Marine From Dallas Awarded Silver Star

I'm proud to say that I live in this Marine's neighborhood: the DFW area.

Marine from Dallas decorated

Silver Star honors captain who led platoon to safety in Iraq

12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 29, 2005

By MARY C. SCHNEIDAU / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON – Marine Capt. Joshua Glover said the dilemmas his platoon found itself in during combat in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 were at times "hazy" because of the unpredictable nature of the insurgency there.

ADELE STARR/Special Contributor

Capt. Joshua Glover is awarded the Silver Star by Gen. Michael Hagee. 'You are our future,' the general told Capt. Glover, a 1997 graduate of Trinity Christian Academy in Addison.

But what is clear now, the military believes, is that Capt. Glover's actions then were a heroic demonstration of his devotion to duty. Capt. Glover, a Dallas native and 1997 graduate of Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, received the Silver Star on Friday for courage in battle.

The Silver Star is the nation's third-highest award for combat valor. Gen. Michael Hagee, the commandant of the Marine Corps, pinned it on Capt. Glover, 26, during a ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington.

The award "reflects the performance of all Marines and really all servicemen and servicewomen," Gen. Hagee said. Capt. Glover was a platoon commander in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

The combat in Fallujah in the spring of 2004 was some of the toughest and deadliest since the war in Iraq began in March 2003. It was there that Iraqi insurgents captured and killed four private American security contractors before publicly mutilating their bodies on March 31, 2004.

Just two weeks later, on April 13, Capt. Glover's platoon was ordered to retrieve classified material from a downed American CH-53 helicopter. After accomplishing their mission, the Marines were attacked by Iraqi insurgents. Capt. Glover led the platoon to safety, according to the Silver Star citation.

Later that night, Capt. Glover's force was sent to recover a destroyed military vehicle and rescue another platoon. As he directed relief and recovery operations, Capt. Glover's platoon was attacked again, according to the citation. His response to a group of about 120 insurgents firing at his platoon at point-blank range "really stood out as valorous," 2nd Lt. Elle Helmer, a Marine spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

"It's kind of humbling," Capt. Glover said of the Silver Star, "because I've never been anything without my Marines."

Capt. Glover's combat in Fallujah occurred during the second of three deployments to Iraq. He was recently assigned as executive officer of headquarters at Marine Barracks Washington.

Capt. Glover's Silver Star, the 35th awarded since the Iraq war began, came in a week that marked the 2,000th American casualty in the war.

The award ceremony included a Marine battalion formation and comments from Gen. Hagee. Capt. Glover's mother, Lynn, and sister, Amie, traveled from Dallas to be at his side. His girlfriend, Heather Morris, was also at the ceremony.

"You are our future," Gen. Hagee told Capt. Glover. The general added that he was impressed that during battle, Capt. Glover was able to "make the right decision, to do what is right for the Marine Corps and this nation."

E-mail mschneidau@dallasnews.com