Marine Scout Sniper Sgt. Joshua Moore will receive the Navy Cross later this week.
The Navy Cross is in recognition of heroism, and second to the Medal of Honor which is for combat valor.
Sgt. Joshua Moore will be receiving his Navy Cross during a ceremony on Nov. 1 at Camp Lejeune, NC.
So, what’s the story on Sgt. Joshua Moore?
According to Marine Corps Times:
According to his Navy Cross citation, Moore was a lance corporal when his scout sniper element came under fire while occupying a compound north of Marjah. Two Marines were quickly wounded, and an insurgent tossed two grenades over a wall into the structure.
“Without hesitation, Lance Corporal Moore threw the closest grenade out of the compound before it exploded,” his citation says. “Realizing seconds later that the second grenade was not going to explode he charged out of the compound to aid the wounded. Though instantly taken under fire by an enemy force one hundred meters away, Lance Corporal Moore audaciously stood his ground, returning fire with his M4 rifle and M203 grenade launcher.”
Moore’s effort forced the insurgents to abandon their position, buying his team time to regroup and aid the wounded Marines, the citation says. He then assisted in scouting and securing a landing zone for a medical evacuation.
Moore told the Courier-Tribune of Asheboro, N.C., that he recalls being hit in the back with something, and then turned and saw a fellow Marine staring at a pair of hand grenades at his feet. He threw the first one out the window before it exploded, and saw that the second one had corrosion around its top.
“It’s like my brain was kind of processing everything at hyperspeed,” he told the newspaper. “It really was just a divine moment — something giving me the sense that, hey, this is not a threat to you. I knew I was in the frag radius so I just dropped it and I took cover from the first grenade.”