The Story:
In war, any number of factors can quickly change the battlefield in unpredictable ways – and one of the biggest wild cards is weather. In March of 2003, shortly after Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced, then-Staff Sgt. Shropshire and his team learned this firsthand.
Shropshire was attached to an Army unit operating in the area of Abu Sukhayr, just south of Baghdad, when his convoy ran into one of the largest sandstorms in nearly four decades – a situation compounded by intense rains. “It was basically raining mud,” Shropshire said. Suddenly it was also raining bullets, as enemy forces cut off Shropshire’s team from the rest of the convoy.
Visibility hovered between terrible and non-existent – forcing Shropshire to rely on technology to “see” through the thick, muddy air and call in air support against an advance of enemy tanks. As enemy forces closed in, he had to switch between his radio and his rifle. But it still wasn’t enough: He had to stop the advance – even though he had little ammunition, little visibility, and was already under heavy enemy fire. Shropshire exited his armored vehicle to confirm the enemy’s position for air support. He coordinated munitions that destroyed 10 T-72 tanks that were nearly on top of the team – forcing the enemies to dismount as they continued the assault. He quickly repaired his damaged satellite antenna and coordinated other air strikes that ended the enemy offensive – and saved many American lives.
For his actions, Shropshire received the Silver Star on Dec. 9, 2004.