Captain Brian Chontosh - Someone You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

Here's something you need to read...

I received this story via the Marines All Hands network (via Col. Don Myers).

Subject: A Real Hero SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T MAKE THE NEWS

Maybe you'd like to hear about something other than idiot Reservists and naked Iraqis.

Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored the uniform he wears.

Meet Brian Chontosh.

Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

And a genuine hero.

The secretary of the Navy said so yesterday.

At 29 Palms in California Brian Chontosh was presented with the Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery the United States can bestow.

That's a big deal.

But you won't see it on the network news tonight, and all you read in Brian's hometown newspaper was two paragraphs of nothing. Instead, it was more blather about some mental defective MPs who acted like animals.

The odd fact about the American media in this war is that it's not covering the American military. The most plugged-in nation in the world is receiving virtually no true information about what its warriors are doing.

Oh, sure, there's a body count. We know how many Americans have fallen. And we see those same casket pictures day in and day out. And we're almost on a first-name basis with the pukes who abused the Iraqi prisoners. And we know all about improvised explosive devices and how we lost Fallujah and what Arab public-opinion polls say about us and how the world hates us.

We get a non-stop feed of gloom and doom.

But we don't hear about the heroes.

The incredibly brave GIs who honorably do their duty. The ones our grandparents would have carried on their shoulders down Fifth Avenue.

The ones we completely ignore.

Like Brian Chontosh.

It was a year ago on the march into Baghdad. Brian Chontosh was a platoon leader rolling up Highway 1 in a humvee.

When all hell broke loose.

Ambush city.

The young Marines were being cut to ribbons. Mortars, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades. And the id out of Churchville was in charge. It was do or die and it was up to him.

So he moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his men to safety. As he tried to poke a hole through the Iraqi line his humvee came under direct enemy machine gun fire.

It was fish in a barrel and the Marines were the fish.

And Brian Chontosh gave the order to attack. He told his driver to floor the humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was firing at them. And he had the guy on top with the .50 cal unload on them.

Within moments there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his Marines. Over into the battlement the humvee went and out the door Brian Chontosh bailed, carrying an M16 and a Beretta and 228 years of Marine Corps pride.

And he ran down the trench.

With its mortars and riflemen, machineguns and grenadiers.

And he killed them all.

He fought with the M16 until he was out of ammo. Then he fought with the Beretta until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up a dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up another dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo.

At one point he even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy cluster, sending attackers flying with its grenade explosion.

When he was done Brian Chontosh had cleared 200 yards of entrenched Iraqis from his platoon's flank. He had killed more than 20 and wounded at least as many more.

But that's probably not how he would tell it.

He would probably merely say that his Marines were in trouble, and he got them out of trouble. Hoo-ah, and drive on.

"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

That's what the citation says.

And that's what nobody will hear.

That's what doesn't seem to be making the evening news. Accounts of American valor are dismissed by the press as propaganda, yet accounts of American difficulties are heralded as objectivity. It makes you wonder if the role of the media is to inform, or to depress - to report or to deride. To tell the truth, or to feed us lies.

But I guess it doesn't matter.

We're going to turn out all right.

As long as men like Brian Chontosh wear our uniform.

- by Bob Lonsberry © 2004

After some Google checking I found the original at Bob Lonsberry's site.

The original Official Marine version is here.

Update: American Digest has a great post about Captain Chontosh, too.

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Comments

[Alice]

Why he isn't on every front page is a terrific question. The Ancient Greeks composed epics about men like Brian Chontosh.

[Blackfive]

Even without the Prisoner Abuse Scandal, I doubt that Good Morning America would feature this story.

[JFH]

B5,
Part of the reason is that journalists are probably clueless as to the rarity of a Navy Cross... I'll bet almost all reporters would think that the Silver Star is a higher awsrd.

[Blackfive]

Ah, I doubt it. It's not that reporters are clueless.

There's actually a Soldier up for the Medal of Honor but I bet that you never heard about THAT either.

