Benny Alicea

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Benny Alicea, Sergeant [then Specialist], U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Company A, 2d Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, on 4 November 2004, in Iraq. Sergeant Alicea, then a Specialist serving as a rifleman and grenadier in Company A, was part of a door-to-door sweep to round up terrorist suspects when his squad was ambushed at a two-story house along the primary north-south road in Fallujah. Dropping back into the courtyard, with gunfire spraying out of the house and from across the street, Sergeant Alicea was struck in the hip and buttocks by shrapnel from two grenades that had been rolled through the front door. Moving away from the courtyard, the squad headed for the street. After continuing to fire on the house, Sergeant Alicea was the last to emerge. When his wounded leg gave out, he huddled into a position alongside three wounded comrades in the middle of the road as multiple rounds flew all around them. He continued firing his weapon at the insurgent forces until his own ammunition was exhausted. He then grabbed magazines from the wounded and managed to protect the position until another Bradley fighting vehicle arrived on the scene. He helped load the most seriously injured soldiers before finally being taken away himself. By his heroic actions he Sergeant Alicia saved the lives of three of his comrades.