Private First Class Ardon Cooper covered a wounded man with his own body to shield him from enemy fire and was hit in the neck by a fragment from a mortar round, just as Sergeant Cichon's Bradley was struck on the turret by a round which shattered its TOW launcher, spraying Cooper with shrapnel. He died later from heavy loss of blood. Cooper was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Cichon's Bradley was still operational, and after picking up the wounded, its crew managed to withdraw it from the line of fire. Staff Sergeant Cichon was awarded the Silver Star for his exceptional leadership and courage while under enemy fire. Upon hearing of the seriousness of the injuries sustained by A Co, the battalion Surgeon Capt Noel asked for a way to reach the wounded, Spc4 Phillip Adkins of C Co came forward with Sgt Frank Knox. Spc Adkins past the berm opening and made his way north and linked up with B Co before racing forward to A Co. While entoute to deliver Capt Noel and assist with evacuation of wounded, Spc Adkins received indirect fire from artillery hidden on the reverse slope. This resulted in the perforation of his humvee's fuel line, brake lines and splitting of his fuel tank. Spc Adkins managed to turn around and return to the berm while shielded by Abrams tanks. The battle raged for about an hour; after pounding the Iraqi positions with heavy artillery and A-10 air strikes, 1-5 fell back to the berm. During the pull-out, an Abrams tank hit a mine and was heavily damaged. Its crew was uninjured except for some bruises. The Iraqi defenders lost five tanks and 20 artillery pieces. American casualties amounted to three dead and nine wounded. The wisdom of a full-daylight operation was the subject of some criticism, but the Iraqi army remained convinced that the Coalition invasion would take place from the south. Notes References Atkinson, Rick: Crusade, The untold story of the Persian Gulf War.Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. Halberstadt, Hans: Desert Storm Ground War. Osceola, WI, Motorbooks International, 1991. Jaco, Charles: The complete idiot's guide to the Gulf War. Alpha Books, 2002. Lowry, Richard: The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History of the First War with Iraq. iUniverse, 2003. 1991 in Iraq Battles of the Gulf War Battles involving the United States Tank battles involving the United States Tank battles involving Iraq