# Recon Gunny Receives Navy Cross for Battle of Shewan



## MeninaDoRio (May 11, 2011)

*5/10/2011 By Sgt. Michael S. Cifuentes

Headquarters Marine Corps

Gunnery Sgt. Brian M. Blonder was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest award given for valor in the face of danger, during a ceremony at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., May 10, 2011. He was recognized for his bravery and outstanding leadership during an all-day firefight against Taliban insurgents Aug. 8, 2008, during the battle of Shewan, Afghanistan. Although he and the Marines and sailors he was fighting alongside with were outnumbered eight to one against insurgents, they managed to kill more than 50 insurgents and drove the rest out of their fortified fighting positions in the Taliban infested village in southern Farah province. Blonder, a reconnaissance Marine by trade, was serving as platoon sergeant with a force reconnaissance platoon attached to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He was personally responsible for killing at least three Taliban combatants.*






http://www.marines.mil/Pages/PhotoD...PublishingImages/2011/1105010-M-XZ164-154.jpg

*Marines Prevailed in a Day of Battle*



*December 03, 2008*
Military.com|by Christian Lowe 

It started out just like any other patrol in a war-ravaged Afghan province. 

Hardened by months of combat, sneak attacks and roadside ambushes, the Marines were ready for a fight. Rolling through the hardscrabble village of Shewan in Afghanistan's Farah province on August 8, the leathernecks of the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment knew enemy eyes were upon them.

It was a village they'd had on their radar for months. Taliban insurgents and their al Qaeda helpers were constantly harassing the Marines charged with holding back the anti-coalition flood in their 37,000 square mile operational area -- and insurgents were using Shewan as an occasional base for attacks.

They knew the rows of mud compounds held bad guys. But on the tail end of the 10-mile patrol, they never could have expected the hornets nest they were destined to stir up.

"I was prepared for contact but I wasn't expecting any," a Marine unit leader told Military.com. "It turned out later that there was a big meeting of enemy leaders in the town that we had interrupted, and we inadvertently trapped them inside of their compound."

It all started with a rocket propelled grenade shot at around 1:00 pm, and it ended nearly eight hours later with more than 50 enemy killed and only one injured Marine. For months, 2/7 had absorbed ambush after ambush from their hit-and-run opponents, suffering one of the highest casualty rates of any Marine unit deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The unit would be a symbol of the festering conflict in Afghanistan, where few NATO allies are willing to pitch in when the fight turns nasty and the full-force of American might is distracted by the high-profile conflict in Iraq.

But on August 8, in what would be known as "the battle of Shewan," it was payback time.

In an exclusive email exchange with Military.com, the platoon commander who led the Marines on that ill-fated patrol described the pitched battle in vivid detail. His Marines preferred that their story be recounted anonymously, so Marine officials declined several requests to name the specific platoon and company involved in the hours-long battle.

What the story shows is a typically aggressive response to an enemy that for once decided to emerge from the shadows. And it also serves as an illuminating look at how, no matter the adversity and casualty count, U.S. forces continue to fight with the will and determination to win, no matter the odds.

"We didn't win the fight because of our superior firepower. We were severely outnumbered, and outgunned," the platoon commander told Military.com. "From that first counter ambush assault we gained the momentum and maintained it until the enemy finally fled from the battlefield eight hours later."

*Ambush Unleashed*

Less than two hours into the patrol one of the Marine Humvees took fire from an enemy RPG team about 150 yards away. The grenade sailed harmlessly by, but the platoon sergeant swung his rifle, fired and killed the shooter while another Marine dropped a second man, the platoon commander said. The unit continued to receive sporadic small arms fire for the next hour, but pressed on with their patrol.

Then all hell broke loose.

About 10 insurgents ambushed the Marines' vehicles from an irrigation ditch and more fired on the patrol from a nearby trench line. Though a group of Marines tried to push through the enemy position, they were rebuffed by heavy fire and another Humvee was rocked by a volley of RPG rounds.

