June 6, 2010

Profiles in Valor: U.S. Army Spec. Marion Pettus

Army Specialist Marion Pettus III was part of a combat patrol in Baghdad when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated near his team. Pettus, a medic with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, responded to an Iraqi who had been hit. “We were rolling through a route called ‘Screaming Lady’ and we got hit with an IED. I saw a local [Iraqi] go down and called it out,” Pettus said. “My section sergeant decided to turn the patrol around, so we went back and dismounted.”

A common terrorist tactic, however, is to detonate a second IED when responders arrive at the scene, as was the case in this instance. Four soldiers were injured by the second blast, including a sergeant and another medic. Pettus went to work tending to the wounded and getting them into evacuation trucks. On the way back, Pettus finally realized he had been hit as well. “As we got into the truck on the way to the cache, I felt my leg burning,” he said. “I realized that I’d gotten hit in the leg and didn’t even know it.”

That wasn’t the worst of it, though. “We got back to [Forward Operating Base] Liberty, and when I took my Kevlar off and put my hand on top of my helmet, I realized I had a hole in it.” Pettus suffered traumatic brain injury in the second blast but is determined and progressing in his recovery.

For his actions, he was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” for valor and a Purple Heart, though his father, Marion Pettus Jr., was unable to attend the ceremony due to a conflict: He too was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(This account was originally published in the Feb. 1, 2008 Digest.)

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.