Clinton Romesha Biography

Clinton Romesha grew up in a family with a strong military background. Both his grandfather and father are veterans. Romesha is the fourth of five siblings, including two brothers who also joined the military.

Romesha enlisted in the United States Army in September 1999 and underwent Basic Combat Training and later Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Trained to be an armor crewman for the M1 Abrams tank, Romesha was first assigned as a tank gunner in B Company, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and posted at Rose Barracks, Germany. During this posting, he deployed to Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Force. His next assignment was as a gunner/assistant tank commander with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor of the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, South Korea. After a former mentor was killed in Iraq, Romesha volunteered for a tour supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom when parts of his unit received redeployment orders.

Next, Romesha was assigned as section leader with Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. There, he completed the Long Range Reconnaissance Course, the Advanced Leader Course, and Air Assault Training. Trained as a Cavalry Scout, Romesha saw his second deployment to Iraq in this unit.

In May 2009, Romesha's unit deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. His unit was assigned to Combat Outpost Keating in the Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province in Eastern Afghanistan. It replaced the outgoing 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at the remote outpost in the mountains of a semiautonomous area of the country. Keating was located in a valley surrounded by steep mountains, and over the course of the deployment, it came under attack regularly. U.S. commanders opted to close the outpost by October 2009, considering it indefensible. Romesha was noted for his sense of humor and calm temperament in the difficult deployment.

On October 3, 2009, according to a report published by U.S. Army historian Richard S. Lowry, Taliban fighters launched a coordinated attack on the outpost from three sided, capturing its ammunition depot. Some 300 fighters participated in the attack armed with a recoilless rifle, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, machine guns, and small arms, badly outnumbering the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence of about 85 U.S. Army, Afghan National Army and Latvian Army soldiers, and the 35 Afghan soldiers who abandoned their positions. It would later be known as the Battle of Kamdesh.

During the first three hours of the fight, the U.S. troops remained under intense mortar and small arms fire, before the Taliban fighters breached the compound and set fire to it. Romesha moved under heavy fire to reconnoiter the area and seek reinforcements from a nearby barracks, helping the ISAF force to regroup and fight despite being targeted by a Taliban sniper. Romesha led the firefight to reclaim the depot, organizing a five-man team to counterattack while still under fire. He then neutralized one of the Taliban fighters' machine gun teams. While engaging a second, he took cover behind a generator which was struck by a rocket propelled grenade, and Romesha was wounded in the neck, shoulder and arms by shrapnel. Despite being wounded, Romesha directed air support that killed an estimated 30 Taliban, then took out several more Taliban positions himself. He provided suppressive fire to allow three other wounded American soldiers to reach an aid station, then recovered several American casualties while still under fire. Romesha's efforts allowed the troop to regroup and fight off a force superior in numbers. The fight lasted 12 hours, and eight American soldiers were killed. Nine soldiers were decorated with Silver Star Medals for the fight, which was one of the costliest for ISAF forces during the war.

On April 4, 2011, Romesha left the military in order to spend more time with his family. Following military service, Romesha moved to North Dakota and purchased a 100-year-old, flood-damaged home, which he is restoring himself.

Romesha received the award from President Barack Obama in an award ceremony at the White House on February 11, 2013. He is the fourth living Medal of Honor recipient for the War in Afghanistan, following Salvatore Giunta, Leroy Petry, and Dakota Meyer, and the eleventh Medal of Honor recipient for the War on Terrorism.

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