Camp Liberty, Iraq – It had been only a few hours since the Soldiers of 769th Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, returned from the monumental task of installing approximately 130,000-square feet of rocket-propelled grenade fencing and sniper-screen material over a 1,200 foot distance, with heights measuring up to 40 feet, at Joint Security Station Ur in the Sadr City district of Baghdad to veil the aerostat and its docking station.

Unbeknown to them this morning, with most of them receiving very little sleep, would be the surprise of a lifetime as Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and MND-B, took a moment from his packed schedule April 12 to honor six of the battalion’s Soldiers for their accomplishments as he presented them with impact Bronze Star Medals.

Perhaps General George C. Marshall, who wrote in a memorandum to President Franklin P. Roosevelt, wrote it best: “The fact that the ground troops, Infantry in particular, lead miserable lives of extreme discomfort and are the ones who must close in personal combat with the enemy, makes the maintenance of their moral of great importance.”

Thus, it signifies the appropriateness of the presentation of the impact Bronze Stars to the Soldiers of the 769th Eng. Bn.

“The sniper screen will enable us to protect Soldiers and provide us the ability to see and disrupt insurgents,” said Hammond. “Do you realize what they did? asked Hammond. “They put up this screen under fire, day and night, and under terrible conditions. You have something to talk about a couple of years from now.”

Indeed, the Soldiers would have something to speak about.

“The mission took 13 days to complete despite several setbacks caused by high winds, indirect fire or enemy small-arms fire directed at crews as they worked suspended at heights up to 40 feet in the air,” said Capt. James Hoover, native of Ponchatoula, La. “Although the mission presented challenges, these Engineers lived up to the regimental motto: ‘Let Us Try!’”

Soldiers presented the Bronze Star Medal for their achievements were: Staff Sgt Stephen Choat, a native of Denham Springs, La.; Staff Sgt Lee Given, a native of Flatwoods, W.V.; Sgt Shawn Griffith, a native of Richwood, W.V., Spc Raymond Myers, a native of Vienna, W.V.; Spc Jasper Stull, a native of Durbin, WV.; and Spc Zachary Whitlatch, a native of Walker, W.V.

As the presentation drew to a close, the words from Luke 14:28 seemed to resonate through for all that have been in harms way: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost.”

The Soldiers placed their lives on the line to accomplish this important mission, and Hammond proudly thanked the team for their bravery and service to their nation.