibility and the opportunity to do so,” he
said.
“We miss him terribly.”
Miller’s actions in Afghanistan as weapons sergeant for Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group have been much-publicized since the award of his medal was announced in September. But a few days before the January 25, 2008, ambush where Miller gave his life, he and a teammate had talked about how they wanted to be remembered.
In an interview before this week’s ceremonies, Staff Sgt. Nicholas McGarry said during that conversation, Miller had told him he wanted to be remembered for how he had lived, and not how he died. As the two single guys on the team, McGarry recalled that he and Miller hung out together, and rode mountain bikes after work.
“He was incredibly joyful – a motivated, energetic person,” McGarry said of his departed friend. “Just a good friend to have around, because he always wanted to do something. He was always in a good mood –- kind of a playful spirit, I guess.”
McGarry said he thinks about Miller every day.
“He was a good friend,” McGarry said. “But if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
President Barack Obama yesterday presented the
Medal of Honor posthumously to Miller’s parents during a ceremony
held in the East Room of the White House.
Salvatore Giunta
The day began like any other day for a US soldier in Afghanistan, says Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta. His platoon was out on a multiday mission in the violent and rugged Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan. It’s an area the US military has since pulled out of, after deciding that the relatively low population density didn’t merit the heavy toll it was taking on the American soldiers who were serving at the small, vulnerable outposts there.
The mission for Giunta’s 1st Platoon was to overwatch 2nd Platoon, which was in a village nestled in the valley below them. “You know,” he said, “let them know we’re here for them.”
To do that, they planned to set up on the ridge line above the village. They moved out before daybreak, hiking for two hours and arriving at their outlook post just before dawn.
The day was quiet, for the most part. The troops were picking up chatter known as ICOM, or intelligence communication, coming from nearby insurgents in conversation with one another. It was chatter along the lines of, “The enemy’s setting up. They're going to do something,” recalled Giunta. “But I mean, as a soldier in Afghanistan, that – you expect that. You’re going to hear ICOM chatter that says all sorts of crazy, off-the-wall stuff. And be it true or not, I mean, that’s what we came there to do. We – we’re waiting for them.”
So Giunta’s platoon was at its overlook post all day while 2nd Platoon spent time in the village, getting to know the elders.
As they were preparing to leave, the sun was setting over the mountains. “Night’s falling, we have Apache attack helicopters above us, flying around, you know, covering us.” The platoon was breaking down its equipment, the soldiers “you know, giving hand-and-arm signals, letting everyone know what’s about to happen, that we’re going to move back to the Korengal outpost.”
The soldiers pushed out. But between 50 to 100 meters from where they had been all day, they encountered an ambush.
There were between 10 and 20 insurgents, Giunta told reporters. But in the midst of battle, he added, “It all kind of goes blurry.” Much of what followed, he said, was simply soldierly instinct.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of thinking that I needed to do. This is my job,” he said. “It’s something that we prepare for, because you have to train how you fight.”
Giunta’s unit was staving off the L-shaped ambush in one direction, but Giunta instinctively went forward. Early in the ambush, Giunta had been shot in what soldiers call the SAPI, or small arms protective insert, plate – in other words, his bullet-proof vest. But that shot came from a different direction.
“It wasn’t from the direction that everyone else was shooting or I was shooting,” he said. “So, you know, there’s nothing to do with [the information] at that time, but that’s something to always keep in the back of your mind. And I definitely felt that I got hit from that direction.”
Looking for Sergeant Brennan
Later, Giunta moved forward in the direction from which he had been shot, expecting to link up with a fellow soldier, Sgt. Josh Brennan. What he didn’t realize was that Brennan had been injured and was taken prisoner and being carried off by insurgents.
“I didn’t run to do anything heroic or to save – to save Brennan,” Giunta said. “Brennan, in my mind, wasn’t in trouble. I was just going to go up and I’m going to find Brennan and we’re going to shoot together, because it’s better to shoot with a buddy than be shooting alone.”
He saved Brennan from being carried off by two insurgents, after killing one and injuring the second. Brennan died of his injuries, but the platoon was able to carry him out, back to his family. The platoon suffered deaths and casualties that day.
When Giunta learned he would be first living soldier in either the war in Iraq or Afghanistan to become the recipient of the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, Brennan’s father called to congratulate him. “I keep in touch with Josh Brennan’s father. He’s a real stand-up guy,” Giunta said. “And he’s expressed his gratitude to me which, you know, that’s kind of a hard one to stomach, because that’s still a loss. I’m glad that we could bring Josh back, but I wish it was under different circumstances.”
After repelling the ambush, as the soldiers made their way back to their lonely Korengal outpost, “there wasn’t a whole lot of even talking afterwards,” Giunta said. “I mean, just because all this happens, after the medevac bird comes in and starts picking people up, it’s not over. You’re not out of Afghanistan. You’re not off the side of the mountain. You’re just minus some buddies. And there’s no time to talk. You still have to complete the mission. And we’re still an hour-and-a-half walk away from where we needed to be, and now we have extra equipment and less men.”
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*MONTI, JARED C.
Rank and
Organization: Sergeant First Class, United States Army. |
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*MURPHY,
MICHAEL P.
Rank and
Organization: Lieutenant, United States Navy |
