MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii -- Friends and fellow Marines gathered to recognize the sacrifice and courage of one of their own during a ceremony here April 2.
Major Gen. Willie J. Williams, commanding general, Logistics Command, Albany, Ga., presented the medal to Capt. Elliot Mora, general account storage officer-in-charge, Combat Support Service Group 3.
He served as an embedded advisor with the Iraqi Army’s Military Transition Team 11, in Hit, Iraq.
Mora was wounded during a memorial ceremony for his friend and fellow advisor Capt. Robert M. Secher, Oct. 9, 2006.
“Captain Secher was my roommate and a good friend; he was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Hit,” said Mora.
The day after Secher was killed by enemy fire, Mora began to plan a memorial ceremony for him. During a rehearsal, the compound came under mortar fire.
During the attack Mora took shrapnel to both his legs and was peppered with metal down his back and arms.
According to Mora, most of the shrapnel remains in him, as it would be potentially damaging to surgically remove the pieces.
“They just stitched me up and put me on light duty for about a month,” said Mora.
Despite the injuries Mora continued with his tour, rehabilitating himself while still serving with the MiTT team.
He still continues physical therapy and will have to for an undetermined amount of time. However, Mora said this would not stop his career.
He said it would take far more than shrapnel to break him away from his brotherhood.
“I will most definitely stay in the Marine Corps,” he added. “The rest of the Marines still serving, my brothers, they’re the reason I still keep going.”
As tragic as the attack was, Mora said some good was taken away from it.
“Once (the Iraqi soldiers) saw that I was shedding blood next to them it was a new experience that created a much tighter bond between us,” said Mora. “There were a few (soldiers) that came up to me who said they felt a new brotherhood after surviving those attacks together.”
Mora said receiving the Purple Heart for his sacrifice is a double-edged sword.
“I’m humbled by this award,” he said. “I cannot help but think about those whose injuries are more tragic and severe than my own.”
The Purple Heart is a unique award. It is one of the only medals in which the word “congratulations” is not appropriate praise for its recipient. Instead, this award is meant to be associated with thanks and gratitude for the individual’s sacrifice.
“The Purple Heart is the only decoration that attests, without question, to the bearer having been in combat and one that an individual cannot be recommended for,” quoted from Tom Poulter, National Commander, The Military Order of the Purple Heart.
For Mora this medal reminds him of the thanks and appreciation his fallen comrades and brothers in arms deserve.
“I think of my friend Michael who didn’t come back. This award symbolizes his complete sacrifice,” said Mora. “It’s people like him who deserve the thanks.”
Williams said he was honored to be able to present this award to such an exemplary officer and one he expects great things from in the future.
“This is an opportunity to present the wonderful things that our young people are doing as they step up to serve our country,” said Williams. “As it has been said many times before, freedom has a high price and the actions of Captain Mora prove that freedom is indeed not free.”