CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A Camp Pendleton Marine will be awarded the Silver Star for saving the life of a critically wounded Marine in Afghanistan by fending off a mass group of Taliban fighters so a medical helicopter could land and safely evacuate him.
Maj. Sgt. David Jarvis of Bremerton, Wash., will receive the military’s third-highest award for valor in combat during a ceremony at the base Wednesday.
Officials say Jarvis took decisive action shortly after a Marine in his platoon was injured by an explosive device on Oct. 25, 2010.
Officials say Jarvis exposed himself to a barrage of heavy machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades as he led Marines to hold their position in an hour-long firefight in Afghanistan’s Upper Sangin River Valley.