As the Humvee burned with its vehicle commander still inside, the Marines pounded the insurgent positions with M249 fire while AK bullets ricocheted off their vehicles. The platoon commander rushed to the downed vehicle to pull the stricken Marine to safety.

"All of a sudden we took an intense amount of machine gun fire from the tree line and at this point numerous machine guns opened up on my vehicle and the dismounted crew trapped in the kill zone," the platoon commander wrote. "This began 20 minutes of intense fighting as the platoon battled to recover the Marines from the kill zone."

All this was too much for one of the platoon's designated marksmen, who crawled to the top of a berm -- exposing himself to enemy fire -- and began to plink off the insurgent gunners firing at the burning Humvee.

"The enemy fired over 40 RPGs from the tree line but were unable to effectively engage the Marines trapped in the kill zone because of the high amount of accurate fire being directed at them," the platoon commander said. "The enemy was reinforcing the tree line and replacing fighters as quickly as we were killing them."

So the designated marksman kept his cool and continued to fire.

"The designated marksman merely adjusted [his sights] and sighted in on targets as they revealed their positions by engaging him," the platoon commander added. "He rapidly acquired and prosecuted these targets again and again, firing his rifle with exceptional accuracy ... until all of the Marines were recovered from the kill zone."

In all, the designated marksmen fired 20 shots, racking up 20 dead fighters.

Finally the Marines were able to roll in an MRAP vehicle to recover the wounded Marines, and the platoon pulled back out of the enemy's range to "redistribute ammunition and [come] up with a quick game plan," the platoon commander said.
*Went back for more*

The fighters never expected the Marines to return and were surprised to see leathernecks swarming through their trenches and targeting two strongholds with close air support.

"We took another 60 or so RPGs, some rockets and mortars ... but as we attempted to assault we started taking more fire from another compound," the platoon commander wrote. "The enemy had established a defense with mutually supporting positions."

Unable to continue the assault because of the intensity of fire, and with enemy trucks pulling into the compounds and disgorging insurgent fighters, two Marines crawled through a hail of machine gun fire to get more precise coordinates for an aerial bombing run. From only 75 meters away -- well within "danger close" restrictions -- the two Marines called in air strikes until the enemy eventually withdrew from the area.

In all, what started as an ambush by 30 insurgent fighters swelled to a full-fledged assault by an estimated 250 enemy militants. The 30 or so Marines of 2/7's platoon killed more than 50 insurgents in the eight-hour battle, the Corps says.

"It turned out later that there was a big meeting of enemy leaders in the town that we had interrupted and we inadvertently trapped them inside of their compound," the platoon commander wrote. "They must have thought that if they ambushed us we would cut and run. This was not the case."
http://www.military.com/news/article/marines-prevailed-in-a-day-of-battle.html


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## Teufel (May 11, 2011)

I'm really bummed I couldn't go.


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## Cochise (May 11, 2011)

Sheer Motivation!!!  Oorah, Gunny!


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## Mac_NZ (May 11, 2011)

That's awesome.


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## Hitman2/3 (May 11, 2011)

Hope the DM got recognized to. Sounds like he gave them some much needed time. Good job done by all.


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## devilbones (May 11, 2011)

Great recount of the battle.  These are the Marines that our kids are going to be learning about at recruit training.


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## pardus (May 11, 2011)

Well done to Gunny Blonder, the others decorated and all the Marines/Sailors etc... who took part in this battle.
Job well done.


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## Scotth (May 12, 2011)

Awesome story and well done Marines!


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## MeninaDoRio (May 13, 2011)

Hitman2/3 said:


> Hope the DM got recognized to. Sounds like he gave them some much needed time. Good job done by all.



I think DM was/will be awarded a Silver Star for the battle, which he most certainly deserves. My husband came out of this battle alive, so as far as I am concerned, these Marines ALL deserve medals! I am extremely thankful to these men.


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## ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922 (May 13, 2011)

Great read. Well done to him!


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## scrapdog (Jun 19, 2011)

Hell yes Marines!


