Marine pulls wounded Iraqi soldier to safety in Iraq's Al Anbar Province

HADITHA, Iraq (Oct. 15, 2006) -Lance Cpl. Ryan C. Sommer insists that he was simply doing his job when he pulled a wounded Iraqi soldier to safety during combat operations in Haditha, Iraq, late last month.





But fellow Marines from the Hawaii-based 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment - Sommer's unit - and local Iraqi soldiers disagree. They say he's a hero.According to Iraqi soldiers and Marines from 2nd Battalion's Echo Company, Sommer's initiative and complete disregard for his own safety when he ran though a hail of enemy gunfire saved the soldier's life. Sommer's actions occurred while Marines from his unit were on patrol with Iraqi soldiers in Haditha, a city of about 30,000 in western Al Anbar Province.



"It really wasn't a big deal. I think any Marine would have done the same in my situation," said Sommer, an infantryman and 23-year-old native of Pasco, Wash.



Sommer was conducting a patrol with Marines from 2nd Battalion's Echo Co. and providing security for another patrol in the area when the Marines and Iraqi soldiers were attacked by insurgent gunfire, according to Sgt. Jordan P. Kramp, an advisor to the local military transition team in Haditha.



Military transition teams - "MTT" is the Marines' acronym - are groups of Coalition service members who train and mentor Iraqi soldiers to eventually relieve Coalition forces of all security operations in Iraq. The MTT trains the Iraqi soldiers in everything from marksmanship, to staff planning, logistics and tactics - all the ins and outs of functioning as a military unit.



During the patrol, the Marines and Iraqi soldiers received four "well-aimed shots on the patrol" from an enemy sniper, according to Sommer. That's when ...