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One of the Baghdad neighborhoods
covered by Sergeant Ezequiel
Mora's patrol in May of 2007 was
Hurriyah, a hotbed of militia
activity. While passing through
Hurriyah, Mora's four Humvee
convoy was attacked. An
explosively formed penetrator,
the most lethal type of roadside
bomb, went off just as
insurgents fired on the convoy
with small arms.
The EFP had caused catastrophic
damage to the vehicle in the
rear of the column, which had
the platoon medic and convoy
commander in it. He directed his
vehicle to be turned around to
the disabled and burning Humvee.
Ignoring the heavy volume of
hostile fire, he leapt out to
assist the trapped soldiers.
He
bravely attempted to rescue the
gunner of the Humvee, though
temporarily overcome by smoke
inhalation he recovered and
joined another soldier in
continuing the rescue. While
doing so, he noticed the
platoon's medic on the ground,
badly wounded and Mora
immediately began administering
first aid. Once another soldier
relieved him, Mora moved to the
other side of the Humvee to
cover his fellow soldiers.
It was then that he noticed that
the gunner from the Humvee was
finally free, but was bleeding
heavily from his left leg. Mora
swiftly applied a tourniquet to
the leg to stop the bleeding.
Realizing that they were in an
exposed position, Mora and
another sergeant took turns
carrying the wounded gunner to
safety, all while under fire
from the insurgents. When
reinforcements arrived, Mora
helped to successfully evacuate
the gunner to the Green Zone for
medical care. |
