Gen. George W. Casey Jr., U.S. Army chief of staff, poses with Silver Star recipient 1st Lt. Nicholas Eslinger (Army photo).
It’s the stuff about which too few movies are made and not enough books are written: 1st Lt Nicholas Eslinger’s willingness to give his own life in order to save the lives of his fellow soldiers earned the West Point graduate the Silver Star for gallantry in action on Oct. 1, 2008, while in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Unfortunately, his heroism received little coverage from journalists.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr, Army chief of staff, presented the award to Lieutenant Eslinger, a platoon leader from the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, during ceremonies March 16 at Fort Campbell, Ky.
“(Eslinger) was walking on a patrol in the city of Samarra when the enemy threw a grenade over the wall right in the middle of his platoon,” General Casey explained. “He knew people would be killed if he didn’t do something. He jumped on the grenade, and it didn’t go off, so he reached and grabbed it and threw it back over the wall, and it went off.”
The San Jose Mercury News appears to be the largest media outlet to devote space to Lieutenant Eslinger’s heroics.
“I’m a firm believer that acts of heroism are occurring everyday even as we speak right now,” the 25-year-old lieutenant told the California daily in what seems an attempt to deflect the attention form himself and onto other soldiers, including six others honored during the same medals ceremony.
A report by WPLN, a public radio station in Nashville, provides one with a better understanding of this soldier’s true fortitude:
“I quickly did a hop, skip and a jump and landed on my side, pinning the grenade against the ground and my chest. In kind of one motion, as quickly as I could, I grabbed the grenade and I threw it towards the wall where it came from, and it detonated about a second later.”
Perhaps the most-touching coverage appeared in an article by Angela Diaz. Under the headline, Grass Valley grandparents proud of Silver Star winner, the article features a photo of the lieutenant in his West Point cadet uniform and begins this way:
Donald Eslinger and Leona Gonterman of Grass Valley are the proud grandparents of a man recently awarded the Silver Star, one of the nation’s highest military honors.
If you think Lieutenant Eslinger’s story deserves more coverage, forward this post.
[NOTE: I've requested a copy of the official award citation outlining Lieutenant Eslinger's heroics. As soon as I receive it from the Army public affairs office, I will make it available here.]
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UPDATE 3/21/09: Cathy Gramling, Fort Campbell garrison public affairs officer, called me from a gun range soon after receiving my e-mail request for a copy of the official Silver Star award citation. Per my request, she’s going to forward it to me bright and early Monday morning. At that time, I’ll share more details of Lieutenant Eslinger’s heroism. Stay tuned!
2 responses so far ↓
1 Liz Koch // Mar 26, 2009 at 12:30 am
I was pleased to see the extended coverage on KCRA channel 3 News in Sacramento on 3-25-09. Lieutenant Eslinger is a brave man and a brave soldier. And it was nice to see his Dad(with whom I worked with at ARGO many years ago) talk about how proud he was of his son. I think more coverage should be given to our brave soldiers fighting for peace.
2 April Miller // Apr 22, 2009 at 5:47 pm
We know Lt. Eslinger, and frankly are not surprised by his heroism. We know him to be a very honorable and bright young gentleman, who makes us proud to be Americans every day. I am so sorry more people are not aware of this man and his accomplishments.
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