On the third day of the Battle of Fallujah, Sgt. James Conner (not pictured) and one of his team leaders, Lcpl. Michael Hanks (left), found themselves moving down a side street alongside Iraqi soldiers and their Marine advisers. Making their way into the courtyard of a two-story building, they came under heavy attack. A brutal gunbattle began, leaving a Marine and an Iraqi soldier shot and trapped in the open courtyard.
As the gunfire subsided, Hanks and Conner could hear the screams of injured men and so they entered and immediately came under heavy fire. Conner dove behind the dead body of an enemy insurgent as Hanks hurled himself behind a lone tree in the center of the yard.
Seeing the two injured men in the open, Hanks sprung into action and darted across the killzone as enemy fire raked past him. Conner, who was laying down suppressing fire, watched as Hanks ran forward, leaned down, and in one fluid motion, grabbed the wounded Marine, threw him over his shoulder and darted out of the courtyard, kicking open a side door. Seconds later, Hanks was back, grabbing the wounded Iraqi soldier and repeating the same movement as Conner laid down suppressing fire.
Hanks returned a third and final time just as another Marine from their squad got a clear line of sight of their attacker, opened fire, and killed the shooter. Hanks was killed a week later on Nov. 17 while providing security and was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for valor. #neverforget #gwot #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #phantomfury