It has to do more with their defeatist agenda than actually caring about something like heroism or honor.

[Bugz]

Good God!

What do you want to bet that Lt. Chontosh was a great Quake player? :)

[Mr. Davis]

Is there a web site where citations for awards below CMOH are made available?

[Mr. Davis]

Is there a web site where citations for awards below CMOH are made available?

[ed]

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/moh1.htm

[J. Fielek]

A big OOh-Rah! to Lt. Chontosh!

And it's Ooh-Rah, dammit, not Hoo-ah. He's Corps, not Army.

Damn journos... can't get anything right...

[_Jon]

My opinion regarding The Media is that they are trying to "control". I think they belive they can control Public Opinion, and therefore dictate American Way-of-Life and American Politics. I think they are on a power trip and will use any means possible to prove that "If a politician wants his agenda to succeed, he must kow-tow to The Media." I believe they hold the same perspective to Corporate America.

And I believe that *any* person who risks their life in a hostile action is a hero - Lt. Chontosh included.

[Greyhawk]

If the media did cover it they'd call him a mass murderer.

[David Matsler]

How the devil to I forward this to some people who need to read it? Please excuse my impatience, but I'm darn near computer illiterate!

[Mollbot]

Mr. Matsler: you can highlight the text above in the address bar, right-click and copy, open your mail program and paste the address into the email. Should work.

[Pat Rand]

"Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

And a genuine hero."

Perfect, Blackfive...absolutely perfect.

The media, and particularly his hometown paper, should close their doors if they can't deliver on this story. Can we hold much hope for a country that prefers to wring its hands over its mistakes than to rejoice in the triumphs of its ideals?

[Jockofan]

Okay, this is probably a dorky, puke civilian comment, but reading the above gave me the same feeling as playing Halo with the son. BOO-YAH!! Brian Chontosh as the Master Chief wacking the Covenant out one by one with their own weapons after relieving them of their worthless lives. Rock and Roll Capt!!! Keep my boy Jocko safe and sound!!

[uhhh]

You need.

To Start.

Writing.

In complete.

Paragraph.

Form.

Thanks.

[Cate]

I think.

That someone.

Needs a cup.

Of cocoa.

And a nap.

[John]

Make no mistake about it, 98% of the media in the US want us to lose this war. They wake up every morning hoping that today will be the Big One, some disaster that leaves a thousand dead US soldiers so that we can retreat in utter disgrace and get back to the important work of subverting capitalism and expanding the welfare state.

[beetroot]

Sounds like a great soldier. Too bad his commanders couldn't cover his ass. He's out there fighting for freedom while they're letting stupid shit like Abu Grhaib get out of control, to the point where a bunch of sadists can make our whole country look as bad as the sick bastard we threw out.

You guys are all worked up about the media - it's the media's job to report bad news, because it's the bad stuff we have to fix.

So put the blame for Abu Grhaib where it belongs: Rumsfeld and his "light and agile" and totally undermanned invasion force, and his total lack of postwar planning. He's the one who left us vulnerable to the internal sabotage (and that's what it amounts to) perpetrated by those torturers.

How does that hero feel, knowing that the entire United States military is now smeared with their shit? I feel for him. He's out there busting his ass and trying to do the right thing and he's getting totally undercut. Be proud, soldier - -

- - but don't be afraid to put blame where blame is due. It's your boss' job to keep your ass covered, and they didn't do it - they left you, and every American, hanging out to dry.

[Blackfive]

"Too bad his commanders couldn't cover his ass"

Dude. What the hell are you thinking? His commander has him covered. He just got the second highest award for valor. Chontosh and his men saved a lot of Marines that day.

It's the media that should be covering his ass - er, at least covering the story. Where are they?

And, BTW, "light and agile" has nothing to do with MPs abusing a prisoner. I agree that the officers of those soldiers should be punished, too. However, getting rid of Rummy ain't the solution. I think "light and agile" means "cheap and shoddy" but it doesn't explain the prison abuse.

[Slartibartfast]

I think.

The extended.

Blockquote.

