14 January 2005

Brian Chontosh is a graduate of the Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991, graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, husband and expectant father. A first lieutenant and platoon leader in the Marine Corps, he was rolling up Highway 1 in a Humvee on the march into Baghdad when, as they say so picturesquely, "all hell broke loose." Chontosh moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his men to safety. As he tried to make a way through the Iraqi line, his Humvee came under direct enemy machine-gun fire. He told his driver to floor the Humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was firing at them and had his gunner on top with the .50 cal unload on the Iraqis. Momentarily there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the Humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his Marines. The Humvee went forward and Chontosh jumped out the door, carrying an M16 and a Beretta. He ran down the trench in the face of mortars, riflemen, machine guns and grenadiers, and killed them all. He used the M16 and the Beretta until each was out of ammo. Then he picked up two dead men's AK47s and fought with them until each was empty. He even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy cluster, sending attackers flying. When he was done, he had cleared 200 yards of entrenched enemy fighters, killed more than 20 and wounded at least as many more; he was later awarded the Navy Cross, the Navy's second highest award.

Only the words of Cartman could do this justice..."Kick***!"

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