Clinton Romesha

Biography

Romesha was born in August 1981 in Lake City, California, to a family with a strong military background. His grandfather, Aury Smith, is a World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of Normandy. His father is a Vietnam War veteran who later became a church leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Romesha is the fourth of five siblings, including two brothers who also joined the military. He is a member of the LDS Church and attended seminary for four years during high school but ultimately decided not to become a missionary for the church as his family had hoped he would. Romesha grew up in Lake City, where he developed an avid love of hockey.

He married Tamara Romesha on 13 February 2000. They met in junior high school and began dating several years later. The couple have three children; Dessi, Gwen, and Colin. Friends describe Romesha as having a sense of humor and being "intense, short and wiry."

Military career

Romesha enlisted in the United States Army in September 1999 and underwent Basic Combat Training and later Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Trained to be an armor crewman for the M1 Abrams tank, Romesha was first assigned as a tank gunner in B Company, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and posted at Rose Barracks, Germany. During this posting he deployed to Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Force. His next assignment was as a gunner/assistant tank commander with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, South Korea. After a former mentor was killed in Iraq, Romesha volunteered for a tour supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom when parts of his unit received redeployment orders.

Next, Romesha was assigned as section leader with Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. There, he completed the Long Range Reconnaissance Course, the Advanced Leader Course, and Air Assault Training. Trained as a Cavalry Scout, Romesha saw his second deployment to Iraq in this unit.

In May 2009, Romesha's unit deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. His unit was assigned to Combat Outpost Keating in the Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province in Eastern Afghanistan. It replaced the outgoing 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at the remote outpost in the mountains of a semiautonomous area of the country. Keating was located in a valley surrounded by steep mountains, and over the course of the deployment, it came under attack regularly. U.S. commanders opted to close the outpost by October 2009, considering it indefensible. During the deployment, Romesha was given the nickname "Ro" by his comrades. He was noted for his sense of humor and calm temperament in the difficult deployment.

Medal of Honor action

On 3 October 2009, according to a report published by U.S. Army historian Richard S. Lowry, Taliban fighters launched a coordinated attack on the outpost from three sides at about 06:00, capturing its ammunition depot. Some 300 fighters participated in the attack armed with a recoilless rifle, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, machine guns, and small arms, badly outnumbering the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence of about 85 U.S. Army, Afghan National Army and Latvian Army soldiers, and the 35 Afghan soldiers who abandoned their positions. It would later be known as the Battle of Kamdesh.

During the first three hours of the fight, the U.S. troops remained under intense mortar and small arms fire, before the Taliban fighters breached the compound and set fire to it. Romesha moved under heavy fire to reconnoiter the area and seek reinforcements from a nearby barracks, helping the ISAF force to regroup and fight despite being targeted by a Taliban sniper. Romesha led the firefight to reclaim the depot, organizing a five-man team to counterattack while still under fire. He then neutralized one of the Taliban fighters' machine gun teams. While engaging a second, he took cover behind a generator which was struck by a rocket propelled grenade, and Romesha was wounded in the neck, shoulder and arms by shrapnel. Despite being wounded, Romesha directed air support that killed an estimated 30 Taliban and then took out several more Taliban positions himself. He provided suppressive fire to allow three other wounded American soldiers to reach an aid station and then recovered several American casualties while still under fire. Romesha's efforts allowed the troop to regroup and fight off a force superior in numbers. The fight lasted 12 hours, and eight American soldiers were killed, making the engagement one of the costliest for ISAF forces during the war. Nine soldiers were decorated with Silver Star Medals for the fight. Several days later, the ISAF forces withdrew from the post.

Romesha received the award from President Barack Obama in an award ceremony at the White House on 11 February 2013. He is the fourth living Medal of Honor recipient for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (following Salvatore Giunta, Leroy Petry, and Dakota Meyer), and the eleventh overall for these wars.

Post-military life

Romesha was only able to contact his wife four days after the battle, and later noted she was greatly upset when hearing the full story of his actions at Kamdesh. In an interview later with Soldiers Live, Romesha said he felt he "was being selfish and not being fair" having volunteered for so many deployments away from his wife and children. Following the Afghanistan deployment, Romesha went through the Army Career and Alumni Program in preparation to separate from the Army. On 4 April 2011, Romesha left the military in order to spend more time with his family.

Following military service, Romesha moved to North Dakota, where his sister lived, to look for a job in the oil industry. He moved to Minot, North Dakota and purchased a 100-year-old, flood-damaged home that he is restoring himself. He took a job at KS Industries, an oil field construction firm. Initially crewing a hydro excavation truck, he went through a driver's training program and later began managing the crews of six other trucks. He currently works as a field safety specialist for KS Industries. His exploits during the firefight were later written about by journalist Jake Tapper in his book, The Outpost.

In a press conference on 16 January 2013 shortly after being notified he would receive the medal, Romesha played down his actions in the conflict, noting many other veterans who had received more serious injuries in the battle. Romesha noted that he did not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or other lasting psychological injuries from deployment, but that others he knew during the deployment did.

On 11 February 2013, Romesha received the Medal of Honor at a ceremony held at the White House. After receiving the award, when speaking to the press wearing his Stetson, Romesha stated he felt "conflicted" about receiving the medal due to the loss of those who died while serving with him.

In the days following the award, Romesha was recognized in a number of other events. He was inducted into The Pentagon's "Hall of Heroes" on 12 February, and traveled to New York City on 17 February to visit with the cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway, hosted by the USO. He was recognized by Governor of North Dakota Jack Dalrymple in an event at the North Dakota State Capitol on 21 February 2013. On 2 March, Romesha spoke at the military ball of the ROTC program at University of North Dakota. Since then Romesha keeps the Medal of Honor on him. It has some tarnish and wrinkles on it from being carried everywhere, shown to and handled by many.

Awards and decorations

During his military career, Romesha received a number of decorations. He is authorized to wear three service stripes, six Overseas Service Bars, as well as the former wartime service Combat Service Identification Badge for the 4th Infantry Division and the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 61st Cavalry Regiment. Romesha's military decorations include the following awards: