{"id":27168,"date":"2016-03-14T08:02:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T08:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/03\/14\/controversial-marine-corps-unit-recognizes-a-war-hero\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:54:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:54:48","slug":"controversial-marine-corps-unit-recognizes-a-war-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/03\/14\/controversial-marine-corps-unit-recognizes-a-war-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Controversial Marine Corps unit recognizes a war hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Marine infantry battalion that was embroiled in a war-zone scandal will present a former squad leader with the nation&#8217;s third-highest valor award this week\u00a0\u2014 nearly five years after he\u00a0led his comrades out of an intense firefight in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former Sgt. Matthew Parker, who served as a squad leader with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, during the unit&#8217;s 2011 deployment to Afghanistan,\u00a0will be presented with the Silver Star on Friday during\u00a0a ceremony at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina,\u00a0Marine Corps Times has learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parker is being\u00a0recognized for\u00a0stepping up to lead his\u00a0platoon when his\u00a0commander and another squad leader were injured in an attack while operating in Helmand province&#8217;s Musa Qala district, according to his award citation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1644\" height=\"2200\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-57073\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg 1644w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg?resize=224,300 224w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg?resize=768,1028 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg?resize=765,1024 765w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg?resize=1148,1536 1148w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635934595840506039-parkerjpg.jpg?resize=1530,2048 1530w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1644px) 100vw, 1644px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span>Matthew Parker, a former squad leader with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, will receive the Silver Star on March 18.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span>Photo Credit: Pvt. Brian M. Woodruff\/Marine Corps<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Parker&#8217;s\u00a0actions serve as an\u00a0example of the success 3\/2 showed on the battlefield\u00a0during what was highly held as a successful deployment, much of it was overshadowed when a video surfaced in 2012 showing other Marines with\u00a0his unit\u00a0defiling enemy remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parker was not involved, but his award nomination \u2014 along with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/story\/military\/2015\/12\/20\/federal-judge-ordered-pentagon-to-unseal-secret-files-on-former-marine-commandant-james-amos\/76676004\/\">several other\u00a0personnel matters<\/a> within the unit\u00a0\u2014\u00a0was\u00a0put on administrative hold, said 1st Lt. Joe Caldwell, a Marine spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The award then had to go through\u00a0the approval process, Caldwell added. Parker&#8217;s Silver Star was approved by Commandant Gen. Robert Neller on Dec. 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On May 21, 2011, Parker and his platoon were\u00a0attacked by an entrenched enemy force.\u00a0The insurgents were armed with small arms,\u00a0machine guns, anti-tank-style\u00a0weapons\u00a0and grenade launchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When\u00a0the Marines&#8217; platoon commander and another squad leader were injured in the attack, Parker sprang into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Sergeant Parker boldly\u00a0assumed control as the ground force commander of two rifle squads, a combined anti-armor team section, a vehicle mobile element and a\u00a0sniper team,&#8221; the award citation states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under a barrage of enemy fire, Parker coordinated the platoon&#8217;s maneuvers until they were able to\u00a0strike the enemy from three directions. When the insurgents hit back with intense machine gun and recoilless rifle fire, Parker &#8220;calmly and precisely coordinated for close-air support and high-mobility artillery rocket system strikes that destroyed two enemy machine gun positions,&#8221; his\u00a0citation states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He seized that opportunity to guide supporting fires while continuing to direct his Marines. As a result, the enemy was forced to withdraw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parker helped evacuate the wounded Marines, despite continued sporadic fire from the insurgents as they withdrew. He led the Marines to safety at the closest patrol base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;By his zealous initiative, courageous actions and exceptional dedication to duty, Sergeant Parker reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service,&#8221; his citation states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parker was not the only member of 3\/2 to be nominated for a valor award during that deployment.\u00a0One of the snipers involved in the controversial video was\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/story\/military\/archives\/2013\/05\/06\/marines-order-sniper-out-of-medical-retirement-after-paperwork-error\/78539348\/\">put up for a Bronze Star<\/a>\u00a0with combat device, but that award has never been issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That Marine&#8217;s\u00a0sniper platoon\u00a0was credited with killing hundreds of\u00a0insurgents and <a href=\"http:\/\/battlerattle.marinecorpstimes.com\/2011\/09\/01\/general-more-than-100-kills-for-some-marine-snipers\/\">integrating tanks into their missions<\/a> \u2014\u00a0a highly successful move outside of normal sniper doctrine. The Corps&#8217; top leaders visited the team downrange that fall\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/story\/military\/archives\/2013\/10\/31\/exclusive-controversial-marine-sniper-fires-back-at-critics\/78543238\/\">to congratulate the Marines<\/a> on their accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parker could not immediately be reached for comment about his award. He\u00a0medically retired from the Marine Corps in February 2015, according to a Marine official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Gina Harkins is the editor of Marine Corps Times. She oversees reporting on Marine Corps leadership, personnel and operations. She can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:gharkins@marinecorpstimes.com\">gharkins@marinecorpstimes.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sgt. Matthew Parker, who served with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines during a 2011 deployment, will receive the Silver Star.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":41862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[12,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2602],"class_list":["post-27168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"26GUPRUWPJHRXEDLY6HW7GK5AE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/03\/14\/controversial-marine-corps-unit-recognizes-a-war-hero\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Controversial Marine Corps unit recognizes a war hero - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sgt. 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