[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 19, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10638-S10639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO BRENDAN O'CONNOR

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as we continue to debate national 
strategy and the way ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is one thing 
that is not debatable, and that is the courage and valor of our troops. 
Today, I wish to honor one of those brave troops, MSgt Brendan 
O'Connor, a medic in the Special Forces of the U.S. Army.
  Master Sergeant O'Connor distinguished himself by extraordinary 
heroism in action during a fierce battle in Kandahar Province, 
Afghanistan, when his small detachment engaged an estimated 200 Taliban 
fighters on June 24, 2006. For his heroism, Master Sergeant O'Connor, 
who held the rank of sergeant first class at the time of the battle, 
was honored with the Nation's second highest award for valor, the 
Distinguished Service Cross.
  After awarding the Distinguished Service Cross to Brendan, ADM Eric 
Olson, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, hailed the 
contributions of the Army's Special Forces and said, ``Master Sergeant 
Brendan O'Connor exemplifies the spirit of these warriors.''
  Leading a quick reaction force during a mission against Taliban 
leaders, Master Sergeant O'Connor and his team found themselves 
outnumbered and surrounded by hundreds of Taliban fighters in one of 
the most hotly contested areas of Afghanistan. After calmly maneuvering 
his force through enemy Taliban positions, Master Sergeant O'Connor 
crawled over 150 yards alone through enemy machine-gun fire across an 
open field to rescue two wounded comrades. Rallying and motivating his 
severely outnumbered team throughout a day-long battle, he saved the 
lives of 21 soldiers and prevented his detachment's destruction while 
inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.
  The heroism of Brendan O'Connor and his team in Afghanistan received 
national media attention on the CBS News program ``60 Minutes,'' which 
aired a segment on April 20 of this year, ``Ambush in Afghanistan.''
  Brendan O'Connor comes from a long and distinguished family history 
of military service to our Nation, with deep roots in the U.S. Army and 
at West Point. Brendan's father, LTC Mortimer O'Connor, who graduated 
from West Point in 1953, was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968 while 
leading men into battle as commander of the 1st Battalion, 2nd 
Infantry, in the famed ``Big Red One,'' the oldest continuously serving 
division in the U.S. Army.
  A true ``warrior-poet'', Mort O'Connor was not only decorated several 
times for valor on the battlefield, but taught English at West Point 
and earned a graduate degree in English literature from the University 
of Pennsylvania. A remembrance of Mort O'Connor in a March 1978 West 
Point Alumni publication recalled his spirit on the athletic fields as 
a young cadet:

       When victorious he would exultantly claim to be descended 
     from ancient Irish warrior kings. And it may be true, for he 
     had in him a wild romanticism, a tragic lilt of heart, which 
     only the Irish have.


[[Page S10639]]


  Brendan O'Connor's grandfather, and Mort O'Connor's father, was BG 
William ``Bill'' O'Connor, a graduate of West Point in 1924. Bill 
O'Connor served in Europe in World War II, including in the Battle of 
the Bulge.
  And three of Brendan's great-uncles followed their brother Bill to 
West Point--Richard O'Connor in the Class of 1926, George Brendan 
O'Connor in the Class of 1936, and Roderic O'Connor in the Class of 
1941.
  Today, the O'Connor family tradition of military service continues 
with the next generation. Attending his Distinguished Service Cross 
award ceremony on April 30th were two of Brendan's cousins, Brian 
O'Connor, who is now at the Air Force Academy, and Rory O'Connor, who 
is now at West Point.
  We are grateful to families such as the O'Connors, who for 
generations have answered the Nation's call and worn the uniform with 
such courage and distinction. There is no finer example of this 
tradition than MSgt Brendan O'Connor and his heroic action in 
Afghanistan. I ask unanimous consent to have the full text of his 
Distinguished Service Cross citation, as well as the narrative that 
accompanies the award, printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Citation to Accompany the Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to 
                Sergeant First Class Brendan W. O'Connor

       For extraordinary heroism in combat as the senior Medical 
     Sergeant for Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha-765 
     in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Panjwai District, 
     Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. On 24 June 2006, during 
     Operation Kaika, Sergeant O'Connor led a quick reaction force 
     to reinforce a surrounded patrol and to rescue two wounded 
     comrades. He maneuvered his force through Taliban positions 
     and crawled alone, under enemy machinegun fire to reach the 
     wounded soldiers. He provided medical care, while exposed to 
     heavy volumes of Taliban fire, then carried one of the 
     wounded 150 meters across open ground to an area of temporary 
     cover. He climbed over a wall three times, in plain view of 
     the enemy, to assist the wounded soldiers to cover while 
     bullets pounded the structure around him. Sergeant O'Connor 
     assumed duties as the detachment operations Sergeant and led 
     the consolidation of three friendly elements, each 
     surrounded, isolated, and receiving fire from all directions. 
     His remarkable actions are in keeping with the highest 
     traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit 
     upon himself, the Combined Special Operations Task Force-
     Afghanistan, Special Operations Command-Central, and the 
     United States Army.

