3rd HBCT awards Purple Heart to 3-1 Cav. leader 3rd HBCT, 3rd ID Public Affairs
FOB HAMMER, Iraq –The commander of 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, was the first member of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team to earn a Purple Heart during Operation Iraqi Freedom V.
Soldiers from the squadron, out of Fort Benning, Ga., gathered Tuesday to honor Capt. Arthur L. McGrue, III, from Seaside, Calif. The commander of Troop A was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during a small arms fire attack on March 29.
The incident occurred while McGrue was conducting a patrol with Company E, 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, a National Guard unit from Michigan, to get familiarized with the route from Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah to Nahrawan, Iraq.
During the mission, MrGrue and his combat patrol stopped at an Iraqi Police station along the route to assess their facilities. During the stop, an informant gave coalition Soldiers a tip on a wanted individual in a nearby town and was willing to show his team the location.
During a joint patrol with the local IPs, to recover the individual, the patrol began taking fire.
As soon as McGrue heard it, he yelled, “Muzzle flash in the wood line! Muzzle flash in the wood line!” He added, “We all took cover and when I went to raise my weapon I was hit.”
He felt exactly where he was hit — in the chest of his interceptor body armor. “I started rubbing my body armor and calling out that I was hit,” McGrue said. “I checked real quickly for injuries and noticed my wrist was bleeding.”
McGrue explained he was hit in the chest and pieces of the round ricocheted off his armor and struck his left wrist in two places. He said the physician’s assistant who was with the convoy that day wanted to do immediate care. “I told the PA it was just a flesh wound,” McGrue said. “Then I moved to another wall for cover and continued to return fire.”
After a 15-minute firefight, McGrue said the patrol leader made the decision to return to the vehicles and leave the area. When he got back to his vehicle, he received aid for his injury.
Although he was injured in the line of duty, McGrue still keeps an upbeat attitude about the mission in Iraq.
“We have a positive effect,” McGrue said. “We talk with the local Iraqi citizens in our area and they are happy to see an American presence.”
After being awarded with the Purple Heart, McGrue spoke to his troops and told them three things to remember. “First, remembrance of the fallen Soldiers; second, remember to wear the proper uniform because it does save lives; and remember to be prepared when you leave because you don’t know what you will face,” McGrue said.
FOB HAMMER, Iraq –The commander of 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, was the first member of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team to earn a Purple Heart during Operation Iraqi Freedom V.
Soldiers from the squadron, out of Fort Benning, Ga., gathered Tuesday to honor Capt. Arthur L. McGrue, III, from Seaside, Calif. The commander of Troop A was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during a small arms fire attack on March 29.
The incident occurred while McGrue was conducting a patrol with Company E, 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, a National Guard unit from Michigan, to get familiarized with the route from Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah to Nahrawan, Iraq.
During the mission, MrGrue and his combat patrol stopped at an Iraqi Police station along the route to assess their facilities. During the stop, an informant gave coalition Soldiers a tip on a wanted individual in a nearby town and was willing to show his team the location.
During a joint patrol with the local IPs, to recover the individual, the patrol began taking fire.
As soon as McGrue heard it, he yelled, “Muzzle flash in the wood line! Muzzle flash in the wood line!” He added, “We all took cover and when I went to raise my weapon I was hit.”
He felt exactly where he was hit — in the chest of his interceptor body armor. “I started rubbing my body armor and calling out that I was hit,” McGrue said. “I checked real quickly for injuries and noticed my wrist was bleeding.”
McGrue explained he was hit in the chest and pieces of the round ricocheted off his armor and struck his left wrist in two places. He said the physician’s assistant who was with the convoy that day wanted to do immediate care. “I told the PA it was just a flesh wound,” McGrue said. “Then I moved to another wall for cover and continued to return fire.”
After a 15-minute firefight, McGrue said the patrol leader made the decision to return to the vehicles and leave the area. When he got back to his vehicle, he received aid for his injury.
Although he was injured in the line of duty, McGrue still keeps an upbeat attitude about the mission in Iraq.
“We have a positive effect,” McGrue said. “We talk with the local Iraqi citizens in our area and they are happy to see an American presence.”
After being awarded with the Purple Heart, McGrue spoke to his troops and told them three things to remember. “First, remembrance of the fallen Soldiers; second, remember to wear the proper uniform because it does save lives; and remember to be prepared when you leave because you don’t know what you will face,” McGrue said.
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