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Maine Soldier Receives Distinguished Service Cross

June 03, 2008 - LEWISTON -- Army Sgt. Christopher Corriveau of the 82nd Airborne Division is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by President Bush at Fort Bragg, N.C.

A Lewiston native has received the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest honor in the Army, for his action in combat in Iraq last year.

President Bush presented the award to Sgt. Christopher Corriveau, 23, during an 82nd Airborne Division review at Fort Bragg, N.C., last week. The Distinguished Service Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor in terms of prestige.

According to the Army, only 10 Distinguished Service Crosses have been awarded during the Iraq war.

Corriveau couldn't be reached for comment.

He displayed "exceptional valor and intrepid actions above and beyond the call of duty while repelling an overwhelming and heavily armed enemy force," according to a narrative provided by the 82nd Airborne that described the actions for which he received the award.

On Aug. 26, 2007, Corriveau's sniper team fought off roughly 40 insurgents who were trying to take the team's rooftop position. Combat lasted about 10 minutes, according to the narrative, and the team killed at least 10 members of the opposing force.

Two members of Corriveau's team, Sgt. Joshua Morley and Spec. Tracy Willis, were killed, according to an interview Corriveau did with "CBS News" last week.

"The three of us -- me, Morley and Willis -- that was our team. We trained for a year and a half before we deployed and we worked together for a year and a couple of months. We all knew what each and every one of us were capable of," Corriveau told CBS in an emotional interview. "Any of those guys would have taken a bullet for me, and likewise I for them They were some of the best friends I ever had, and I guarantee I'll never have friends like that again, ever. Guarantee it."

Maine Adjutant Gen. John Libby said the award spoke to Corriveau's training and courage.

"We're talking about the country's second-highest decoration for valor," Libby said. "For those of us who serve, we understand the significance of the Distinguished Service Cross."

Libby, also a Lewiston native, said he doesn't know Corriveau, but in reading the narrative he was reminded of what Col. Joshua Chamberlain told the men of the 20th Maine on the evening before the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.

"He told his men, in the final analysis, what we're fighting for is for each other," said Libby. "In situations like that, it doesn't boil down to an ideology. It boils down to the guy on your left and the guy on your right."

According to the Pentagon's Web site, the Distinguished Service Cross is awarded "to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army, distinguishes himself or herself by extraordinary heroism while engaged in military operations involving conflict."

The act of heroism "must have been so notable and have involved risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from his or her comrades."

President Woodrow Wilson established the Distinguished Service Cross on Jan. 2, 1918; it was passed by an Act of Congress in 1918.

The Army said 12,433 Distinguished Service Crosses had been awarded to soldiers before the Iraq War.

To see a YouTube video clip of a CBS News interview with Sgt. Corriveau paste this link into your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-jD9H2BID4

By MATT WICKENHEISER, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, May 29, 2008

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