Fort Lewis soldier awarded Silver Star for selfless courage

Fort Lewis soldier awarded Silver Star for selfless courage

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Story Published: Jul 14, 2008 at 6:14 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2008 at 11:09 PM PDT

By Keith Eldridge

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FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- Heroic actions by a Fort Lewis military police officer has been credited with saving a dozen lives in Afghanistan. And for his efforts, Sgt. Michael Espejo was awarded the Silver Star.

Even as he received the award, Espejo remained a humble soldier.

"I don't think I deserve the award," he said. "I did what every other soldier would do, I think, in my position."

But that's not what the Army believes. The soldiers whose very lives Espejo saved don't believe it either.

"He is my idol," said Spec. David Banicki.

For his bravery and quick-thinking on Sep. 27, 2007 in Afghanistan, Espejo was given the third highest honor a soldier can receive.

He and fellow members of the 66th Military Police Company were helping at a bombing scene when Espejo noticed what he thought was a wounded Afghani national police officer.

"I figured let's get him away from the vehicle so he doesn't get injured," said Espejo. "I figured he was an injury from that blast, from that bomb that was on the side of the road."

That's when he spotted the wire and the switch in the man's hand -- the sign of a suicide bomber about to self-detonate. Espejo shot him, but not before getting his fellow MPs to safety.

"It says a lot being able to stand up right in front of someone who is trying to kill you and try to push other people back before you," said Banicki.

"After it all happened we kind of...I was back at the trucks and kind of sat up against the truck and (said) 'wow, that was close,'" Espejo said.

"You're going to stand up there, looking pretty much in the face of death. And it's either you or him and you're going to stand there and push other people away instead of yourself. That just says a lot about who he is," said Banicki.

"But we were pretty lucky that day. We had somebody watching over our backs," said Espejo.

Perhaps it was a little bit of luck backed by a lot of training and courage.

Espejo is a husband and father of a young boy. He and his wife have another child on the way.

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