Narrative to Accompany the Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to 
                Sergeant First Class Brendan W. O'Connor

       Sergeant First Class Brendan W. O'Connor, United States 
     Army, distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in 
     action as the Senior Medical Sergeant for Special Forces 
     Operational Detachment Alpha-765 in support of Operation 
     ENDURING FREEDOM. On 24 June 2006, while conducting Operation 
     KAIKA, a cordon and search mission to capture or kill Taliban 
     leadership in Pashmul, Panjwai District, Kandahar Province, 
     Afghanistan, the detachment became engaged with an estimated 
     200 Taliban fighters. MSG Thomas Maholic led a patrol from 
     the detachment's perimeter to secure a compound situated on 
     key terrain. As the assault began, a large Taliban force 
     counterattacked, flooded the battlefield, and immediately 
     separated the assault element from SSG Matthew Binney's 
     support by fire position, creating two distinct detachment 
     elements outside the perimeter, each isolated, surrounded, 
     and receiving enemy fire from all directions. SSG Binney and 
     SGT Joseph Feurst were seriously wounded at the support by 
     fire position. SFC O'Connor volunteered to lead a quick 
     reaction force to reinforce MSG Maholic in the compound, and 
     recover the two wounded soldiers. SFC O'Connor departed the 
     detachment's perimeter under heavy enemy fire, with SFC 
     Mishra, eight Afghan soldiers and an interpreter. By 
     employing fire and maneuver, SFC O'Connor destroyed an enemy 
     machinegun position, broke out from the encircled patrol 
     base, and evaded enemy fighters that were now swarming 
     toward the compound. After link-up with MSG Maholic, SFC 
     O'Connor was directed toward the support-by-fire position. 
     He led his small relief force along a wall that provided 
     cover from the heavy volume of machinegun and rocket-
     propelled grenade fire, as they evaded attackers and broke 
     out from the encircled compound. At the end of the wall, 
     he encountered an open field, 80 meters across to a small 
     building, which was the next available covered position. 
     The flat field was covered by enemy grazing fire from 
     three directions. He established a support-by-fire 
     position to suppress enemy machinegun fire and began to 
     crawl, alone, across the field, leaving a third isolated 
     element amid the chaos of the battlefield. Afghan soldiers 
     attempted to follow him but turned back under the 
     extraordinary volume of fire. As bullets impacted all 
     around him and cut the grass directly over his body, he 
     quickly realized that his cumbersome load was creating too 
     large a target for the enemy. He returned to the cover of 
     the wall and removed his body armor and assault pack. 
     Informed that Apache gunships were en route to strafe the 
     area he was attempting to crawl through, SFC O'Connor 
     attached an orange panel to his back in order to mark 
     himself as a friendly element to the pilots. Without 
     hesitation he immediately resumed crawling the 80 meters 
     across the field, in plain sight of the enemy, toward his 
     two wounded comrades. He moved slowly, just inches below 
     the enemy fire, miraculously escaping injury from hundreds 
     of Taliban machinegun rounds. He jumped over a wall into a 
     vineyard and moved forward along mounds of dirt, with 
     bullets impacting all around him each time he exposed 
     himself. He continued moving alone, for 150 meters, 
     yelling for SSG Binney. Once again, he evaded enemy 
     fighters that were as near as 3 meters, and were firing 
     over a wall and shouting insults and threats at the 
     surrounded position, and made contact with his wounded 
     teammates. SFC O'Connor fought with his personal weapon, 
     performed life-saving measures on the two wounded soldiers 
     in the open, exposed to enemy fire, shielding the 
     casualties from debris and shrapnel with his own body, and 
     gave instructions to begin the evacuation. As an Afghan 
     soldier assisted SSG Binney, SFC O'Connor picked up SGT 
     Feurst and began carrying him, unassisted, back to the 
     cover of the small building 150 meters away. He dodged 
     rocket-propelled grenade and machinegun fire, while 
     methodically maneuvering from one covered position to 
     another, without the benefit of his protective body armor, 
     carrying the unconscious SGT Feurst. He climbed over a two 
     meter high wall, into the building, as bullets pounded the 
     wall all around him. The frightened Afghan soldiers were 
     unable to assist in lifting SGT Feurst over the wall, 
     which required SFC O'Connor to climb back over the wall in 
     the face of heavy, accurate, enemy fire. He lifted and 
     pushed SGT Feurst over the wall, assisted SSG Binney over 
     by offering his own body as step, and climbed over a third 
     time himself, while a storm of bullets began 
     disintegrating the structure around him. As Apache 
     gunships suppressed the enemy, SFC O'Connor led the group 
     from the surrounded building, while still under fire, back 
     toward the quick reaction force. He then led his entire 
     force back toward MSG Maholic's compound. He engaged enemy 
     fighters and broke through to link up with the last of the 
     isolated elements. Inside the compound, he learned that 
     MSG Maholic had been killed. SFC O'Connor assumed duties 
     as Detachment Operations Sergeant and continued 
     coordinating the defense of the compound against renewed 
     Taliban attacks. He supervised all medical treatment of 
     the casualties, coordinated the medical evacuation flight 
     and organized the movement of ammunition from the resupply 
     aircraft. After nightfall, under SFC O'Connor's 
     leadership, the group broke out once again from their 
     isolated location and moved undetected through Taliban 
     positions to reunite all friendly elements at the 
     detachment's patrol base. SFC O'Connor's extraordinary 
     actions, performed at tremendous risk of life, 
     successfully rescued two wounded comrades, saved the lives 
     of 21 soldiers, and prevented his detachment's 
     destruction. He consolidated four friendly elements, each 
     isolated and surrounded by an aggressive, numerically 
     superior, and well armed enemy force during the confusion 
     of combat, and brought all soldiers to safety. The heroic 
     accomplishments of Sergeant First Class Brendan W. 
     O'Connor reflect great credit upon himself, the Combined 
     Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, Special 
     Operations Command-Central, and the United States Army.

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