bobdina
08-15-2010, 01:00 PM
'I'm definitely not indestructible'
Staff Sgt. Matthew Matlock | Paktia Province, Afghanistan | June 20, 2008
By Kent Harris
Stars and Stripes
Silver Star
It’s the U.S. military’s third-highest designation for acts of valor on the battlefield. But the Silver Star doesn’t stop bullets, doesn’t deflect rocket-propelled grenades or shrapnel.
So Staff Sgt. Matthew Matlock isn’t under any illusions.
“I still can’t forget the way it hurt,” he says of the shrapnel wounds he suffered to various parts of his body during a firefight on June 20, 2008, in Paktika province, Afghanistan. “I’m definitely not indestructible.”
Matlock, 26, from Amarillo, Texas, earned the Silver Star on that day. He pulled three wounded comrades from their burning vehicle and kept them alive until help arrived, sometimes using his own body to shield them from further harm.
A total of 159 soldiers have been awarded the Silver Star in Afghanistan since the U.S. invaded the country following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Defense Department.
Matlock is the only soldier currently in 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment to hold that distinction and is viewed with respect, said Sgt. 1st Class Joel Fehl, the senior noncommissioned officer in 3rd Platoon.
The battalion watched when Matlock received the medal in a ceremony in Vicenza, Italy, on Nov. 30 — just weeks before the battalion left again for Afghanistan.
“[The medal] makes a difference in terms of respect,” Fehl said. “He’s earned it. He doesn’t have to prove anything.”
But Matlock says the only difference between him and most younger soldiers is that he’s been through his share of firefights.
He’s currently on his fourth deployment with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and in Afghanistan for the third time in five years. This time, his battalion is in Warduk province, hundreds of miles west of the battle site where he earned his medal.
Matlock, weapons squad leader for Company C’s 3rd Platoon, also serves as the No. 2 NCO behind Fehl. Fehl said he counts on Matlock to provide leadership and share his experiences with younger troops.
Like many soldiers who have earned medals for acts of valor, Matlock isn’t one to talk much about his accomplishments.
Matlock says he doesn’t think he did anything that day that anyone else in his battalion wouldn’t have done.
Asked if he thinks he stands out from other members of his platoon or battalion, he doesn’t hesitate: “No. Not at all.”
And he doesn’t think having the Silver Star is going to help him at all in a firefight. The experience he went through while earning that honor might, though.
“Every fight is different,” he says. “But going through them as many times as I have, it helps you keep a clear head and make faster decisions.”
Staff Sgt. Matthew Matlock | Paktia Province, Afghanistan | June 20, 2008
By Kent Harris
Stars and Stripes
Silver Star
It’s the U.S. military’s third-highest designation for acts of valor on the battlefield. But the Silver Star doesn’t stop bullets, doesn’t deflect rocket-propelled grenades or shrapnel.
So Staff Sgt. Matthew Matlock isn’t under any illusions.
“I still can’t forget the way it hurt,” he says of the shrapnel wounds he suffered to various parts of his body during a firefight on June 20, 2008, in Paktika province, Afghanistan. “I’m definitely not indestructible.”
Matlock, 26, from Amarillo, Texas, earned the Silver Star on that day. He pulled three wounded comrades from their burning vehicle and kept them alive until help arrived, sometimes using his own body to shield them from further harm.
A total of 159 soldiers have been awarded the Silver Star in Afghanistan since the U.S. invaded the country following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Defense Department.
Matlock is the only soldier currently in 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment to hold that distinction and is viewed with respect, said Sgt. 1st Class Joel Fehl, the senior noncommissioned officer in 3rd Platoon.
The battalion watched when Matlock received the medal in a ceremony in Vicenza, Italy, on Nov. 30 — just weeks before the battalion left again for Afghanistan.
“[The medal] makes a difference in terms of respect,” Fehl said. “He’s earned it. He doesn’t have to prove anything.”
But Matlock says the only difference between him and most younger soldiers is that he’s been through his share of firefights.
He’s currently on his fourth deployment with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and in Afghanistan for the third time in five years. This time, his battalion is in Warduk province, hundreds of miles west of the battle site where he earned his medal.
Matlock, weapons squad leader for Company C’s 3rd Platoon, also serves as the No. 2 NCO behind Fehl. Fehl said he counts on Matlock to provide leadership and share his experiences with younger troops.
Like many soldiers who have earned medals for acts of valor, Matlock isn’t one to talk much about his accomplishments.
Matlock says he doesn’t think he did anything that day that anyone else in his battalion wouldn’t have done.
Asked if he thinks he stands out from other members of his platoon or battalion, he doesn’t hesitate: “No. Not at all.”
And he doesn’t think having the Silver Star is going to help him at all in a firefight. The experience he went through while earning that honor might, though.
“Every fight is different,” he says. “But going through them as many times as I have, it helps you keep a clear head and make faster decisions.”