Former Revere man earns Bronze Star

Saved fellow soldiers during first firefight



Boston Globe - December 11, 2009

Army Specialist Marc Silvestri was pinned behind a bush in the mountains of Afghanistan, about 2 miles from the Pakistani border. Dozens of Taliban insurgents fired at him from three sides.

“I looked down and saw my foot exposed,’’ the Revere native said in a recent interview. “As I pulled it in, a round immediately cracked off the rock.

“At that point I thought, ‘I could die right now.’ It brought back thoughts of my daughter, my family.’’

In his first firefight, Silvestri sprang into action on that August morning last year, killing three attackers and saving 31 fellow soldiers in an act of bravery that would later earn him the Bronze Star with Valor.

“I said, ‘You know what, you can either die sitting here behind a bush, or you can try to make it out of here,’ ’’ said Silvestri, 31. “No matter what, I was fighting.’’

As Silvestri had done when he set numerous rushing records on Revere High School’s football field 12 years ago, he used his speed and elusiveness on the battlefield.

His squad leader, Staff Sergeant Steven Ellsberry of Ohio, who nominated Silvestri for the Bronze Star, confirmed the account of what happened that day.

Sly, as he is known to buddies in the Army, dodged enemy fire and ran 80 yards down a hillside to his platoon leader, who was trapped in the open.

“As I got there, I positioned myself in front of him and said, ‘Sir, get behind the rock,’ ’’ Silvestri said. “I was in the open at that point. Then the guys that were firing popped up, and I sprayed them and actually got both.’’

Silvestri and the lieutenant then huddled behind a rock and radioed back to base, he said.

About an hour later, Silvestri’s group seemed safe, but 15 Afghan National Army soldiers and their two Marine Corps advisers were still trapped up the mountain, awaiting air support.

“The Marine was at the top saying, ‘We can’t pull out; we’re pinned down,’ ’’ Silvestri said. “So I got up and ran about 100 meters up the hill.’’

Silvestri said he positioned himself directly under the final insurgent.

“He leaned out to fire, and I took a step out, looked up, and shot and killed him,’’ he said.

The collection of 32 US and Afghan troops then sprinted back to base, uninjured after a three-hour fight.

“If it wasn’t for Sly, some of the guys would have gotten seriously wounded or killed,’’ said Ellsberry.

“He saved some soldiers’ lives. There is no other way around it.’’

About two months later, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded next to Silvestri while he slept, leaving him with a concussion and shrapnel in his legs. He was awarded a Purple Heart.

In April, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the eighth-highest medal in the Army.

In the past eight years, 1,179 soldiers serving in Afghanistan have received the medal, said Wayne Hall, Army spokesman.

“There are lots of heroic acts performed by our soldiers over there, but only a select few of them warrant a Bronze Star’’ with Valor, Hall said. “It’s not easy to earn.’’

Silvestri was raised in Revere and attended American International College in Springfield, where he played football. He now lives with his wife, Nicole, and 6-year-old daughter Sienna at Fort Knox, Ky.

The family is expecting another daughter in March and his second deployment late next year.

Silvestri is humble about his accolades.

“When he came home, he wasn’t very talkative about it,’’ said his mother, Sharon. “He told us, ‘I was just doing my job.’ ’’