Abstract
While leading his platoon north on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, Marine Capt. Brian Chontosh’s platoon was ambushed. With mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic weapons fire coming in, and coalition tanks blocking the road in front of him, Chontosh realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone. He had to do something, and he had to do it fast. Chontosh ordered his driver to move their vehicle through a breach along his flank, then through machine gun fire, directly at the enemy position. After silencing the enemy machine guns, Chontosh ordered his driver to drive right into the enemy trench. Exiting the vehicle, Chontosh led his troops in an attack on enemy forces in the trench. When his own rifle and pistol ammunition ran out, he “borrowed” discarded enemy weapons to continue the attack. When it was over, Chontosh had cleared 200 meters of the enemy trench, killed more than 20 enemy soldiers, eliminated the threat to his platoon—and earned the navy’s second highest award for heroism, the Navy Cross.
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