Sgt. 1st Class Gary Villalobos of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was awarded the Silver Star Medal Oct. 12 for his gallantry in combat while outnumbered by insurgents June 7 in Tal Afar, Iraq.
During a squadron operation in Tal Afar, Villalobos was tasked to follow and assist an Iraqi Army platoon and two members of the 1st Brigade Military Transition Team - one being Lt. Col. Terrence Crowe. After the first member of the team was injured during a raid on the platoon's first target, Villalobos, Crowe and the Iraqi soldiers came under heavy attack from hand grenades, an improvised explosive device, rocket propelled grenades and machine gun fire.
Both Villalobos and Crowe maneuvered down an alleyway where five insurgents ambushed the squad. All but two of the Iraqi Army Soldiers retreated, leaving Crowe and Villalobos. Crowe was hit numerous times in the lower abdomen, and fell to the ground 10 feet in front of Villalobos.
Villalobos reported the downed officer and returned fire. He called for armor support and killed at least one insurgent with a grenade. Rather than leave his fallen comrade, Villalobos risked his life to evacuate Crowe to a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, preventing insurgents from capturing his body.
"To this day, I'm still amazed that I did not break contact with the enemy," Villalobos said. "If I had a split second to think, I probably would have broke contact. I just instinctively stayed and fought until the enemy broke contact."
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