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Sergeant John Marra's
military career began in the U.S. Army
Reserve in 2004. He was assigned to his
first duty assignment with the 303rd
Military Police Company, 785th MP
Battalion, 300th MP Brigade when they
deployed to Iraq in September of 2006.
During this deployment, Marra served as
a MP Transition Team leader in the rank
of corporal and heroically distinguished
himself through exceptionally valorous
conduct in the face of the enemy of the
United States.
On October 24, 2007, the mission of the
day was quite dangerous.
“Our task was to travel to nearly every
police station in our area of
operations, which included several hot
spots,” explained Marra. “The unit that
was set to replace us was training on
the road with us. Accounting for the
risk that we assessed, we discussed what
would occur if different scenarios came
up. Ironically, the event that occurred
later that day was one of the events for
which we worked out a battle drill.”
Marra was in the second vehicle of a
four vehicle combat patrol in Bayji,
Iraq, when an improvised explosive
device struck the fourth vehicle
flipping it onto the driver's side and
trapping three soldiers inside. Marra
immediately left the safety of his M1117
Armored Security Vehicle and began to
make his way to the blast site.
While taking small arms fire, Marra
disregarded
his
personal
safety
and ran
across
the kill
zone
into a
hostile
area
where
the
severely |
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damaged M1151 Up-Armored HMMWV
was located, in order to
render first aid to his
fellow soldiers. Marra climbed on top of the
overturned vehicle, exposing himself to
enemy fire that was landing immediately
next to the vehicle as well as on the
wall just behind him, and proceeded to
open the vehicle door and extract the
men inside. |
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“This was like d�j� vu,” remarked Marra.
He continued to explain.
"We were on a previous mission just 20
days prior when we were ambushed in the
same area, same way, by some of the same
insurgents. During that instance, we
lost our medic, Cpl Rachel Hugo."
That memory was still fresh in the minds
of Marra's unit. It was this instant
flashback and moment of reflection and
loss, according to Marra, that gave him
the courage and confidence to do what
was necessary.
"One thing I remembered is that I looked
across the alley and saw the exact spot
where Hugo was killed. The circumstance
we were in (now) was violent and ugly,
but that moment of clarity gave me
strength to persevere and will forever
be etched in my mind,” said Marra.
The gunner had been ejected and
sustained shrapnel injuries. The driver
was unharmed, but one soldier didn't
make it.
“SFC Towns was a National Guard relief
on his first tour. I felt really bad
because he and the others depended on us
to train them up to speed. He had a son
and daughter in Iraq at the time,” Marra
said.
Another soldier -- the squad leader --
was injured. Once free, Marra helped to
lower him down and behind cover. Seeing
his squad leader unresponsive with a
very weak pulse and barely breathing,
Marra inserted a nasal pharyngeal airway
into his nose, which is believed to have
saved him from choking to death.
"She (Hugo) taught us well. She taught
us how to save lives, and would have
been proud," said Marra.
When it was clear that the wounded
soldier needed to be taken to a more
advanced medical treatment facility,
Marra once again demonstrated
exceptional courage and the utmost
loyalty for his fellow soldier by
volunteering to take his wounded squad
leader in the back of a local Iraqi
Police non-armored pick-up truck to the
Iraqi Police Station where coalition
medical personnel were standing by.
Marra helped load the casualty into the
bed of the Iraqi Police truck and then
continued to perform lifesaving measures
on his patient while traveling through
the heart of one of the most dangerous
cities in his area of operation.
While traveling a half mile to the Iraqi
Police Station in the back of an
open-bed non-armored Iraqi Police truck,
Marra continually performed CPR on his
wounded squad leader in order to keep
him alive. Marra's actions, tremendous
determination, quick thinking,
extraordinary ability to stay calm under
fire and undeniable courage directly
contributed to the saving of his squad
leader's life.
"When it came time to perform lifesaving
measures without her (Hugo), our squad
executed the battle drill and performed
as one cohesive unit. Every piece fit
together and we made it out of a
situation that could've easily been
worse."
Anytime a fellow soldier falls, it is a
sad day. In this instance, Marra was
able to take what the enemy meant for
evil, and use it later to save lives.
For his selfless acts, he was awarded
the Bronze Star with Valor device. |
