'I don't really remember it'

Before telling of the actions for which he earned a Bronze Star with “V” device, Army Master Sgt. Michael Morton starts with a disclaimer.

“Well, first, I’m not a hero,” said Morton, of the 1st Armored Division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, Headquarters Headquarters Company. “I’m just a soldier. I was just doing my job.”

Despite his humble words, Morton’s actions on a summer day in Ramadi, Iraq, were indeed heroic.

It was about 4 p.m. on July 2, 2006. Soldiers were on a combat patrol in up-armored Humvees. U.S. forces had already found two roadside bombs in the area earlier in the day. Morton, the mortar platoon sergeant, was riding in the second vehicle in the convoy about 50 meters or so behind the lead truck when it happened.

“I just remember seeing a big, bright flash,” said the 40-year-old from Bradenton, Fla. “The IED struck my first truck. We took part of the blast — just smoke and complete blackness for a few seconds.”

Immediately, he knew the first truck hit a roadside bomb. Morton scanned the scene for a few moments, looking for secondary bombs or a potential ambush.

“My medic was my driver so I said, ‘Let’s go, doc,’ ” he said. “We moved up. I set security out to protect us. Then, I ran up to the vehicle.”

The Humvee was flipped on its side, burning.

“I started pulling the guys out of the truck,” Morton said. “One of the guys was trapped underneath on the driver’s side near the gun turret. They say I tried to lift the Humvee up. I don’t remember trying to do that.”

But Morton did. The soldier trapped was Sgt. Chad Rozanski.

The ammunition inside the Humvee had caught fire and was cooking off.

“My soldiers who were there watching said that I actually went into the burning Humvee, grabbed stuff, came out and started throwing it out,” he said. “But I don’t really remember it.”

But Morton did that as well.

Morton used a jack in an attempt to lift up the turret to get Rozanski out, but it didn’t work. Morton tried a few other things.

“I guess I broke (Rozanski’s) wrists from trying to pull him out, trying to dig him out to pull him out, but I couldn’t get him out,” Morton said.

Morton took one of the other Humvees and rammed the front part of the downed truck in an effort to push it off of Rozanski. On a second try, the downed Humvee was pushed back, but the turret popped off onto Rozanski.

“That really scared me, so I ran over and tried to pull the turret off of him,” Morton said.

That didn’t work, so Morton got a sling leg, roped the top of the turret and pulled back. The turret came free. Morton grabbed Rozanski, dragged him behind some of the other trucks and started treating him.

While Rozanski was trapped under the vehicle, he was burning.

“He was yelling at me, ‘Just shoot me and leave me here,’ ” Morton said. “I started getting upset. I started cursing at him. ‘We are not leaving you. I am not leaving you.’ It was just by the grace of God or whatever that we were able to pull him out. I couldn’t leave him.”

As the medevac helicopters were inbound, Morton was kneeling over Rozanski. Morton stood up to go, and he felt everything tighten up. Something was wrong. He was hurting. A moment later, Morton went unconscious. Morton was evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for about a week with minor burns to his hands along with neck and back injuries from straining to free Rozanski.

Rozanski survived the ordeal but lost his legs. The other three soldiers hurt in the blast also survived.

Morton and Rozanski were reunited at the brigade’s welcome home ceremony in December.

“(Rozanski) said, ‘Thank you so much. You saved my life,’ ” Morton said. “I said, ‘I just did my job. I’m just glad you’re able to be here with us.’ ”