Gary York, Local 1688, Wins Defense of Freedom Medal in Iraq

Gary York doesn’t consider himself a hero. He didn’t plan to earn the Defense of Freedom Medal. And he certainly didn’t plan to get shot in a firefight in Iraq. All he wanted to do was help the Iraqis rebuild their electrical system.

Brother York is the vice president and assistant business manager of Local 1688 and works for the US Army Corps of Engineers as a senior controller at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota. Last Sept. 21 he left his home in Yankton, South Dakota, and volunteered for Task Force Restore Iraqi Electricity.

York’s mission went smoothly until Christmas Eve. Ambushers struck his convoy of three SUV’s as it traveled the main highway to Baghdad. The convoy was protected by Iraqi contract guards. A red car attacked the rear vehicle first, killing one of the guards. The attackers then struck the second SUV driven by York. "I took a round that went through the door post of my car and went into my head just in front of my ear," York said.

An Iraqi guard in York’s vehicle was killed; the SUV ran into the ditch. York and his passengers took heavy fire from shooters, who were hiding behind a berm at an Iraqi farm, and from occupants of the red attack car. York and the survivors of the rear vehicle crawled about 100 yards along the ditch until they reached the lead vehicle.

"The dirt all around us was alive with bullets hitting ahead, behind, and around us," said York. Everyone piled into the lead vehicle.

York and the others took off with the car doors open; occupants continued shooting at the enemy. They were forced to leave their two dead comrades behind.

"The red car had retreated, which gave us a chance to escape. We found out later that our guards had killed one occupant of the red car. Army military police arrested the others."

They sped to an Iraqi police checkpoint, where they unloaded the Iraqi guards and their wounded, who were transported to an Iraqi hospital.

York directed the driver of the lead vehicle to a U.S. Army outpost at Brassfield-Mora. From there the group was transported by Medivac helicopter to the 28th Combat Support Hospital at Camp Speicher in Tikrit. Army surgeons operated on York to remove the bullet from his head. He was then flown to another combat support hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad.

On Dec. 29, 2003, York was flown to the Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany where he was joined by his wife, Jane. After a flight back to the U.S., he spent time in convalescence and under observation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; he was then released to return to South Dakota.

On Feb. 20, York was presented the Defense of Freedom Medal by Brig. Gen. William Grisoli, Northwestern Division Commander, in a ceremony at the Gavins Point Powerhouse in Yankton. The Defense of Freedom award is the civilian equivalent to the Purple Heart.

"Heroes are not just those folks you read about in the paper," said Grisoli during the ceremony. "They’re normal people, people who make a difference."

York believes that his sacrifice was for a good cause. He says: "… Saddam [Hussein] routed electrical power to his location. Sometimes he left the rest of the country in the dark. There are challenges in Iraq that you can meet head-on without going through all the red tape. It’s very rewarding."

Jane York said that she is "Very proud-because I know this is something he really wanted to do. He was torn about having to come back here early, and would love the opportunity to return to Iraq."

Brig. Gen. William Grisoli, Northwest Division Commander, honors Brother Gary York, Local 1688, with Defense of Freedom Medal for heroism in Iraq.

IBEWCURRENTS

April 2004 IBEW Journal