MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Lori Bohr, wife of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey E. Bohr, Jr., who was killed in action April 10, 2003, accepted the Silver Star on behalf of her husband from the Secretary of the Navy, Honorable Gordon R. England, during a ceremony Monday at 5th Marine Regiment parade deck here.

"These brave Marines did good things without notice," said England, "and without the acclaim of crowds.  But they got the acclaim of their fellow Marines."

Bohr, an Ossian, Iowa, native, received the military's third-highest award for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as the Alpha Company gunnery sergeant, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 10, 2003.

With his company assigned the dangerous mission of seizing a presidential palace in Baghdad and concerned that logistical resupply might be slow in reaching his comrades once they reached the objective, Bohr selflessly volunteered to move in his two soft-skinned vehicles with the company's main armored convoy. 

While moving through narrow streets toward the objective, the convoy took intense small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.  Throughout this movement, Bohr delivered accurate, effective fires on the enemy while encouraging his Marines and supplying critical information to his company commander.

When the lead vehicles of the convoy reached the dead end and were subjected to enemy fire, Bohr continued to boldly engage the enemy while calmly maneuvering his Marines to safety.  Upon learning of a wounded Marine in a forward vehicle, Bohr immediately coordinated medical treatment and evacuation. 

Moving to the position of the injured Marine, Bohr continued to lay down a high volume of suppressive fire, while simultaneously guiding the medical evacuation vehicle, until he was mortally wounded by enemy fire.

"I've supported everything he and the Marine Corps does," said Lori Bohr.  "This means a lot."

Established in 1918, the Silver Star is awarded to a person who is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than that required for award of the Distinguished Service Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction.

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