The Secretary of the Army of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Army Commendation Medal with Combat “V” to Sergeant First Class Eric J. Geressy, United States Army, for exemplary service under fire as a member of Company B, 2d Battalion, 197th Infantry Regiment, while engaged in ground combat against an enemy of the United States during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 26 April 2003. His exceptional performance and courage when confronted by the enemy were pivotal to the completion of the mission. His outstanding achievements in combat reflect great credit upon him, the Raider Rakkasans, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD:
Sergeant First Class Geressy’s actions on the night of 26th April 2003 were above and beyond the call of duty. His impact, performance, and leadership as a Platoon Sergeant (PSG) were exceptional. Our company relocated from south western Baghdad to central Baghdad in an attempt to establish control and eliminate remaining threats in our Area of Operations (AO). This area consisted of a variety of buildings from 30 story hospitals, to apartment complexes, to small shops. The streets ranged from narrow alleys to wide highways running into bridges that crossed the Tigris River. This was truly a 360 degree and three-dimensional battlefield. The weather was consistently hot with average temperatures in the high 90’s. Following the evaporation of the Republican Guard and the disappearance of the remaining elements of the armies belonging to Saddam Hussein and his regime, we faced a dangerous, elusive, unpredictable, and asymmetric threat. Our enemy was beaten, but not broken. He possessed a burning desire to take every possible opportunity to strike against us with the sole objective of producing U.S. casualties. Repeatedly we were attacked with harassing sniper fire from 250m to 350m from our positions. Our foe used primarily AK style assault rifles; however, he also used RPG’s and grenades. On the night of the 26th we were attacked once, like we had been repeatedly attacked since the night of 19 April, from a position approximately 280 meters away across the Tigris River just outside of our AO. We had been attacked by multiple snipers, on a near nightly basis until we destroyed his forces, his will, and terrified him from further acts following our actions on the night of the 26th. We were located in an auditorium and responsible for securing a battalion sized AO, which contained four different hospitals. We focused on trying to protect these hospitals, and their staff. On a daily basis we faced a multitude of threats. Sergeant First Class Geressy’s desire to find and eliminate these threats was insatiable. On the night of the 26th, which the last time that we were attacked, we began receiving sporadic, and then repeated small arms fire, which increased in volume and accuracy with each subsequent attack. This made it impossible for most of the company to maintain their security positions in order to protect the hospitals, the patients within, and the hospitals’ staff. Most of the company was forced to take cover, and were unable to take any direct action against the enemy. Sergeant First Class Geressy quickly assembled elements from his platoon, moved them onto the rooftop and deployed them so they could counter enemy fire. He exposed himself and moved one of his gun teams to where they could eliminate the enemy threat. He lazed the enemy position with his PAQ-4, and was responsible for the first burst from the M240B machine gun traveling a deadly path directly into our enemy. Operating in an urban environment is difficult and frightening; the enemy can hide anywhere, there are innocent civilians everywhere, and it is extremely difficult to deconflict your actions with those of other friendly units. Sergeant First Class Geressy fearlessly led a large portion of his platoon, eliminating the threat to our AO and allowing us to maintain a secure environment. When the shooting stopped; the enemy threat was eliminated and was believed to have suffered numerous casualties. Sergeant First Class Geressy was fearless in the face of the enemy. His actions and phenomenal leadership were essential for the company destroying our enemy and maintaining a secure position. His actions directly resulted in enemy casualties, and prevented us from inflicting any casualties within our company. After that night the enemy never again attacked our forces from across the Tigris River. This resulted in the safe and unhindered operation of a Children’s Hospital, a Nursing Home, a Surgical Hospital, and a General Services Hospital.