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## x SF med (Jun 19, 2011)

Outstanding job by all involved.  Well, done Gunney, Well done.   The DM's award os the Silver Star is well deserved also.


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## Cochise (Jun 19, 2011)

I'm very glad this post was reborn.  All involved deserve as much recognition as possible for the outstanding job they did.  In addition, when I read these stories of great courage in times of hardship I think about the silent warriors among us who will never receive the proper acknowledgement for what they have done for their country.  Semper Fi all of you!


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## 104TN (Jun 20, 2011)

The Gunny also has a BSM and NCM - each with a V device.

He must need a second ruck for his giant brass balls. Bravo Zulu Marine.


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## DasBoot (Jun 20, 2011)

rick said:


> The Gunny also has a BSM and NCM - each with a V device.
> 
> He must need a second ruck for his giant brass balls. Bravo Zulu Marine.



More like a combat wheelbarrow. Congrats Gunny!


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## al2004 (Jun 20, 2011)

"They must have thought that if they ambushed us we would cut and run. This was not the case." Great job Marines!


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## Typhoon (Jun 21, 2011)

Outstanding work by the Marines in this engagement. Congrats to Gunny Sgt. Blonder and to all who fought along side him at Shewan...


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## MAGTF_Marine (Jun 21, 2011)

Fucking Rah! Well deserved indeed.


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## mike_cos (Jun 29, 2011)

Congrats!


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## Dame (Jun 29, 2011)

Guess whose Gunny this Marine was. :-"


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## LimaOscarSierraTango (Jun 29, 2011)

Those men have some amazing leadership to look up to and it is apparent they were trained well.  I am thankful the outcome ended up the way it did.  Bravo Zulu Gunny!  Nice shooting DM!  Sir, you have your own thread, but as you were also mentioned here, I think you should get some recognition here as well.  Well done!  I am sorry you weren't able to make the ceremony for Gunny Blonder.

Cheers all involved.  Thank you for giving the bad guys a hard lesson that rough day.


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## Teufel (Jun 29, 2011)

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Gunnery Sergeant Brian M Blonder, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy while serving as Platoon Sergeant, Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Second Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Forces Central Command (Forward) on 8 August 2008 in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Gunnery Sergeant Blonder was leading a dismounted patrol through the city of Shewan when his platoon came under intense rocket propelled grenade, mortar and machinegun fire that destroyed a vehicle and trapped several Marines in the kill zone 150 meters away from the enemy. Gunnery Sergeant Blonder exposed himself time and again to heavy fire as he coordinated the suppression of the enemy so that the Marines could be recovered. Later in the battle, Gunnery Sergeant Blonder personally led a flanking attack on the enemy trench system through countless volleys of machinegun and rocket propelled grenade fire. He continued to press the attack as the platoon penetrated further into the trenches in order to defeat the enemy. Gunnery Sergeant Blonder's tactical ability, superior marksmanship and aggressive fighting spirit inspired the platoon to continually advance on the enemy despite being highly outnumbered. He was a driving force during the eight hour battle and pushed the platoon to gain and maintain the momentum against the enemy until they were destroyed. Gunnery Sergeant Blonder's valorous actions helped reduce a major enemy stronghold as his platoon killed over fifty enemy fighters, destroying several Taliban cells and opening the highway in Shewan to coalition convoys. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Gunnery Sergeant Blonder reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.


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## Teufel (Jun 29, 2011)

Highly outnumbered= 250-500 Taliban vs 30 US Marines.


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## pardus (Jun 29, 2011)

Teufel said:


> Highly outnumbered= 250-500 Taliban vs 30 US Marines.



FUCK YEAH Marines!


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## Dame (Jun 30, 2011)

Teufel said:


> Highly outnumbered= 250-500 Taliban vs 30 US Marines.


Yeah, the Taliban were highly outnumbered! Oorah, Sir!


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## Gypsy (Jun 30, 2011)

I don't know now I missed this post first go round...thanks for the bump.


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## ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922 (Jun 30, 2011)

Well deserved and he is credit to the U.S.M.C. & to all U.S. Military personnel!


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