First Marine in Baghdad - Former Stars Fighter Awarded Bronze Star for Heroism in Combat
Citation Excerpt
Will Hendricks Mar 28, 2004
Citation excerpt:
For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy while serving as Platoon Commander, Engineer Platoon, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines... on 7 April 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Tasked with locating and reconnoitering river crossing sites, First Lieutenant Roeder led a three-man engineer reconnaissance team across the Nahr Diyala River to find a suitable crossing site for amphibious vehicles.
With elements of the battalion in contact one kilometer north of his position, he demonstrated complete disregard for his own safety by stripping off his gear and swimming across the 100-meter wide river into enemy held territory. Armed only with a 9mm pistol, he conducted a reconnaissance of the immediate area... Discovering enemy revetments in the area, he quickly cleared them.
Determining the site was suitable, he completed a detailed exit point and assembly area survey and swam back to the friendly side of the river with the exchange of fire intensifying to the north. His bold, decisive, action and meticulous attention to detail directly contributed to the combat assault amphibian crossing of two infantry battalions and allowed the division to maintain its momentum and to pressure Baghdad from the west.
For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy while serving as Platoon Commander, Engineer Platoon, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines... on 7 April 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Tasked with locating and reconnoitering river crossing sites, First Lieutenant Roeder led a three-man engineer reconnaissance team across the Nahr Diyala River to find a suitable crossing site for amphibious vehicles.
With elements of the battalion in contact one kilometer north of his position, he demonstrated complete disregard for his own safety by stripping off his gear and swimming across the 100-meter wide river into enemy held territory. Armed only with a 9mm pistol, he conducted a reconnaissance of the immediate area... Discovering enemy revetments in the area, he quickly cleared them.
Determining the site was suitable, he completed a detailed exit point and assembly area survey and swam back to the friendly side of the river with the exchange of fire intensifying to the north. His bold, decisive, action and meticulous attention to detail directly contributed to the combat assault amphibian crossing of two infantry battalions and allowed the division to maintain its momentum and to pressure Baghdad from the west.
