Earl Anthony
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 Posted:
Sat Jul 02, 2005 7:08 am Post subject:
Female Soldier receives Silver Star in Iraq |
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Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, vehicle commander, 617th Military Police Company,
Richmond, Ky., stands at attention before receiving the Silver Star at
an awards ceremony at Camp Liberty, Iraq, June 16, 2005.
Spc. Jeremy D. CrispFor the first time since World War II, an Army woman
was awarded the Silver Star for valor June 16 in Iraq.
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester of the 617th Military Police Company, a National
Guard unit out of Richmond, Ky., received the Silver Star, along with
two other members of her unit, for their actions during an enemy ambush
on their convoy.
Hester's squad was shadowing a supply convoy March 20 when anti-Iraqi
fighters ambushed the convoy. The squad moved to the side of the road,
flanking the insurgents and cutting off their escape route. Hester led
her team through the "kill zone" and into a flanking position, where she
assaulted a trench line with grenades and M203 grenade-launcher rounds.
She and Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein, her squad leader, then cleared two
trenches, at which time she killed three insurgents with her rifle.
When the fight was over, 27 insurgents were dead, six were wounded, and
one was captured.
Hester, 23, who was born in Bowling Green, Ky., and later moved to
Nashville, Tenn., said she was surprised when she heard she was being
considered for the Silver Star.
"I'm honored to even be considered, much less awarded, the medal," she
said.
Being the first female soldier since World War II to receive the medal
is significant to Hester. But, she said, she doesn't dwell on the fact.
"It really doesn't have anything to do with being a female," she said.
"It's about the duties I performed that day as a soldier."
Hester, who has been in the National Guard since April 2001, said she
didn't have time to be scared when the fight started, and she didn't
realize the impact of what had happened until much later.
"Your training kicks in and the soldier kicks in," she said. "It's your
life or theirs. ... You've got a job to do -- protecting yourself and
your fellow comrades."
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