Means.

Blackfive.

Didn't.

Write.

It.

But.

Thanks.

For.

Playing.

[Instareader]

This guy is an incredible testament to our military, though I think it's too bad we can't honor him on his own instead of coming up with some trumped-up excuse to complain why we don't read about him more.

What follows is a cold fact that shouldn't detract from this soldier's incredible sacrifice: What happened at that prison will have a greater impact on the war for hearts, minds and soldiers lives that Brian Chontosh's valiant efforts. That's why those images are on the front page of papers and he's not.

We should rightfully cringe when we see these pictures (and the casket images that only BRIEFLY dotted the front pages in this lengthy conflict). But let's not claim the media wants the US to lose, because they don't. If they did, you wouldn't read New York Times columnists calling for Rumsfeld to stay or declaring this war a grand opportunity (both happened in the past few days).

Let's not blame the messenger for informing us about catastrophes that will have a major impact on the war. And let's not feel the need to associate red herrings to honor great soldiers.

[shane]

remember a time, not so long ago, that men like this had movies made about them?

http://imdb.com/title/tt0034167/

[J]

I am sure this man would be happy as long as his family, his men, and his fellow Marines remember and Honor him. And they will. I doubt he would care if the brainless, mindless masses care or not.

[DensityDuck]

Well, you're unlikely to see this in the papers, unless it's along the lines of "several resistance fighters were driven away by the actions of a Marine Corps officer, who advanced towards them while firing his weapon." See, in this postmodern age we're not supposed to believe that personal bravery is worth anything.

[Carol]

Wow. That is so amazing and brave it makes me cry. Although I do wonder if the gunner on top of the truck got any sort of recognition. It's not like he dived straight into the enemy like the Lieutenant, but still...

On the other hand, the Marines probably think the driver and the gunner were just doing what Marines do, and I suppose they're right.

[beetroot]

Re "covered his ass" - yes, you're right, our hero's immediate superiors did right by him. It's the people at the very top who, by my reading, allowed the prison situation to fester, thereby exposing both our hero and the rest of the military to ridicule and accusations of sadism and hypocrisy.

Rummy's responsibility? Again, by my reading, part of what happened is that poorly trained, undermanned units ("light and agile") were thrust into an impossible situation, then given the green light to beat down on the prisoners by their superiors. The buck stops with Rummy.

Instareader, you are absolutely correct.

And J, you wrote, "I doubt he would care if the brainless, mindless masses care or not." Maybe not, that's his business. But I've met a lot of Vietnam vets who, to this day, are tormented with anger or confusion or whatever by the fact that, when they came back from Hell, they found a lot of people at home who were just as pissed as hell at the military, and at them by extension. And that fucked EVERYBODY up.

So if it was me, and I was busting my ass, and trying to do the right thing, and I came home and had to look at those pictures in the paper of people in US military green doing the WRONG thing, I'd freaking care. But that's just me.

[Blackfive]

Carol - Two other Marines received the Navy Cross and a few more received Silver Stars for their actions that day. I put the information on the others in a post about the media:

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2004/05/the_medias_atte.html

beetroot - I am sure that Chontosh and every other military person cringes at the abuse photos and curses the people that did that. But there's about 139,980 other Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines over in Iraq doing good things every damn day.

But we never hear about that, do we? It's not for lack of trying. There are plenty of MilBlog posts and stories about reporters only wanting the negative aspects about what's happening in Iraq.

Don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.

[S4MadMan]

"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

AMEN!!!

[Brian B]

This is the third or fourth blog where I've said this:

Now THAT is what I call leading from the front. Gawd.

Can someone find out what Captain Chontosh' favorite beer is, and where a grateful civilian might forward said case?

[Allen]

Great story, thank you for putting it up there front and center! :)

[Margaret]

Thanks for the story about Captain Brian Chontosh. It's about time someone felt that the heroic efforts of Captain Chontosh and others were newsworthy. SEMPER FI FROM A GOLD STAR AUNTIE!!!!!

