Heroes in the War on Terror/Volume 2/Issue 15

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Adlesperger
When then-Pfc. Adlesperger and his squad approached a house on Nov. 10, 2004, in the treacherous city of Fallujah, they entered into one of the most difficult and dangerous battlefield situations: they faced an entrenched enemy in an urban setting – with an entrenched machine gun.

As they entered the house, a volley of insurgent fire and grenades rained down upon them, immediately killing Adlesperger’s point man and injuring two others. Without pause, Adlesperger took control and moved out front, despite receiving minor wounds. As Adlesperger began firing back from the point position, he became the main target of enemy fire – but, with most of his squad pinned down by insurgent fire, he had no choice but to push forward on his own.

Adlesperger single-handedly cleared the stairs to the rooftop, which allowed the unit to move injured Marines upstairs to receive medical attention. And as U.S. forces gathered for a major assault on the building, Adlesperger, still inside, began moving from one spot to another, eliminating enemies in close quarters or forcing them to move out of entrenched positions to areas where U.S. forces were waiting.

Finally, an assault vehicle broke through a wall on the main floor. Adlesperger rejoined his platoon and demanded to take point for the final attack on the entrenched machine gun. He entered the courtyard first, and eliminated the final enemy at close range. By the end of the battle, Adlesperger was credited with having killed at least 11 insurgents.

One month later, Adlesperger was killed while clearing other houses in Fallujah. For his actions on Nov. 10, 2004, Adlesperger will be posthumously awarded the Navy Cross on April 13, 2007. Marine Corps Times story; Albuquerque Tribune story; North County Times story.

Washington Air National Guard Master Sgt. Henry Stroisch and Tech. Sgt. Michael Frady
In the current conflicts the United States is engaged in, a premium is placed on versatility and flexibility. So it was not much of a surprise that Master Sgt. Stroisch and Tech. Sgt. Frady, two Washington airmen and long-time friends, were called to do what is generally regarded as soldiers’ jobs: train soldiers, set up computer networks, and fill in as gunners on supply trucks.

The two airmen were deployed to Balad, Iraq, from March to September 2004 and were temporarily assigned to an Army transportation company, which turned out to be the first unit assigned to security convoys. The two quickly put skills they learned as civilians to use: Frady, a systems administrator at a financial software company, set up the computer network for the camp; Stroisch, a sheriff’s deputy, created a training program to help new guardsmen become acquainted with the multiple duties they would be expected to perform.

Stroisch and Frady were also called to help man trucks guarding supply convoys traveling along the dangerous routes to and from Balad Air Base. On April 30, 2004, Stroisch and Frady were part of security teams for separate convoys. As Stroisch was returning to base through Baqubah, he heard a loud blast nearby – a blast that hit the other convoy and made Stroisch fear the worst for his friend. Luckily, however, the insurgents had mistakenly planted the bomb backwards, sending most of the blast and shrapnel into the desert rather than toward the convoy. The explosion flung Frady shoulder-first into the truck’s bed. Temporarily dazed, he stood up and checked another airman – both of them had suffered hearing loss. Using hand signals, the two communicated that they were okay, allowing the commander to get the convoy moving as soon as possible.

For their work, Stroisch and Frady received the Bronze Star on March 4, 2007. Army Times story.

OSD Writers Group