Medal of Honor: Earl D. Plumlee – War on Terror – August 28, 2013

Name: Earl D. Plumlee

Rank: Staff Sergeant (Highest Rank: Master Sergeant)

Branch: U.S. Army

War: War on Terror (Afghanistan)

Unit: Company C, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)

Date of Action: August 28, 2013

Location: Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan

Summary of Action

On August 28, 2013, Staff Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee was serving as a Weapons Sergeant with Company C, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Forward Operating Base Ghazni in eastern Afghanistan.

Without warning, insurgents launched a complex and highly coordinated attack against the base. A massive explosion blasted a sixty-foot-wide breach through the perimeter wall, allowing ten enemy fighters disguised in Afghan National Army uniforms and equipped with suicide vests to pour into the compound.

Understanding that every second mattered, Staff Sergeant Plumlee and five fellow soldiers mounted two vehicles and raced directly toward the explosion.

As they approached the breach, enemy fire erupted from multiple directions. Instinctively placing himself between the incoming fire and his driver, Plumlee shielded his fellow soldier before exiting the vehicle and engaging an insurgent only fifteen meters away with his pistol.

Armed with nothing more than his sidearm and without waiting for reinforcements, he advanced alone toward the enemy positions.

Reaching cover, Plumlee immediately began eliminating enemy fighters. He killed one insurgent with a grenade and destroyed another by using precision sniper fire to detonate the man's suicide vest.

Despite knowing that every enemy fighter carried explosives strapped to his body, Plumlee repeatedly charged forward into close-quarters combat.

At one point, he engaged insurgents so closely that a suicide vest detonated merely seven meters from his position. The blast failed to stop him.

Forced temporarily into cover by intense enemy fire, he joined another soldier and launched yet another counterattack against the infiltrators. Advancing once more through enemy fire, Plumlee closed to within seven meters of a previously wounded insurgent who detonated his suicide vest, hurling Plumlee backward into a nearby wall.

Ignoring his injuries and the concussive effects of the explosion, he immediately regained his footing and returned to the fight.

Undeterred by multiple near-fatal encounters, Staff Sergeant Plumlee joined a small force of American and Polish soldiers for another assault against the remaining enemy fighters.

During the advance, he successfully engaged insurgents attacking from multiple directions. When one enemy fighter charged the group from behind and detonated his suicide vest, mortally wounding an American soldier, Plumlee immediately sprinted through the danger zone, carried his wounded comrade to safety, and administered lifesaving first aid.

Even after the attack had been defeated, he continued clearing the area and maintaining security, ensuring no enemy combatants remained.

The battle for Forward Operating Base Ghazni lasted only minutes, but its outcome was profoundly shaped by the courage and aggressiveness of one Special Forces soldier who repeatedly placed himself directly between the enemy and his fellow servicemen.

Staff Sergeant Earl Plumlee's actions prevented the enemy from exploiting their breach of the base's defenses and undoubtedly saved numerous American and allied lives. His Medal of Honor recognizes not only his extraordinary courage under fire, but also his relentless willingness to continue fighting despite overwhelming danger, severe explosions at close range, and repeated opportunities to seek safety.

Medal of Honor Citation

EARL D. PLUMLEE

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, United States Army.

Unit: Company C, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Place and date: Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, August 28, 2013.

Citation:

Staff Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee distinguished himself by acts of gallantry above and beyond the call of duty on August 28th, 2013, while serving as a weapons sergeant, C Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sergeant Plumlee instantly responded to an enemy attack on Forward Operating Base Ghazni—Ghazni Province, Afghanistan—that began with an explosion that tore a 60-foot breach in the base's perimeter wall. Ten insurgents wearing Afghan National Army uniforms and suicide vests poured through the breach.

Sergeant Plumlee and five others mounted two vehicles and raced toward the explosion. When his vehicle was engaged by enemy fire, Sergeant Plumlee reacted instinctively, using his body to shield the driver prior to exiting the vehicle and engaging an enemy insurgent 15 meters to the vehicle's right with his pistol.

Without cover and in complete disregard for his own safety, he advanced on the enemy, engaging multiple insurgents with only his pistol.

Upon reaching cover, he killed two insurgents—one with a grenade and the other by detonating the insurgent's suicide vest using precision sniper fire.

Again, disregarding his own safety, Sergeant Plumlee advanced alone against the enemy, engaging several insurgents at close range, including one whose suicide vest exploded a mere seven meters from his position.

Under intense enemy fire, Sergeant Plumlee temporarily withdrew to cover, where he joined up with another soldier and, together, they mounted another counterattack.

Under fierce enemy fire, Sergeant Plumlee again moved from cover and attacked the enemy forces, advancing within seven meters of a previously wounded insurgent who detonated his suicide vest, blowing Sergeant Plumlee back against a nearby wall.

Sergeant Plumlee, ignoring his injuries, quickly regained his faculties and reengaged the enemy forces.

Intense enemy fire once again forced the two soldiers to temporarily withdraw. Undeterred, Sergeant Plumlee joined a small group of American and Polish soldiers, who moved from cover to once again counterattack the infiltrators.

As the force advanced, Sergeant Plumlee engaged an insurgent to his front left. He then swung around and engaged another insurgent who charged the group from the rear. The insurgent detonated his suicide vest, mortally wounding a U.S. soldier.

Sergeant Plumlee, again, with complete disregard for his own safety, ran to the wounded soldier, carried him to safety, and rendered first aid. He then methodically cleared the area, remained in a security posture, and continued to scan for any remaining threats.

Staff Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Special Forces Regiment, and the United States Army.