Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Christopher Farias will receive the country's second highest medal for combat valor on Friday, when Navy Undersecretary Robert Work awards him the Navy Cross at a Camp Pendleton ceremony, according to the Marine Corps Times.
Farias earned the Navy Cross for heroic actions during an hour-long battle with the Taliban in Helmand province, Afghanistan on Oct. 5, 2010. According to the North County Times, his citation reads, in part:
"Sgt. Farias' swift and courageous actions saved the lives of his fellow Marines under fire from a coordinated and decisive engagement from a determined enemy. His immediate and aggressive tactical response effectively repelled the Taliban ambush from three positions, allowing wounded Marines to be safely evacuated from the kill zone and preventing the patrol base from being overrun."
Farias told the Houston Chronicle:
"Bullets were landing in front of me, beside me, behind me. I had no idea I was running through that. The only thing in my head was I need to get to the roof, I need to get to the roof, because nobody's firing back and something needed to get done."
Farias and his parents spoke with Houston television station KTRK-TV on Mother's Day about the heroic actions that earned Sgt. Farias the Navy Cross:
