Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division - Baghdad, presents an impact Bronze Star Medal to Sgt. Shawn Griffith, a native of Richwood, W.Va. Griffith, who serves with 769th Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, was one of six of the battalion's Soldiers recognized for their hard work and dedication in installing approximately 130,000-square feet of rocket-propelled grenade fencing and sniper-screen material over a 1,200 foot distance, with heights measuring up to 40 feet, at Joint Security Station Ur in the Sadr City District of Baghdad to veil the aerostat and its docking station. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Patrick Jenkins.Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division - Baghdad, presents an impact Bronze Star Medal to Sgt. Shawn Griffith, a native of Richwood, W.Va. Griffith, who serves with 769th Engineer Battalion, 35th Engineer Brigade, was one of six of the battalion's Soldiers recognized for their hard work and dedication in installing approximately 130,000-square feet of rocket-propelled grenade fencing and sniper-screen material over a 1,200 foot distance, with heights measuring up to 40 feet, at Joint Security Station Ur in the Sadr City District of Baghdad to veil the aerostat and its docking station. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Patrick Jenkins.

Unbeknownst to them this morning, with most of them receiving very little sleep, would be the surprise of a lifetime as Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and MND-B, took a moment from his packed schedule on April 12 to honor six of the battalion’s Soldiers for their accomplishments as he presented them with impact Bronze Star Medals.

Perhaps General George C. Marshall, who wrote in a memorandum to President Franklin P. Roosevelt, wrote it best: “The fact that the ground troops, Infantry in particular, lead miserable lives of extreme discomfort and are the ones who must close in personal combat with the enemy, makes the maintenance of their moral of great importance.”

Thus, it signifies the appropriateness of the presentation of the impact Bronze Stars to the Soldiers of the 769th Eng. Bn.

“The sniper screen will enable us to protect Soldiers and provide us the ability to see and disrupt insurgents,” said Hammond. “Do you realize what they did? asked Hammond. “They put up this screen under fire, day and night, and under terrible conditions. You have something to talk about a couple of years from now.”

Indeed, the Soldiers would have something to speak about.

“The mission took 13 days to complete despite several setbacks caused by high winds, indirect fire or enemy small-arms fire directed at crews as they worked suspended at heights up to 40 feet in the air,” said Capt. James Hoover, native of Ponchatoula, La. “Although the mission presented challenges, these Engineers lived up to the regimental motto: ‘Let Us Try!’”

Soldiers presented the Bronze Star Medal for their achievements were: Staff Sgt Stephen Choat, a native of Denham Springs, La.; Staff Sgt Lee Given, a native of Flatwoods, W.Va.; Sgt Shawn Griffith, a native of Richwood, W.V., Spc Raymond Myers, a native of Vienna, W.Va.; Spc Jasper Stull, a native of Durbin, WV.; and Spc Zachary Whitlatch, a native of Walker, W.Va.