Marine Gregory Carroll awarded Bronze Star

From the day he crossed over the border into Iraq until the day he left, Master Sgt. Gregory Carroll destroyed stockpiles of munitions. For his work, Carroll, a former Marine Corps recruiter in Spokane, was awarded a Bronze Star

Carroll was responsible for the destruction of more than 142,000 high-explosive munitions seized from Iraqi weapons caches and 161 weapons systems ranging from automatic weapons to battle tanks. In addition, about 646,000 rounds of small-arms ammunitions were disposed of though his efforts.

Carroll, who is married to the former Gayle Secrist, a 1976 Central Valley graduate, recruited men and women from Spokane from 1987-1990, working in the downtown and Valley offices. He and his wife have several family members living here, including daughter Amber, son-in-law Sherman Bell and grandchildren.

“I’ve been calling Spokane home ever since I lived there,” said Carroll, a South Carolina native stationed at the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Carroll, 42, served in Iraq from March 21, 2003, to April 30, 2003 as an explosive ordnance disposal technician with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He shipped out on Jan. 6, 2003, aboard the USS Tarawa.

“The first day of the war, I had to respond to a helicopter crash,” said Carroll, who has more than 23 years of military experience. “Some of it was pretty tricky,”

The crash, before dawn on March 21, 2003, killed four U.S. Marines and eight British Marines near the southern port city of Umm Qasr.

Carroll was solely responsible for clearing the smoldering wreckage of unexploded ordnance and munitions while assisting in recovering and identifying remains. He was the only man in his unit to receive the Bronze Star, which is awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.

Carroll was awarded the Bronze Star in April in a ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. He also was honored in an annual Independence Day parade.

During his tour, Carroll said, his unit “came across former Iraqi military bases where there was evidence where they (Iraqis) had trained in the use and defense of chemical ammunition.”

As for Iraqi’s future, and the United States’ involvement, Carroll said, “We’re in it for a while, but I do not think it’s going to turn into another Vietnam.

“It’s going to take some time and a committed effort from Americans.”