Darkhorse Fallen Marine to receive Navy Cross

Fallen Marine to receive Navy Cross
By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 14, 2012

ABBATE FAMILY Marine Sgt. Matthew Abbate will receive the Navy Cross for his heroism Oct. 14, 2010, in Afghanistan. Abbate, with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., was killed in action just six weeks later.

The ferocious fighting that the men of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, encountered during their 2010-11 deployment to Afghanistan with Regimental Combat Team 2 — and the valor with which they fought — has been hailed yet again with an award for “extraordinary heroism” in combat.

Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate is the latest leatherneck with the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based “Darkhorse” battalion to be honored with the coveted Navy Cross. He was cited for his “bold and decisive leadership” while leading his scout-sniper section through a hellish ambush in Sangin district on Oct. 14, 2010.

Abbate was killed in combat just six weeks after that battle, on Dec. 2, 2010. He was 26. His survivors include his young son, Carson, and family in the Fresno, Calif., area.

Abbate was later nominated for a posthumous award of the Navy Cross, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus approved the medal this month, according to spokeswoman Pamela Kunze, who provided a copy of the approved award citation.
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