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Soldier posthumously awarded for saving lt. - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Soldier posthumously awarded for saving lt.




By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 26, 2011 8:26:37 EST
Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis and his soldiers had visited this observation post before.
Manned by the Afghan Border Police, the OP sat in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province in the east, in Pachir Wa Agam district.
On that day, Nov. 29, 2010, Jarvis and members of his platoon were at the OP to conduct an assessment of the unit’s 155mm rockets. But the routine mission took an ugly and tragic turn: A member of the border police opened fire on the troops, killing six American soldiers.
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

Six soldiers from 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were killed Nov. 29, 2010, when an Afghan border policeman opened fire on them. They were:
• Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, Ind.
• Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio.
• Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, Calif.
• Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis.
• Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, 19, of Senoia, Ga.
• Pvt. Buddy W. McLain, 24, of Mexico, Maine.

Heroism remembered

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Jarvis, 36, and his platoon leader, 1st Lt. Will Janotka, turned toward the fire but quickly realized they were in the gunman’s line of sight.
Jarvis immediately pushed Janotka out of the way, saving his lieutenant’s life.
But Jarvis, a husband and father, was mortally wounded.
For his actions, Jarvis was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor, and was honored during a ceremony Nov. 10 at Fort Campbell, Ky.
“He was very deserving,” Janotka said. “He deserves everything he receives. But at the same time, I think about it almost every day.”
The soldiers from 2nd Platoon, B Troop, 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, deployed to Afghanistan in August 2010 with the rest of their brigade, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Stationed at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields, the soldiers were responsible for much of Nangarhar province, Janotka said.
On the day of the attack, the unit was tasked to conduct a 155mm rocket registration mission to measure the effectiveness of their squadron’s rockets, Janotka said.
“In order to do that, we had to go to this OP and observe where the rounds impacted and make sure they were in a safe area and no civilians were hurt,” he said.
The platoon had been to this OP at least three times before; the most recent visit was a week earlier.
When the soldiers arrived, seven of them — including Janotka and Jarvis, the platoon sergeant — trekked 500 feet to 600 feet up a hill to the highest point of the OP.
“As soon as the first [rocket] round impacted, the guy started shooting,” Janotka said. “He started shooting and Sgt. Jarvis yells, ‘We’ve got to move.’ “
It was over in a flash, no more than 30 or 45 seconds, Janotka said. “When the rounds ceased, I looked down and [Jarvis] had been fatally wounded in the chest.”
The shooter, whom the soldiers had seen on previous visits to the OP, was 10 feet away from the soldiers. “He shot five of my soldiers in the head,” Janotka said.
Two other soldiers — Staff Sgt. Michael Brumlow and former Sgt. Jacob Hoelscher, who were pulling security about 40 feet away — killed the gunman, Janotka said.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Janotka said about the events of that day.
After the gunman was killed, the soldiers detained all the border policemen and took away their weapons.
Janotka said he knew almost immediately what Jarvis had done for him.
“It’s certainly something I’ll never forget, but it’s comforting to know that the families [of the fallen soldiers] are doing all right,” he said. “Today [at the Silver Star ceremony] was really refreshing for me to meet all the families in person and to know the Jarvis family is continuing to do well. That’s what was most important to me.”
Janotka said his platoon sergeant’s actions on that November day consumed his thoughts during the Silver Star ceremony.
“Obviously I’ve thought about it a lot, but today I really understood the magnitude of what he did and how much he meant not just to me and the platoon, but everybody in his life,” Janotka said.
His battle buddy had a rugged exterior, but at his core, Jarvis was a family man and professional soldier, Janotka said.
“He could always make people laugh and he was a kind, genuine person,” he said. “The thing about Sgt. Jarvis was he made everyone’s job a lot easier, he made my job a lot easier. When he passed away, I knew I had to continue what he had built. The [noncommissioned officers] he trained, we forged together and we knew we needed to continue what Sgt. Jarvis started.”

End of Story


ArmySgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis was a Cavalry Scout serving with 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th BCT, 101st Airborne Division in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan when he was killed in action saving the life of a comrade during an ambush.