There were 53 US troops at Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan on the morning of Oct. 3, 2009. While they had been attacked many times before, on that morning at 6 AM everything went to hell.
The quiet mountain dawn broke to an overwhelming onslaught of more than 300 Taliban fighters attacking almost instantaneously.
The attackers had one goal, as detailed in "The Outpost", a riveting account of the battle written by journalist Jake Tapper: overrun and capture the base.
Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha wasn't going to let that happen. “We weren’t going to be beat that day," he later said.
As fighters breached the perimeter of the camp, Romesha calmly rallied his men to repel the assault even after he was wounded. For his actions that day, he is being awarded the Medal of Honor on Feb. 11.
“Undeterred by his injuries, Staff Sergeant Romesha continued to fight and upon the arrival of another soldier to aid him and the assistant gunner, he again rushed through the exposed avenue to assemble additional soldiers," reads part of his citation.
It continues: “With complete disregard for his own safety, (he) continually exposed himself to heavy enemy fire as he moved confidently about the battlefield engaging and destroying multiple enemy targets.”
According to Army Times, the attack was one of the deadliest in the Afghan war, resulting in eight American soldiers killed, and two dozen others wounded.
Jake Tapper has collected a number of photos of Romesha and he agreed to share them with Business Insider Military & Defense.
For more information about the story of COP Keating and the Oct 3 battle, check out Jake's book "The Outpost".
Like all the soldiers of his unit MoH recipient Romesha received extensive training before heading overseas.
Members of Romesha's 3-61 "Black Knight Troop" took some group photos once they hit Afghanistan — Romesha is on the far left.
Their accommodations at the Combat Outpost were cramped and spartan. Most of the buildings would be later rocked by explosions or catch on fire.
Soldiers of "Black Knight Troop". In the background, you can see mountains all around them, with a base perimeter of "Hesco" barriers and concertina wire.
Soldiers at Keating would often patrol around the area and set up observation posts to warn of enemy activity.
Daniel Rodriguez and Clinton Romesha stand in front of a Humvee with a .50 caliber machine gun. These heavy gun trucks became huge targets on Oct. 3 as Taliban fighters continued to fire at anyone defending the base from the gun turrets.
Staff Sergeant Romesha was calm under fire throughout the battle. As recounted in "The Outpost": “This doesn’t look good,” Romesha said. “We’re all going to die.” He laughed — he had a pretty dark sense of humor, Romesha.
Romesha told his fellow soldier, "stay low and hang tight" as a sniper zeroed in on them. He then played peekaboo with the shooter, trying to draw his fire and find his position.
Romesha is humble about the award, giving much of the credit to his fellow soldiers. “We had a great team of guys."
But his citation says that his actions during the battle were absolutely critical against a superior enemy force. “His extraordinary efforts gave Bravo Troop the opportunity to regroup, reorganize and prepare for the counter-attack that allowed the troop to account for its personnel and secure Combat Outpost Keating.”
He has already received multiple awards, including the Bronze Star for valor and the Purple Heart for combat wounds.
He will be the fourth living service member awarded the nation's highest honor for action in Iraq or Afghanistan. His award will bring the total to 11 Medal of Honor recipients since 9/11.
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