This would make Chuck Norris proud

I heard this story on the radio on a weekly segment called "Warrior of the Week" and thought it was incredible! It's stories like these that make the Marines the most feared fighting force in the world. And I had to search through a list of Medal of Honor recipients to find it, so rather than linking, I just pasted his story below:

Chontosh, Brian R.

First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps

Weapons Company, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division

Date of Action: March 25, 2003

Citation:

For extraordinary heroism as Combined Anti-Armor Platoon Commander, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 25 March 2003. While leading his platoon north on Highway I toward Ad Diwaniyah, First Lieutenant Chontosh's platoon moved into a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket propelled grenades, and automatic weapons fire. With coalition tanks blocking the road ahead, he realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone. He had his driver move the vehicle through a breach along his flank, where he was immediately taken under fire from an entrenched machine gun. Without hesitation, First Lieutenant Chontosh ordered the driver to advance directly at the enemy position enabling his .50 caliber machine gunner to silence the enemy. He then directed his driver into the enemy trench, where he exited his vehicle and began to clear the trench with an M16A2 service rifle and 9 millimeter pistol. His ammunition depleted, First Lieutenant Chontosh, with complete disregard for his safety, twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack. When a Marine following him found an enemy rocket propelled grenade launcher, First Lieutenant Chontosh used it to destroy yet another group of enemy soldiers. When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, First Lieutenant Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Home Town: Rochester, NY

Ooo-Rah!

Semper Fi, Do or Die....

You know what USMC stands for: Uncle Sam's Misguided Children

And there's not a serviceman in the world (myself included) who doesn't hold the Marines in total respect and awe! Although you can't see it, I am saluting him right now.

From a former USAF NCO. :D

thats so amazing.

something you'd see on GI-Joe.

*in awe*

Nice work...

Almost sounds like he was playing a video game. It's good to hear positive stuff about the armed forces...

Like Akira said, you wouldn't want to upset that guy - much respect for being a double hard b*****d....

I may have implied that he received the Medal of Honor in that I got his story from a list of such. Not to take anything away but just to be factual, he received the Navy Cross, which is the 2nd highest honor.

I've since discovered there's actually been only 1 Medal of Honor awarded since 2001...Sgt. Smith's story here.

And they're considering awarding it to Sgt. Peralta.

This reminds me of a joke I heard, which I will copy and paste (lest I screw it up):

One day at the end of class, little Johnny's teacher asked the class to go home and think of a story and then conclude with the moral of that story.

The following day the teacher asked for the first volunteer to tell their story. Little Suzy raised her hand. "My dad owns a farm and every Sunday we load the chicken eggs on the truck and drive into town to sell them at the market. Well, one Sunday we hit a big bump and all the eggs flew out of the basket and onto the road." The teacher asked for the moral of the story. Suzy replied, "Don't keep all your eggs in one basket."

Next was little Bobby. "Well, my dad owns a farm too and every weekend we take the chicken eggs and put them in the incubator. Last weekend only 8 of the 12 eggs hatched." Teacher asked for the moral of the story. Lucy replied, "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

Last was little Johnny. "My Uncle Ted fought in the Vietnam war. His plane was shot down over enemy territory. He jumped out before it crashed with only a case of beer, a machine gun, and a machete. On the way down he drank the case of beer. Unfortunately, he landed right in the middle of 100 Vietnamese soldiers. He shot 70 with his machine gun, but then ran out of bullets, so he pulled out his machete and killed 20 more. The blade on his machete broke, so he killed the last ten with his bare hands."

Teacher looked in shock at Johnny and asked if there is possibly any moral to his story. Johnny nodded: "Don't f*** with Uncle Ted when he's been drinking!"



On a serious note, that guy is awesome.