Jefferson to present Memorial Day oration
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| May 26, 2011 |
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Former
Ambassador Ryan Crocker and then Staff
Sergeant Lawrence Jefferson II. |
Two years ago, Army Staff Sergeant Lawrence
Jefferson II marked Veterans Day at the Spokane
Veterans Memorial Arena, where former U.S.
Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker pinned the
Purple Heart to the tunic of Jefferson’s already
beribboned uniform.
This year, Jefferson, now a Sergeant First
Class, will mark Memorial Day here in his home
town, presenting the Memorial Day oration during
services at Grandview Cemetery.
Jefferson, a native of Atlanta, Georgia,
enlisted in the U.S. Army in May, 1989,
reporting to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for
basic training. In April, 1990, he earned his
parachutists badge at Fort Benning, Georgia,
joining the elite ranks of the Airborne.
He served in Kuwait and Iraq during Operations
Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-1991 with
the 36th Engineer Group, assigned to the 2/18th
Infantry of the 197th Infantry Brigade. He
returned to combat during Operation Iraqi
Freedom in 2004 and 2005, and yet again during
Operation Enduring Freedom in 2008-2009, serving
with both the 1st Infantry Division, the “Big
Red One,” and the 101st Airborne “Screaming
Eagles.”
While engaged in several actions, including an
action in May, 2008, for which he is under
consideration for the Bronze Star for Valor, the
action for which he received the Purple Heart
came in November, 2008, when he was part of a
convoy providing security for Ambassador to Iraq
Christopher Dell, who was touring locations
within the city of Herat.
A few minutes after the convoy linked up with
the Ambassador’s vehicle, an alert went over the
radio channels to all the vehicles in the
convoy; a vehicle was approaching fast.
Jefferson floored the gas as the gun turret on
the Humvee spun around. Before the specialist
manning the machine gun could engage the
vehicle, a loud explosion erupted just outside the
driver’s side door.
“It was like being hit with a sledge hammer and
a shockwave like a wall of water rolled through
the UAH (up-armored Humvee),” Jefferson wrote in
his after action report. “Stuff flew everywhere.
Things turned to chaos … I could not see
anything due to the smoke, dust and whatever
else, and I was getting tunnel vision at the
steering wheel. The entire left side of my body
was numb from the concussion … I remember trying
to hang on to get us to safety. I must have
passed out at this time, because when I came to,
I was sitting there in the drivers seat and the
vehicle was stopped. I looked around to see if
there was anyone there and if they were okay.”
Rather than concern himself with his own
injuries, which he assumed were minor, once he
shook the cobwebs clear he went to work
providing comfort and aid to others in his
vehicle who were more obviously injured, and
assisted in getting the vehicle and those in it
to a hospital, where it was determined that
Jefferson had suffered a severe concussion and
inner ear damage.
“He was looking after one of my foreign service
brethren,” Crocker said in pinning on
Jefferson’s medal. “They were setting up to
ambush Ambassador Dell.”
Jefferson’s actions and those of the soldiers he
was serving with in that Humvee were credited
with spotting the suicide bomber and forcing him
to detonate his explosives early, sparing
Ambassador Dell and his retinue.
Jefferson, now awaiting medical retirement due
to the severity of his injuries, is currently
assigned to Idaho National Guard Detachment 1,
Company A, 145th Brigade Support Battalion in
his hometown of Bonners Ferry, which he first
visited while on leave in 1992.
“I met Tonya Hurst and fell in love with Bonners
Ferry while on leave in December, 1992,” he
said. “After release from my first active duty
tour, I moved to Bonners Ferry in 1993, joining
the 116th Engineer Battalion … the rest is
history. I am still married to my wonderful wife
and best friend, Tonya, we have a daughter in
the Navy, and two great teenage sons.”
In addition to the Purple Heart, Jefferson wears
a chest full of ribbons; the Meritorious Service
Medal, three Army Commendation Medals, five Army
Achievement Medals, and six Reserve Army
Achievement Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign
Medal with a campaign star, the Good Conduct
Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with
Bronze Star, two overseas service ribbons, the
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with meritorious
device, the NATO Medal, and more. |
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