'I couldn't leave him'

Image courtesy: Sgt. Brandon Owen

Warrant Officer John Hermann had only been in the Afghan village of Dahaneh for a few minutes in February 2008 when everything around him erupted. A rocket-propelled grenade struck a vehicle in his convoy, instantly transforming the medical relief mission of his Marine platoon into an intense combat situation. While their first instinct was to fight, Marines made sure to let women and children reach safe locations before returning fire.

"People were running to take cover so you had to be very mindful of what you were doing and where your targets were," said Hermann. "Once that happened, we identified where the insurgents appeared to be firing at us from, so we made the decision to dismount and assault through the ambush."

According to a stirring article written by Sgt. Dorian Gardner, Warrant Officer Hermann and Sgt. Kurt Zimmerman decided to charge ahead and eliminate terrorist machine gun fire threatening his unit. As they ran across a field, Sgt. Zimmerman was almost immediately shot in the leg, forcing him to dive behind a building. Despite suffering shrapnel wounds himself, Hermann pressed forward and killed both insurgents teaming up to fire on his fellow Marines. Channeling his training and experience from three previous combat deployments, he then ran back to his wounded comrade and dressed his leg wound.

Upon learning he would be awarded the Silver Star for his actions on the Helmand province battlefield, Hermann told Staff Sgt. Jennifer Brofer that he politely asked for the decoration to be delivered by mail, saying a ceremony "seems like too much." He was politely overruled by his superiors, who called Marines in Afghanistan to attention on July 15 to recognize his bravery.

"It’s important for the other Marines and sailors to see the kind of hero that we have amongst us," said Brig. Gen. Charles Hudson, commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group, from Zirconia, North Carolina. "This Marine is, in fact, a hero. He moved to the sound of the guns and exhibited bravery under fire, he saved a wounded Marine, and he also killed the enemy along the way."

When the 2008 battle concluded, at least 13 insurgents were dead and a village full of innocent civilians protected. Most importantly to Warrant Officer John Hermann, Sgt. Kurt Zimmerman was alive.

"I couldn’t leave him," said Hermann. "He would have done the same for me."