Breathtaking Courage...

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment provide cover for teammates during a patrol in Baghdad, Iraq in 2007.


"I made a decision at the point," he said. "We had enough people to handle the rest of this fight so I could cut a platoon loose to get this kid to the hospital. I didn't want to put more guys in jeopardy. I wanted to handle it myself. We got Holly loaded up and I went back up to the roof. I had the Apaches running search patrols of the entire sector."
SGM Eric Geressy

Morning and happy Sunday...

Though the reports have slowed to a trickle, the info hounds continue to keep an eye on the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment looking for any news covering their service in Iraq. I was tipped this morning to a wonderful report on 1SG Eric Geressy, who served with Eagle Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, assigned to Multi-National Division-Baghdad-Iraq.

Why would you be interested? Well, for those of you who connected as part of our on-line support group in the states for the past 15 months, I know you will remember SPC Ryan Holley from the great state of Louisiana. Think back to how we all felt when the news began to ripple that Ryan had been wounded. I couldn't help but reflect back on this blog - Feeling the Pain. Seems like a long time ago, eh?

Give this story a read and relive the courage under fire that 1SG Eric Geressy displayed as he made a number of life-saving decisions in the face of withering enemy fire...to get Ryan immediate medical assistance while continuing to lead and direct the fight on the ground.

This amazing story reflects great credit on 1SG Geressy and the entire 2nd SCR during their time in Iraq.

We have been blessed with men like 1SG Geressy, SPC Holly and the rest of the 2nd SCR - they are the backbone, heart and soul of our great country!

Enjoy!

Chris, I love you son. Mom and I continue to pray for you everyday...as do the rest of the prayer warriors who have covered you since last August. We can't wait to see you next month.

Be safe!

v/r,
- Collabman

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Breathtaking courage under fire

Silver Star is awarded to an Island soldier for effort to save comrades during a battle in Iraq
Sunday, October 19, 2008
By STEPHANIE SLEPIAN
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Company E had just assumed control of its command outpost in Al Hadar. The unit spent the first 24 hours fortifying its position. As dusk turned to dawn, a rooftop firefight erupted that would last more than six hours.

First Sgt. Eric Geressy moved from tower to tower under direct fire, helped carry a wounded soldier down a flight of stairs to safety and called for helicopters to root out the enemy and destroy his defensive position.

"It was a pretty good firefight," said Geressy, 37, a South Beach native who served three tours in Iraq and was among the first invasion force in 2003.

On Sept. 5, almost a year to the day from when Geressy led his soldiers in the scramble, his grandfather, who made three jumps into enemy territory with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, pinned a Silver Star to his chest.

It goes along with the Bronze Star -- his grandfather has one, too -- he received in 2005.

"It was really humbling to look back at what we did," said Geressy, now a master sergeant attending the Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas.

That's where he was awarded the Silver Star in front of his comrades and his family, including mom, Mary Ann Geressy of Oakwood Beach, and grandfather, Mitchell Rech of Port St. Lucie, Fla.

"I didn't do anything special," he said. "I was just put in a situation. It's all about my company. Those guys rose up that day. They are the real heroes of the day."

Eagle Company, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, assigned to Multi-National Division-Baghdad-Iraq, arrived at the command outpost, a densely populated area known as a hotbed of sectarian violence, on Sept. 3, 2007.

Geressy's commanders were assigned elsewhere at the time. That left him as the most superior officer.

Under his leadership, his soldiers -- 80 percent of whom had no combat experience -- worked night and day sand-bagging windows and guard towers, repositioning key weapons systems, installing bulletproof glass and erecting camouflage netting along the entire outpost's rooftop for concealment.

A day later, Geressy received several warnings about a vehicle believed to be rigged with explosives. After finally sending in a platoon to check it out, he learned the truck was sitting there for more than two months.

"It was a trap," said Geressy, a 20-year Army veteran. "The enemy was trying to draw us out."

He pulled his platoon back, but they came under sporadic fire as they returned. Ten minutes later, rocket-propelled grenades zipped over the command post's walls.

As Geressy began putting on his gear, he heard panicked screaming from the roof. Someone was calling for a medic.

"I never know what I am going to find on the other end of that," he said. "It felt like it took me forever to get up there. There was sniper fire. [Spec. Ryan] Holly got hit. He got it on the right side of the chest and it came out the back. He was bleeding pretty good."

Under a steady hail of machine gun fire, Geressy and another soldier carried Holly off the roof to a waiting physician's assistant. Geressy requested an Aerial Weapons Team.

He spotted the two Apache choppers overhead. The soldiers on the ground pinpointed the enemy's location with smoke grenades for the pilots.

"I made a decision at the point," he said. "We had enough people to handle the rest of this fight so I could cut a platoon loose to get this kid to the hospital. I didn't want to put more guys in jeopardy. I wanted to handle it myself. We got Holly loaded up and I went back up to the roof. I had the Apaches running search patrols of the entire sector."

As the Stryker vehicles moved out with Holly -- who is recovering from his injuries -- the insurgents opened fire on the convoy.

They made it out while the Apaches launched Hellfire missiles and conducted strafing runs, crippling the enemy's defenses.

"[The enemy] knew we were a new unit," Geressy said. "They wanted to make a statement about hammering us, but we were more ready than they expected."

Stephanie Slepian is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at slepian@siadvance.com.