Politics & Government
Pashto Linguist Receives Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals
Camp Pendleton Marine Cpl. Zachary Byron was injured in Afghanistan while trying to rescue another Marine. After sustaining two gun shot wounds, Byron continued translating enemy communications.
Twenty-three-year-old Cpl. Zachary Byron was awarded Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals at Camp Pendleton Friday for action taken and injury sustained while serving with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Afghanistan.
Byron, a Pashto linguist, and his squad were caught in an enemy ambush near Durzay in the southern Helmand Province in November.
“You can never simulate that kind of environment ever again,” said Byron. “It was a wakeup call for all of us. When the guy in front of me got hit I couldn’t see him, but I heard him yelling. I immediately got up and moved toward him.”
While trying to administer first aid on the injured Marine, Byron was shot in the wrist and thigh. Byron fell in and out of consciousness from blood loss, but he continued to translate enemy communications, allowing the squad to avoid another ambush.
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