White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.
The Medal of Honor is presented to former US
Army Staff Sergeant Ronald J Shurer II during
a ceremony at the White House in Washington,
DC, 1 October 2018. White House Photo by
Shealah Craighead.
call of duty on 1 June 2007, while serving
in the position of Squad Leader with
Company D, 2d Battalion, 14th Infantry
Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team,
10th Mountain Division, in support of
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. While
manning a static observation post in the
town of Abu Samak, Iraq, Staff Sergeant
Atkins was notified that four suspicious
individuals, walking in two pairs, were
crossing an intersection not far from
his position. Staff Sergeant Atkins
immediately moved his squad to interdict
the individuals. One of the individuals
began behaving erratically, prompting
Staff Sergeant Atkins to disembark from
his patrol vehicle and approach to conduct
a search. Both individuals responded
belligerently toward Staff Sergeant Atkins,
who then engaged the individual he
had intended to search in hand-to-hand
combat. Staff Sergeant Atkins tried to
wrestle the insurgent’s arms behind his
back. When he noticed the insurgent
was reaching for something under his
clothes, Staff Sergeant Atkins immediately
wrapped him in a bear hug and threw
him to the ground, away from his fellow
soldiers. Staff Sergeant Atkins maintained
his hold on the insurgent, placing his body
on top of him, further sheltering his patrol.
With Staff Sergeant Atkins on top of him,
the insurgent detonated a bomb strapped
to his body, killing Staff Sergeant Atkins.
Staff Sergeant Atkins acted with complete
disregard for his own safety. In this critical
and selfless act of valor, Staff Sergeant
Atkins saved the lives of the three other
soldiers who were with him and gallantly
gave his life for his country. Staff Sergeant
Atkins' undaunted courage, warrior spirit,
and steadfast devotion to duty are in
keeping with the highest traditions of
military service and reflect great credit
upon himself, the 2d Brigade Combat
Team, and the United States Army.
STAFF SERGEANT
RONALD J. SHURER II
UNITED STATES ARMY
Staff Sergeant Ronald J. Shurer II
distinguished himself by acts of gallantry
and intrepidity above and beyond the
call of duty on 6 April 2008, while serving
as a Senior Medical Sergeant, Special
Forces Operational Detachment Alpha
3336, Special Operations Task Force-33,
in support of OPERATION ENDURING
FREEDOM. Staff Sergeant Shurer was
part of an assault element inserted by
helicopter into a location in Afghanistan.
As the assault element moved up a near
vertical mountain toward its objective, it
was engaged by fierce 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 mountainside. Staff
Sergeant Shurer and the rest of the trailing
portion of the assault element were
likewise engaged by enemy machine gun,
sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade fire.
As the attack intensified, Staff Sergeant
Shurer braved enemy fire to move to an
injured Soldier and treat his wounds.
Having stabilized the injured Soldier,
Staff Sergeant Shurer then learned of
the casualties among the lead element.
Staff Sergeant Shurer fought his way up
the mountainside, under intense enemy
fire, to the lead element’s location. Upon
reaching the lead element, he treated and
stabilized two more Soldiers. Finishing
those lifesaving efforts, Staff Sergeant
Shurer noticed two additional severely
wounded Soldiers under intense enemy
fire. The bullet that had wounded one of
these Soldiers had also impacted Staff
Sergeant Shurer’s helmet. With complete
disregard for his own life, Staff Sergeant
Shurer again moved through enemy
fire to treat and stabilize one Soldier’s
severely wounded arm. Shortly thereafter,
Staff Sergeant Shurer continued to
brave withering enemy fire to get to the
other Soldier’s location in order to treat
his lower leg, which had been almost
completely severed by a high-caliber
sniper round. After treating the Soldier,
Staff Sergeant Shurer began to evacuate
the wounded, carrying and lowering
them down the sheer mountainside.
While moving down the mountain, Staff
Sergeant Shurer used his own body to
shield the wounded from enemy fire and
debris caused by danger-close air strikes.
Reaching the base of the mountain, Staff
Sergeant Shurer set up a casualty
ARMY 245: Call to Duty 89