BRAVERY ON THE
BATTLEFIELD
inserted by helicopter into a location in
Afghanistan. As the assault element
was moving up a mountain
toward its objective, it was
engaged by intense enemy
machine gun, sniper, and
rocket-propelled grenade
fire. The lead portion of
the assault element, which
included the ground commander,
sustained several casualties, and became
pinned down on the sheer mountainside.
Sergeant Williams, upon hearing that the
lead element had sustained casualties and
was in danger of being overrun, braved
intense enemy fire to lead a counterattack
across a valley of ice-covered boulders
and a fast-moving, ice cold, and waistdeep
river. Under withering fire, Sergeant
Williams and his local national commandos
fought up the terraced mountainside to
the besieged element. Arriving at the lead
element’s position, Sergeant Williams
arrayed his Afghan commandos to
provide suppressive fire, which kept
the insurgent fighters from
overrunning the position.
When the Team
Sergeant was
wounded,
Sergeant
Williams braved enemy fire once again to
provide buddy-aid and to move the Team
Sergeant down the sheer mountainside
to the casualty collection point. Sergeant
Williams then fought and climbed his
way back up the mountainside to help
defend the lead assault element that still
had several serious casualties in need of
evacuation. Sergeant Williams directed
suppressive fire and exposed himself to
enemy fire in order to reestablish the team’s
critical satellite radio communications. He
then assisted with moving the wounded
down the near-vertical mountainside
to the casualty collection point. Noting
that the collection point was about to
be overrun by enemy fighters, Sergeant
Williams led the Afghan commandos in a
counterattack that lasted for several hours.
When helicopters arrived to evacuate the
wounded, Sergeant Williams again exposed
himself to enemy fire, carrying and loading
casualties onto the helicopters while
continuing to direct commando firepower
to suppress numerous insurgent positions.
His actions enabled the patrol to evacuate
wounded and dead comrades without
further casualties. Sergeant Williams’
complete disregard for his own safety and
his concern for the safety of his teammates
ensured the survival of four critically
wounded soldiers and prevented
MEDAL OF HONOR ARMY 245: Call to Duty 87