Spc. earns DSC for heroism during ambush

Spc. earns DSC for heroism during ambush

By Matthew Cox - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 6, 2009 10:45:26 EST

Spc. Erik Oropeza doesn’t remember hearing a thing when the 13 155mm howitzer rounds exploded beneath his Stryker.

“I remember seeing a white light and then it went dark,” said Oropeza, who had been driving his Stryker on a dirt road 10 kilometers north of Taji, Iraq.

The soldier from 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment regained consciousness a few minutes later and climbed out of his blown-open hatch.

The sharp crack of enemy automatic weapons fire snapped him out of his daze.

“I could hear the bullets whizzing by; I pretty much jumped from my driver hatch to the back right hatch of the Stryker” and ducked inside,” he recalled.
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