[Brown Wing Eagle Man]

Blackfive -

Thank GOD I found this site.

The exposure of your work and effort on this site has just been increased by the size of my address book.

Thank you for your service, dedication and comittment.

PROUD, HONORED and BLESSED to be an American.

Brown Winged Eagle Man

PS: ... more than just a fan of "bronzed god-like paratroopers".

[Matt Chontosh]

I just want to thank-you for putting up this article about my cousin Brian. Its sad that people like him don't get reconized for the good things that they do over in Iraq. I haven't seen my cousin in over 5 years and 2 of them were due to the war that President Busch just had to go into. Im proud of my cousin for what he is doing and i plan on following him by joining the Marines.

[Ruben Valverde]

I went to bootcamp with Chontosh before he became an officer. Who would have though. The Navy Cross.

Ruben Valverde
Hotel Company Platoon 2042, 1993
rvalverde@directv.com

[Brian]

I received a copy of this article from a friend of mine. I found it hard to believe that it wasn't it any of the mainstream media. So I went to http://news.google.com and typed in "Brian Chontosh" and came with no results. None. Nicht. Nada. Zero. I am ashamed. Ashamed that these so-called journalists are Americans. That, if they had a change of heart, would salute the same flag I do. It makes me sick.

[loyola1789]

Hey, Fox News didn't pick up on this story either. Don't be slamming the "liberal media" when the "conservative media" took a pass as well.

A fine story ruined by trying to 'dis' someone else in the process. This story could have been much stronger if it focused on heroism and not on speculation as to why it wasn't reported.

[Woodie]

Ref: Brian Chontosh.

My brother was awarded his NAVY CROSS posthumously (Navy Aviator). I GREATLY admire this brave hero. I am so thankful that he lived to receive his deserved award, most do not. May God Bless Captain Brian Chontosh.

I ask that EVERY time you vote, remember to thank the likes of this noble HERO and remember that FREEDOM is NOT FREE. I served 21 years from '63 - '83 ..... and my other brother was in the Coast Guard.

Thank you, Captain Brian Chontosh for your heroism and bravery!!!! You are an inspiration to all of us who love the USA.

[Rob]

I'm a 4 yr. vet of the Marine Corps, and am in that targeted 2 to 3 years of IRR for that recall.

So, I'm trying to get in that mindset that Iraq is very possible for me...once again.

I will tell you one thing. That is some motivating sh!t! I sure hope to God that if I am called back up, my Lt. has that amount of heroism and integrity to keep pushing!

I'm glad I read this, as I am a political writer. So, I will mention this to my station and see if we can't get details on the event.

I'm fortunate to be an American, and Lt. Chontosh is a prime example, along with the thousands of others who gave up their lives, dreams, interests for our way of life. Anyone who disagrees' or does not view this as a BIG DEAL is extraordinarily clueless!

The last Navy Cross I knew of being awarded, was good 'ol Chesty-- with 5.. FIVE... my Lord. Oh.. and yes, I'd have to agree that our media is more involved in 'fear' and stories having that 'twisted' plot.

Here's a twisted plot: A man in our own military risked his life above and beyond the call of duty, saving his unit and himself from the attack of a much greater populace by using quick, sound judgement, holding tact, and thriving dedication to uphold what the United States stands for!

Say what?

Thank you for the story.

--Rob

[RONNIE G]

LT.CHONTOSH IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY THAT ARE THE CREAM OF AMERICAN YOUTH,HIS ACTIONS MAKE AN OLD MAN FEEL SO PROUD.TO BE REPRESENTED BY SUCH A FINE YOUNG MAN,IS AN HONOR IN ITS SELF THAT MANY IN AMERICA HAVE NO CONCEPT.BUT AS LONG AS MEN LIKE THIS LIVE WE WILL PREVAIL

[j green]

this is an amazing story. I dont understand why this kind of stuff doesn't reach the news, or newspapers. Men and women in the armed forces should not be overlooked because some crazy person shot someone else, and killed them. These people are heroes and should be recognized for that.