U.S Troops Recognized for, and Die in, Combat Action

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2005 - U.S. troops in Iraq continue to perform heroically in combat against terrorist insurgents; and some are making the ultimate sacrifice in the country that President Bush has called "the central front in the war on terror."

Indeed, soldiers assigned to 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team received combat decorations during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Honor on Nov. 6.

The soldiers were awarded 54 Combat Action Badges, three Combat Infantry Badges and three Combat Medical Badges.

"My Grandfather won (a Combat Infantry Badge) in World War II; and my uncle won his during Operation Desert Storm," said 1st Lt. Eric Woolf, a platoon leader with the 6/8 Cav. "Ever since I joined the infantry, I wanted to get this award - so it means a lot."

Spc. Daniel Meservey, B Troop, 6/8 Cav. also earned the Combat Action Badge; however, his situation is different from Lt. Woolf's.

"I am proud to be the first soldier in my family to earn the Combat Action Badge," Meservey said. "It is an honor and a privilege."

Elsewhere in Iraq, five soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were killed in action, and five were wounded, on Nov. 19 in two separate improvised explosive device attacks on U.S. patrols in the vicinity of Bayji.

Three of the injured were transported to nearby military medical facilities, and two were treated and returned to duty.

A Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed by small-arms fire while on patrol north of Baghdad on Nov. 20. Officials say the incident is under investigation.

A Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed in action when his vehicle was attacked with an IED during combat operations in the vicinity of Hadithah on Nov. 19.

Another Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, died of wounds received from small arms fire during combat operations against in al Karmah on Nov. 19.

The names of all of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.

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