Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301100047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
3 MARINES HONORED
Three members of a U.S. Marine Corps. reserve unit from Roanoke County were awarded the Bronze Star on Saturday in recognition of their actions to clear minefields during the 1991 Iraqi war.Sgt. N. Scott Dowdy and Cpls. Cedric C. Carter and Duane A. Jones received the medals in a ceremony at the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center off Peters Creek Road.
Each of the three men was cited for leaving the safety of armored vehicles to clear mines during the opening hours of the ground offensive on Feb. 24, 1991.
Dowdy said he was surprised but delighted to receive the Bronze Star Medal, given for courageous action in combat.
"I was just doing my job," said Dowdy, 27, who works for Carter Machinery in Salem. "It's something every Marine would have done."
"You just do what you were trained for," said Jones, a 24-year-old cadet at the Roanoke City Police Academy.
"I really didn't expect this," said Carter, 24, who now directs a program for latchkey children in Martinsville.
When the ground war began, the members of Company B, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, were assigned to separate armored vehicles that were clearing Iraqi minefields, opening a path for U.S. ground forces.
Their job was to lob explosive charges, which would set off enemy mines. But when the charges failed to detonate, they left the safety of their vehicles, walked 50-100 yards through the minefield and attached detonating caps to the charges.
The men had been trained in the procedure, but Carter admitted that he had fleeting second thoughts about venturing out into a real, live minefield. But Carter, who is single, realized that his partner in the armored vehicle was married and had more at stake.
"We just looked at each other, and I said, `I'll take it,' " he said.