Cpl  Michael W. Ouellette

Cpl  Michael W. Ouellette, 28, of Manchester, N.H.,  while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Cpl. Michael W. Ouellette posthumously received the Navy Cross on Wednesday for displaying exceptional valor in combat by leading his Marines in a gun battle in Afghanistan, even after suffering a mortal wound. Ouellette’s family accepted the award on his behalf from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in a ceremony at the Marine Reserve Support Center in Londonderry, N.H. Ouellette, 28, was a squad leader in 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, from Camp Lejeune, N.C. On March 22, 2009, his unit was in its fifth month on the ground in the Now Zad district in northern Helmand province. Related reading • Fallen corporal to receive Navy Cross • 2 Lejeune Marines die in Afghanistan • Honor the Fallen: Cpl. Michael W. Ouellette Almost two hours into a foot patrol, which began in the morning at Forward Operating Base A.P. Hill, Ouellette was wounded by the blast of an improvised explosive device that detonated under his feet. As the dust settled, the gunfire began from enemy positions a few meters away, and Ouellette lay bleeding in a crater. Gaining their bearings, the Marines of 1st Platoon scrambled to lay down suppressing fire and Cpl. Jesse Raper, a squad automatic machine gunner, pulled Ouellette, who was conscious and breathing, out of the crater. Together they began to apply tourniquets and Ouellette stayed in charge, said Hospitalman 3rd Class Matthew Nolen, who ran to Ouellette’s side within moments. With the lower half of his left leg gone and his right upper thigh and groin area ripped through with shrapnel, Ouellette knew there was no time to waste. He calmly took charge of his squad’s response to the enemy ambush. “When I get there, he’s still calling out orders, he’s still telling the radio operator what to call in for helos, what to call in for mortars, calling his evac nine-line in and making sure that his assistant team leader, Lance Cpl. Rupert, has everything under control,” Nolen said. But Ouellette’s time was slipping away. As a quick-reaction force sped toward the ambush site, having been hampered by additional IEDs along the route, he was taken by ground ambulance to a casualty evacuation landing zone about two kilometers away. And, according to Nolen, Ouellette was still breathing and conscious when the bird took off. “I’m proud of my Marines,” were the last words Nolen heard Ouellette say as he waited for that bird. The Navy Cross is the highest medal for valor awarded by the Navy and is second only to the Medal of Honor. Including Ouellette’s, 25 Navy Crosses have been awarded to Marines for heroism in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.