Army chief of staff pins medals of valor for their actions during an ambush in Afghanistan
El Paso Times
By David Burge
POSTED: 05/27/2015
Rudy Gutierrez—El Paso Times
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, left, the 38th Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army pins the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device to SPC Robert Gillespie, center, and PFC Nile Clarke, right, during a ceremony on post. The two soldiers were cited for their actions on March 13, 2014 when the convoy they were riding in was ambushed by insurgents in Afghanistan.
FORT BLISS
Two young Fort Bliss soldiers say they were just doing their jobs as infantry men, but the Army says they are heroes.
Spc. Robert Gillespie, a 21-year-old from Bartow, Fla., and Pfc. Nile Clarke, a 20-year-old from Norwalk, Conn., were each given the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device during a ceremony at Fort Bliss on Wednesday.
They were recognized for their actions when the unit they were with in Afghanistan was ambushed on March 13, 2014, in the Zabul Province. They both exposed themselves to enemy fire, returned fire and allowed a six-vehicle convoy they were riding in to free itself up. No American soldiers were killed or wounded in the incident.
Making Wednesday's ceremony even more memorable, Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who was visiting Fort Bliss for the day, pinned the medals on the two soldiers.
"They represent what we are about" as soldiers, Odierno said. "They care about the mission, they care about each other, about who they are and what they represent."
"War is a very personal business, especially on the squad and platoon level," Odierno added.
"It's about taking care of each other."
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Just stumbled on this, never thought we wouldake headlines for it. What we did was nothing more than what we signed up for, I tip my hat to all those who have been through far more, all others rhat have served, and those who are there now
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