FORT KNOX, Ky. – While deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division then-Spc. Bryan Cyr relied heavily on his Special Forces training Nov. 6, 2009, as he engaged the enemy in an open field of western Afghanistan neutralizing a sniper.
For his actions that day Cyr was originally awarded the Bronze Star with Valor in 2010. The award was recently upgraded to a Silver Star Medal and presented on June 12 to Cyr by Maj. Gen. Thomas Drew, commanding general of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
“Bryan was part of a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Hero Recovery in Afghanistan,” Drew said. “His actions are a testament to the valor of this selfless, brave young man in the face of imminent danger. It is my honor to recognize his story by presenting the Silver Star.”
The Silver Star Medal is the third highest combat valor decoration a member of the U.S. Armed Forces can be awarded.
“I just did what I needed to do, that’s all,” Cyr said. “My mission was to bring those guys the supplies they needed because they were being ambushed. That was my main focus. Everything else just happened. I'm just glad that I was able to accomplish what I did for them.”
The award came as a surprise, as a request for an upgrade had been submitted by now retired 1st Sgt. John Walker, who was part of the 2009 action, he said.
Western Afghanistan, Nov. 6, 2009
Cyr began that day on a supply transport convoy from Herat to a combat outpost at Bala Murghab. Meanwhile, a team of infantry Soldiers were at the nearby Murghab River searching for two Soldiers who had fallen into the heavy current while trying to secure supplies from an air drop.
A radio message conveyed that the infantry Soldiers conducting the recovery operation were pinned down by heavy sniper and machine gun fire and running low on ammunition.
Cyr and the other Soldiers on the convoy went into action to support the pinned down troops.
“We were asked if we could bring up a seven- or eight-man team to assist,” Cyr said.
The Soldiers went to a nearby village to retrieve donkeys that would be used to carry ammunition to the fight, he said.
“Everyone that went out there was carrying ammo also,” Cyr said. “I was selected among the group because I had an M14 EBR [enhanced battle rifle] and I also had my M4 with me.”
When the group reached an open field near the pinned down Soldiers, they were engaged by the enemy with heavy fire and everyone hit the ground, he said.
“Myself and a lieutenant started telling everybody to look for some place we can take cover because we were open targets, and somebody spotted a ditch to our left,” Cyr said.
Everyone bounded for the ditch, and the lieutenant and Cyr were left in the field.
“So, I bounded over him,” he said. “Then he bounded over me, and as he bounded over me it looked like he stumbled and fell. But he got back up, finished running, got down. And we were taking more fire.”
Cyr’s glasses fell off his face and broke, possibly from the ricochet of a round, he said. But they kept going and eventually made it to the ditch. The lieutenant thought he was hit, but they found the bullet was stopped by his body armor.
They continued to bound across the open field together until they reached the infantry Soldiers, Cyr said.
Among the Soldiers there was then-Staff Sgt. John Walker, a platoon sergeant, who quickly noticed that Cyr was carrying an M14 EBR.
“He said, ‘You come with me,’” Cyr said.
Because Cyr was carrying an M14 EBR, Walker thought he was a sniper.
“Well, it turned out he was a mechanic,” Walker said.
Walker, his platoon leader, and Cyr bounded out together under very heavy direct fire to engage the enemy head on, Cyr said.
“I literally had rounds go between my legs and split my pants and I had my canteen shot,” Walker said. “The round that went through my legs went all the way to the back and hit Lt. Black, who was our S4 officer, while he was escorting the donkeys with all the resupply goods.”
There were machine gunners and a sniper hidden within a nearby enemy compound.
“I located a few of the insurgents and found the sniper,” Cyr said. “I was able to take him out.”
Walker then instructed Cyr to determine the group’s distance from the compound while they continued taking machine gun fire. Cyr’s coordinates were used to call in a Predator drone that would launch a Hellfire missile into the compound to neutralize the enemy.
“At first, they didn't want to do it because we were too close, but we couldn’t move from there because of the heavy fire,” he said.
The three-man team was dangerously close, and once the Hellfire missile launched everything went silent, Cyr said.
“There was no firing back at us. There was nothing,” he said.
Cyr’s actions that day saved many lives, Walker said.
“I would not be here today if he had not done what he did,” he said.
Walker is convinced they were not fighting regular Taliban, but instead engaging battle-hardened Chechen rebels.
“I should not be here,” he said. “There's no doubt in my mind that I should not be here right now.”
Cyr often thinks about that day, and he said his parents are amazed he made it out alive.
“I know my guardian angel is probably tired by now,” Cyr said.
Today
After 12 years of service and four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Cyr transitioned out of the Army while stationed in Alaska. Today, he and his Family live in Palmer, Alaska, near Anchorage.
Cyr credits his participation in the Army Special Forces Qualification Course for arming him with specialized training to effectively engage the insurgents in November 2009.
He advises anyone considering the service and those young Soldiers finding their way in today’s Army to stay true to the Army Values that define the foundation of leadership – loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.
“This is what you should live by,” he said. “With that knowledge, as long as you follow those values, you will go far.”
For more information about the U.S, Army Human Resources Command’s Awards and Decorations Branch, visit https://www.hrc.army.mil or call 1-888-ARMYHRC.
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