TWENTYNINE PALMS MARINE TO RECEIVE THE NAVAL CROSS TOMORROW

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will award the Navy Cross to Gunnery Sgt. Richard Jibson, a Twentynine Palms Marine, at a ceremony on board the Combat Center Tuesday morning (April 22). Gunnery Sergeant Richard Jibson was an infantry advisor in Afghanistan May 28, 2012, when he earned the Marine Corps’ second-highest honor for extraordinary heroism. According to the award citation, Jibson was with a 53-man coalition of Georgian, Afghani, and American personnel that was clearing an Afghan village when they came under enemy fire. On multiple occasions during the five-hour firefight, Jibson placed himself in direct line of fire to return fire to protect his comrades and to allow them to safely reach cover. When a fellow Marine was shot by a sniper, Jibson charged into machine gun fire to rescue the fallen Marine and pull him to safety. Amid the chaos, he also arranged for reinforcements, casualty evacuation, and close air support. His courageous leadership, composure under fire, and tactical expertise led to successful extraction of the force with minimal loss of life.