Sergeant Joseph Liefer saving the world from Marine boots
Andy sends us a link to United Press International which reports that Sergeant Joseph Liefer was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, for valor while not engaged by an armed enemy (think Soldiers Medal, Army folks) for saving the life of one the Marines on his grenade range when the boot couldn’t throw his grenade hard enough and it rolled back into the pit;
“The student said a few choice words. And me, I didn’t really say anything,” Liefer told the Marine Corps Times. “It’s a split second moment, just counting in my head, ‘One Mississippi,’ just trying to see when the grenade would go off.”
According to the award citation, “Sgt. Liefer grabbed the student, threw him out of the pit and then threw himself on top of the student, shielding the student with his body.”
Neither Liefer or the student were injured in the ensuing blast, and training continued after the close call.
Marine Corps Training Command spokesman 1st Lt. Matthew Rojo told the Times that no protocals were altered in the wake of the incident, since such procedures were validated by Liefer’s quick actions.
The boot’s name wasn’t included in the article, but I’m guessing that it’s some variation of T-Rex, from the Ranger-Up T shirt above.
But here’s SGT Liefer;
Category: Real Soldiers
This Chinese trainee throws like a girl.
http://www.guns.com/2013/05/10/throw-it-over-the-wall-not-at-the-wall-chinese-grenade-mishapvideo/
This Chinese trainee doesn’t throw at all.
I throw sidearm, and I don’t know if I even scared the target (a post I think) at Fort Jackson. I did learn enough about them to qualify and wear the badge for a year.
And well done, Sergeant!
BRAVO ZULU Sergeant! You’re a Real Man and a top-notch NCO!
He did his job.
The recognition is indeed deserved.
Well done, Sgt. Liefer – damn well done.
And another private experiences the opportunity to push the training envelope further one push up at a time !!!
Good job Sergeant.
For fun, excitement and sheer terror, nothing beats being the position safety officer on a grenade range. Many of my fellow drill instructors received awards for saving privates who forgot that you have to throw the grenade after you have thumbed the clip and pulled the pin. And in the fleet, I have had a couple of close calls with weirdo’s who suddenly lost strength in their throwing arm once the little green orb was ready to go.
Good job Sergeant.
All I can say is thank the Lord for quick thinking NCOs and grenade sumps!
This situation was serious, and I’m glad both men are okay. Sgt. Liefer is both brave and quick-thinking, and saved both the ‘boot’s’ life and his own. Very well done, Sergeant!
Sgt. Liefer…Way to go, way to be! There’s a trainee cleaning his pants and thanking the heavens for you!
Like our DI said, back in the day, “Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is not your friend !”
Well done SGT.
OC
ROFL!!!
Thank you for brightening a Monday with that bit of wit! 😀
I love the T-Rex shirt, I have several RangerUP shirts a couple of which I wear while coaching youth sports…my current players two favorites are at these links:
http://www.rangerup.com/pain.html
http://www.rangerup.com/responsible.html
on topic, quick thinking and intestinal fortitude save the day once more.
Nicely Done!!
Not to downplay his actions but I worked the grenade range at Benning for a couple of years and me and my instructors did this sort of thing on a weekly basis. There were always dropped grenades, trainees who froze, didn’t throw it far enough and the occasional one who tried to commit suicide. I’ve got some stories to tell so put me in the “Not Impressed” category.
He did his job. As have lots of others who haven’t received medals or even letters of commendation for doing the exact same thing. Including my son and one his friends. Apparently throwinf the pin and droping the grenade is a common enough event that recruits are warned not to do it, and some do anyway. That’s why the grenades are thrown from pits- so you can scramble out with the blast directed upward and away from trainees and instructors.