FULLERTON —
Rocket-propelled grenades, a suicide bomber and heavy artillery fire left
little hope Marine Lance Cpl. Moses Cardenas' platoon would survive the Iraqi
insurgents advancing south of the Euphrates River on a hot August day in
2007. Then came the unthinkable.
Cardenas's sergeant
– the very man who taught him for battle – lay wounded in the open
between the opposing forces. Fullerton-bred Cardenas fought his way across
50 meters of the fire-swept desert against five armed insurgents to rescue
Sgt. Randy Rodema as bullets ripped through Cardenas' neck and shoulder,
according to a Marine Corp citation and Cardenas. Despite the wounds, Cardenas
reloaded his M-249 – a light machine gun – and continued his assault
until he reached the wounded sergeant.
The lance corporal
alternated between pulling the Marine 100 meters to safety and shooting bursts
of automatic fire at the enemy until help arrived, the citation said.
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