Sniper receives high honor after bloody battle

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Sgt. Christopher Corriveau (right), Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross from President George W. Bush along with the commander of the 82nd Abn. Div. Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez May 22 during the Division's Review at Fort Bragg, N.C. Corriveau, a native of Lewiston, Maine, is credited with repelling an overwhelming and heavily-armed force Aug. 26, 2007. His four man sniper team coyrageously fought off an enemy force in close combat for control of a rooftop during Operation Iraqi Freedom killing or wounding at least 10 insurgents.

Local soldier receives high honor for bravery

A Lewiston native who survived a deadly rooftop attack in Iraq - including grenades and countless bullets - has been awarded one of the Army's highest honors.

President Bush personally awarded 23-year-old Sgt. Christopher Corriveau with the Distinguished Service Cross last week at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The Leavitt Area High School graduate was part of a four-person sniper group that parachuted onto a rooftop in Samarra, Iraq, on Aug. 27, 2007.

The team's job was to protect other U.S. soldiers. Instead, they were surrounded and attacked by a force of at least 40, according to a U.S. Army release.

"His four-man sniper team courageously fought off an enemy force in close combat for control of a rooftop during Operation Iraqi Freedom, killing or wounding at least 10 insurgents," read an Army news release.

Corriveau escaped injury. Two members of the team were killed. The other soldier, a sniper who joined the three-man team for the mission, also escaped.

The Mainer remains shaken.

"It sucks that the rest of my team is dead," Corriveau told CBS News last week. "I almost wanted to die that day on the rooftop with my brothers."

He declined to be interviewed on Thursday.

"It's a bittersweet situation," said a spokesman for his unit, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division. Corriveau plans to leave the Army when his enlistment ends, he said.

Gail LaBelle, who helped raise Corriveau and now works with veterans in South Carolina, said she isn't surprised by the young hero's reaction.
"Chris is a genuine, caring and compassionate person," said LaBelle, who was married to Corriveau's father, Normand Begin.

Like so many returning veterans, he may be coming home with a heavy heart.

"It's very tough for them," LaBelle said. "There's a lot of guilt that goes with being a survivor. If he's done talking, that's Chris."

He may feel differently as time goes on, she said.

Corriveau grew up in Lewiston and attended Catholic schools until he moved to Greene with his father. He was still a boy when his mother, Leeza Corriveau, died.

He joined the Army in May 2005.

LaBelle said she hadn't spoken with Corriveau in "a couple of years," but she was bursting with pride when she learned of the Army's honor.

"This is unbelievable," she said.

Fewer than a dozen Distinguished Service Crosses have been awarded since the start of the war in Iraq, said Paul Bernard, chairman of the L&A Veterans Council. The only higher award is the Medal of Honor.

However, Bernard said he was saddened that so many medals were awarded on the day Corriveau received his honor. He hears lots of complaints, he said.

"Some say it's an effort to promote good PR for the ongoing war," Bernard said.

Either way, Corriveau is a hero and deserves a big welcome if he chooses to return home to Maine, Bernard said.

The council, which works with the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other local groups, will give Corriveau a splashy welcome if it's OK with him.

"We're supporting the veterans," Bernard said. "We want them all to be honored."

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/267...ocal_soldier_receives_high_honor_for_bravery/
 
Outstanding job SGT!!! RIP to his fallen teammates, and thank each of you for your service.
 
Way to go! He deserves the recognition, but I can understand his want to downplay this considering he also lost fellow brothers. RIP for those lost that day, my respects to Sgt. Corriveau!
 
Well done to the SGT and his team. Blue Skies to the deceased.

If you Google "snipers are cowards" you get several pages of hits, one of which is this thread. Most of the hits are for gaming forums and I haven't the energy or inclination to see if they are talking about games or something that is real. One hit is for the DemocraticUnderground forums, some go to Sniper Country....

Is it a widespread thought or belief? I don't know, but I'm sure some misguided souls out there think that. It is easy to be brave with a broadband connection and a keyboard.
 
The Leavitt Area High School graduate was part of a four-person sniper group that parachuted onto a rooftop in Samarra, Iraq, on Aug. 27, 2007.

I missed this the first time around. I'm sure the SGT and his team are certified bad-asses, but I'm even more certain that the reporter who wrote this didn't bother to think. Monkey type, monkey print.
 
Freefalling said:
If you Google "snipers are cowards" you get several pages of hits

This is an interesting perspective- and one I've never contemplated until this very second.

Whatever the case, if there is someone who has this idea, they clearly do not have an appreciation for what a Sniper does.

In a nutshell, he takes a small (usually) bolt action rifle and as much water as he can carry, goes into enemy territory, and shoots the enemy that is trying to kill him, and his men. If the "coward" reference is directed towards a sniper's use of cover and concealment, or his long range engagement, it calls to memory the fact that EVERYONE on the battlefield is attempting to use cover and concealment, and EVERYONE on the battlefield is attempting to engage their enemy at the maximum range of their weapons. That's the entire POINT of carrying FIREARMS into combat. Snipers just do it better.



RIP to those who didn't come back home.
 
Well deserved. May his team members rest in peace. Losing friends in combat is hard business.

It is acts of bravery like his that need to be further publicized to remind the American public that there are still wars going on and that Soldiers are doing their duty.

Recently in the Army Times, there was a front page story about a man who had posed as a Soldier with the full gamut of fake orders and medals. A side story on that same issue was a Special Forces NCO who recieved the DSC.

Tell me which story deserves greater recognition.... Army Times had a huge backlash of letters in their next issue (sorry for not knowing the dates of issues)
 
Well deserved. May his team members rest in peace. Losing friends in combat is hard business.

It is acts of bravery like his that need to be further publicized to remind the American public that there are still wars going on and that Soldiers are doing their duty.

Recently in the Army Times, there was a front page story about a man who had posed as a Soldier with the full gamut of fake orders and medals. A side story on that same issue was a Special Forces NCO who recieved the DSC.

Tell me which story deserves greater recognition.... Army Times had a huge backlash of letters in their next issue (sorry for not knowing the dates of issues)

Great post...agree on all topics.

Congrats on the DSC and RIP to his brothers.

I have a feeling there won't be a huge welcome home in Maine. This kid lived through some bad shit and sees the batlle over and over every day and every night.

He's gonna need some help, but congrats for making it home and great job saving the rest of your brothers.:cool:
 
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