Staff Sgt. Clears Building and Saves Lives
Checking e-mail was never supposed to be this dangerous. On March 27, 2006, Staff Sgt. Martin K. Richburg was talking to his wife on his cell phone outside an Internet café on a base in Iraq. As he sat there, he noticed a man approaching the café with a blue bag. Something about the situation seemed slightly off.
Earlier that day, Richburg recalled, a suicide bomber had killed several civilians near the base’s gate. Richburg watched the man place the bag on top of the café’s air conditioner. Then the man turned and ran, but not fast enough to escape Richburg, who jumped out of his truck, chased the man down, and quickly learned that the bag held a bomb.
Richburg managed to clear the building just before the bomb destroyed the entire café. Richburg’s actions saved the lives of 12 soldiers and five Iraqi civilians. In March 2006, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with a “V” and has been nominated for a Bronze Star.
Checking e-mail was never supposed to be this dangerous. On March 27, 2006, Staff Sgt. Martin K. Richburg was talking to his wife on his cell phone outside an Internet café on a base in Iraq. As he sat there, he noticed a man approaching the café with a blue bag. Something about the situation seemed slightly off.
Earlier that day, Richburg recalled, a suicide bomber had killed several civilians near the base’s gate. Richburg watched the man place the bag on top of the café’s air conditioner. Then the man turned and ran, but not fast enough to escape Richburg, who jumped out of his truck, chased the man down, and quickly learned that the bag held a bomb.
Richburg managed to clear the building just before the bomb destroyed the entire café. Richburg’s actions saved the lives of 12 soldiers and five Iraqi civilians. In March 2006, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with a “V” and has been nominated for a Bronze Star.
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