In the spring of 2003, the 1st Marine Division drove north toward Baghdad; the tip of the spear that would lead the American assault against Saddam Hussein's elite Fedayeen and Republican Guard throughout central Iraq. It was no easy road. Then-Cpl. Martinez's actions during the battle of Tarmiya dealt the regime's forces a serious blow; so much so that he was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest decoration in the United States armed forces.
On
April 12, 2003, Martinez, serving with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine
Regiment, 1st Marine Division, responded to a call to reinforce a
platoon that had been ambushed. Under fire, Martinez moved his team
into supporting positions to assault the enemy force. He eliminated two
hostile fighters on the initial attack after his squad leader was
wounded by a grenade blast. Martinez took control and led the assault
into the area where the ambush had originated. Martinez and his
outnumbered men moved through and cleared a nearby building occupied by
enemy fighters. As they entered another compound they took stronger
small-arms fire from the hostile forces inside. Martinez and his men
fought their way through the building and into a courtyard, where the
Fedayeen continued to engage the Marines from a garden shed.
Martinez saw that the enemy left a rocket propelled grenade launcher and two rounds on the ground on their way to the bunker. As his team provided cover fire, Martinez ventured into the open and grabbed the RPG launcher and sprinted behind a palm tree. After enemy fire wounded a member of his team, Martinez fired an RPG, 15 yards from the shed. The hostile forces continued targeting Martinez - but his assault had allowed his men to safely evacuate the wounded Marine. While the rest of the team took care of the injured man, Martinez single-handedly attacked the bunker. Dodging bullets, he ran up to the shed and lobbed a grenade into the building, killing four enemy forces and ending the firefight.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England presented Martinez with the Navy Cross in May 2004. The first Hispanic-American to receive the Navy Cross since the Vietnam War, Martinez repeatedly credits the Marine Corps for turning his life around. Having been a member of a gang for several years as a teenager, Martinez became drawn to the Marines after an encounter with a recruiter as a high-school senior. Today, Martinez emphatically states that "All I ever am, or will become, I owe to my beloved Corps."
From gangbanger to Navy Cross: The story from KABC in Los Angeles
Former Marine Corps Sergeant Marco Martinez has a dramatic take on what his life was like as a "gangbanger" in New Mexico before he joined the Marines: He believes he was one step from going over the edge.
"I was basically a leech on the side of America's body, sitting there, sucking blood out, not doing anything productive. Finally, when I joined the Marine Corps, I understood what it was to be an American," said Martinez.
You do not have to spend much time with Martinez to realize that is his core belief....
"Our first casualty ended up losing about a liter of blood within about a 35-minute time frame," said Martinez. "And the second wounded Marine was paralyzed from the waist down and bleeding out pretty good, too, so if I hadn't have done what I did, both those Marines would probably be dead right now."
Martinez has written a book he calls "Hard Corps," about his experience that led to the awarding of the Navy Cross. It lives up to its title.
What you hear from Martinez is a sincere expression of the way he feels. He believes in the war in Iraq and he was ready for the ultimate sacrifice.
"I really thought I was going to die, and I was at peace with that, because I had done so many things beforehand, where I might have died over misinterpreted glances, colors, girls," said Martinez.
These days he is a community college student studying business and working as a nuclear plant security guard. Fellow students don't know about his heroism. He is uncomfortable with the adulation he's received, as the first Hispanic and first Marine in Iraq to be awarded the Navy Cross.
"I kind of felt that since we were all in it together, why am I the only one receiving this award? I kind of felt the award was for everybody," said Martinez. "I really felt that I was just doing my job. And all the accolades I was receiving were unnecessary, anyone else in my squad or my platoon would have done the same. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have done it."
Maybe, maybe not, but it was that attitude that made you do it.
And that's why you're the man.
Nice job, Marine!
