Pvt. Monica Brown And The Silver Star

(CBS)  Private Monica Brown is only the second woman to be awarded the Silver Star since World War II. She's an Army medic who risked her own life to save two critically wounded paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.

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.

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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."

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[inksterj]

I wanted to comment not on the story but on the reporter. I have been watching 60 Minutes ever since it started. I am a big fan of the show and the people who report the stories.
In this case I think 60 Minutes missed the boat.
I found Laura Logan to be as exciting as a high school freshman. Ms Logan''s use of language was painful to listen to. I found myself rolling my eyes in frustration.
I wish this young lady all the luck in the world in her chosen profession as long as she doesn%u2019t have to practice it here on a national TV show.

SorryToHaveToComment
Jay F

[demrage]

This person is a hero plain and simple. She has I hope started the road for a one to one equality women to men in the military. Time for all these overly proud males to get over there little women fantasies and allow women to fight along side there male counterparts without hesitation.

Good job Private, you do your country proud.

[dasc603]

My son served with Spc Brown as a medic. He likes her as a person and respects her professional competence. He also feels as many of the soldiers there do, that she was awarded the Silver Star largely because of her ***. He knows of the entire incident and what awards others have received, and that is what he looks at. He knows of a paratrooper medic who spent months on a cold mountain outpost, during which in an attack he ran thru heavy mortar and machine gun fire to administer aid, was blown out of a watchtower by an rpg while rushing to aid his soldiers, had an eardrum blown out by that rpg (for which he refused to write himself up for a purple heart), and had his recommendation for a bronze star rejected as this medic was "just doing his job". Or look up the name of Hugo V Mendoza, another medic hero (kia) unknown to most of the world. It is not sour grapes from the troops, it is just that the troops know who is deserving and for what, and they don''t like to see anyone slighted for whatever reason. As a 11B retiree, I agree, the BC and Sgt Major did well to (over)recognize Spc Brown for her actions but left out other more deserving male soldiers, thus the resentment. As my son said, %u201CIt%u2019s ***. What she did, every field medic has done over and over. It%u2019s just ***.%u201D

[jtmoney529]

And in regards to the comment about them not wanting to speak about it. I know one of them is at Walter Reid Medical center being treated for Post traumatic stress. If you want to say that they are an "embarrassment," I suggest you pick up a weapon and go on a patrol, put your life on the line, almost die, and then let''s see if you want to talk about it a year and a half later. Before you make "ludicrous" statements like that, you might want to make sure you have your facts straight.
Thank you Monica. When my brother told me about that firefight, the last time I ever spoke with him, he told me all about what you did. I remember him describing you appear out of the smoke running as fast as you can.

[marielouise5]

The refusal to speak about Private Brown is ludicrous, those specialists are an embarrassment to not only the military, but to people in general.

[marielouise5]

The refusal to speak about Private Brown is ludicrous, those specialists are an embarrassment to not only the military, but to people in general.

[marielouise5]

The refusal to speak about Private Brown is ludicrous, those specialists are an embarrassment to not only the military, but to people in general.

[marielouise5]

The refusal to speak about Private Brown is ludicrous, those specialists are an embarrassment to not only the military, but to people in general.

[marielouise5]

The refusal to speak about Private Brown is ludicrous, those specialists are an embarrassment to not only the military, but to people in general.

[marielouise5]

The refusal to speak about Private Brown is ludicrous, those specialists are an embarrassment to not only the military, but to people in general.