Nov. 30, 2008
Pvt. Monica Brown And The Silver Star
Lara Logan Interviews A Young Woman Who Was Awarded A Silver Star For Exceptional Valor
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The Silver Star
Lara Logan speaks with Monica Brown, only the second woman to ever be awarded the Silver Star since World War II.
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In 2002, Lt. Col. Martha McSally described her battle against the Pentagon?s rule that female military personnel in Saudi Arabia dress in traditional Islamic garb when leaving air force bases.
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Under Army regulations, women cannot be assigned to frontline combat units. But, as correspondent Lara Logan reports, in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq today, that's exactly where they often end up.
Some male soldiers aren't so happy about that, including members of Pvt. Brown's own unit. But her superior officers say she is a hero - a hero who earned one of the military's highest awards for exceptional valor when she was only 18 years old.
Winning the Silver Star is a big deal for anybody, but considering Brown's age, it's an even bigger deal. "It's overwhelming," she tells Logan.
"I mean you've been treated like a superstar, really. And you're just a kid," Logan remarks.
"Yeah. I am just a child," she acknowledges.
It all started on April 25, 2007. Brown was temporarily attached to a paratrooper unit in Paktika Province, a hostile and remote area. The unit was headed back to base after searching for weapons in a village. None of them had any idea they were driving straight into a massive ambush until a roadside bomb exploded under the last Humvee and hidden enemy fighters unleashed mortars and machine guns on the convoy.
Brown had just four months of medic training at the time, and it was her first firefight. "They stopped the convoy. And my platoon sergeant got out of the truck and said, 'Doc, let's go,'" she remembers.
Brown was the only medic at the scene.
"There was a ball of fire that went into the truck and burned all five crew members. The gunner was actually almost blown out of the turret," remembers Michael Greene, who was Brown's sergeant major with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Asked what Brown did and what was so remarkable about her actions, Sgt. Maj. Greene tells Logan, "She grabbed her aid bag, got out of the truck and made her way back to the vehicle. And through small arms fire, intense small arms fire and mortar fire."
"As I'm runnin' I see guys rollin' in the dirt tryin' [to] put their uniforms out 'cause they're burnin'," remembers Sergeant Jose Santos, who was running with Brown towards the casualties through a hail of enemy bullets and mortar fire.
Sergeant Aaron Best, a gunner in the lead Humvee, was firing back at the enemy, while Specialist Jack Bodani, only lightly wounded, managed to crawl out of the burning Humvee.
"Thought I lost my entire crew; at that point in time I didn't see anybody," Spc. Bodani remembers.
Bodani knew that his best friend, Specialist Stanson Smith, was still trapped inside the burning vehicle that was packed with high explosive ammunition. "Couldn't get him out 'cause he was tryin' to crawl in the flames. And he's disoriented and got adrenaline pumpin'," Bodani remembers.
"And he's been hit at this point, right? His head is hit quite badly?" Logan asks.
"Blood all over his face and burned skin, and his lips were messed up," Bodani says.
"The truck is carryin' the MK19, which has 40 millimeter grenades. So you're talkin' about a thousand grenades inside that truck," Sgt. Santos explains.
Santos says they all started going off.
"It sounded like firecrackers, at first," Brown remembers. "And then, it was pretty heavy after that. 'Cause you could hear all the 50 cals (calibers) going off and stuff like that."
As the firefight raged on, Brown focused on the two most seriously wounded men - Specialists Larry Spray and Smith.
"I see Smith, he's laying there, you know, he's rockin' back and forth. And I'm, like, lookin'. Like, 'Oh crap.' You know, 'He's dead.' Spray, his hands are all burned up. And his face is burned up," Sgt. Best remembers.
"And in all of this, I mean, you were never scared? Not even for a moment?" Logan asks Brown.
"I wasn't scared for my life. I was scared because I was afraid I wasn't gonna be competent and able to do my job. Because I knew the people that were hurt," Brown says.
Asked if she was afraid of failing, Brown says, "Yeah."
Produced by Tom Anderson and Jeff Newton
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 159 CommentsJames
Walk tall yong lady and be proud.
578.12 Silver Star.
(a) Criteria. The Silver Star was established
by Act of Congress July 9,
1918. It is awarded to a person
who, while serving in any capacity
with the U.S. Army, is cited for gallantry
in action against an enemy of
the United States while engaged in
military operations involving conflict
with an opposing foreign force, or while
serving with friendly foreign forces engaged
in an armed conflict against an
opposing armed force in which the
United States is not a belligerent
party. The required gallantry, while of
lesser degree than that required for the
Distinguished Service Cross, must nevertheless
have been performed with
marked distinction. It is also awarded
upon letter application to Commander,
Yes beacuse she was a women should that weigh upon the decision & she was only 18 yes.
Spc Brown I salute you and you deserve it and let no one feel that you do not!
MSgt Bill XXXXXX
Sure, we can all find "better" examples of Silver Star stories...but what the hell is the point? This woman did something quite valiant, and while it was "only her job", she did it well despite very harrowing circumstances.
Just be glad she''s on OUR side and quit your *******'' about it!
maybe this is something cbs could "research"
At 18-yrs old you%u2019re brave enough to enlist, leave home, go to another country, and save a few lives along the way. As far as I''m concerned that is impressive for any 18-yr old, male or female.
Don''t hate her because she''s not a texting teenage brat, who sleeps til noon in her pink bedroom, is obsessed with designer clothes, and barely passed her drivers test. In a time when all I hear is news coverage of Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Paris Hilton it''s refreshing to hear something positive about anyone.
She''s famous now for all the right reasons, not for a DUI, going to rehab or flashing her private parts to the paparazzi.You can''t change the facts. She''s very young, very brave, and she contributed to saving the lives of several people. Period. Not acknowledging that doesn''t mean it didn''t happen. I suspect that many people would have peed their pants under similar circumstances.
For all of you out there with criticisms, what were you doing at 18- yrs old?
Beats that stupid Pentagoon fake-o ''rescue'' fantasy about Jessica Lynch...
As long as a woman can do her job and pull her weight, then no one has the right to criticize unless they walk a mile in her mocassins and can do the same things that she does. Maybe is isn''t a bad idea if we does as Israel does. Each person upon graduating high school must serve at least 2 yrs. in the military. By requiring that of our young people, maybe, we''ll have folks that grow up to be more than a "you owe it to me" or "I have to have that" generation.
And others are born into this life with virtually NOTHING going for them, and still turn out squared away.
I''m very proud of this young lady! I don''t think she did anything that wasn''t fully expected of any other medic, male or female, and I think she recieved the medal primarily because the same old military PR reasons - but I''m still very proud of her. I don''t begrudge her the medal at all. I wish her well in this lifetime....!
Typical confidence and no-BS from our family whose ancestors have been here since 1630 and first fought in King Philip''s War in New England, 1675-1676. Perhaps these two soldiers who are alive because of a woman can show the same confidence or some type of American traits in thanking her.
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