Wes Walker is seen handing out bottled water to Afghan children in this file photo provided to the Free Lance last summer. Walker most recently has been awarded a medal from his company for bravely helping Marines escape from danger.
Chris Walker's husband, former San Benito County sheriff's deputy Wes Walker, often tells her this: "I was built for war, not peace."
He proved that in early June when he braved heavy enemy fire to assist two badly wounded Marines and received a prestigious DynCorp Presidential Medal of Valor award for his "extraordinary courage."
Walker left back in March on a one-year contract job with DynCorp, a United States-based private military contractor that seeks to "professionalize and support the national Afghan police," said Douglas Ebner, director of media relations at DynCorp.
Until a recent promotion that has him running an Afghan Training Facility, Walker had been embedded with a group of U.S. Marines. It was with that group that he encountered trouble in late October.
"It was a squad of Marines and myself walking through a field on a patrol," Walker told the Free Lance. "We were ambushed by the Taliban and during the ambush our squad leader was impacted by a rocket that detonated near him.
"He was out of commission as far as command, so I took command and led an offensive against the enemy."
Walker summarized that they "eliminated them and extricated ourselves from the area."
Walker said that "at least" 20 Taliban were killed in the three-and-a-half hour firefight in which the Marines used M-4 machine guns and eventually received support from United States "gun trucks" that arrived on the scene.
"Two brave Marines lost their lives in the incident," finished Walker.
The incident earned a rare honor from Walker's employer, DynCorp, which is "a highly successful provider of critical support to military and civilian government institutions," according to the company's Web site. That honor was presented to Walker at a lavish ceremony in Falls Church, Virginia, also attended by the CEO and president of the multi-billion dollar company.
"It was an honor and a privilege to receive the award, but I don't think I did anything above and beyond what those Marines did," said Walker.
But according to Ebner: "The reason we gave him the recognition was his extraordinary courage in bringing aid to the wounded Marines."
He added that Walker was practicing first aid while returning fire at Taliban combatants who were targeting him. Ebner also noted that only seven such medals had been awarded in the 62-year history of DynCorp.
DynCorp flew the entire Walker family out for the ceremony and, said Chris Walker, "It was wonderful."
"We weren't sure what to expect, but there was a nice dinner, and then a lot of speakers," she continued, noting that she "really learned a lot" about her husband.
"After the others spoke, Wes gave a nice speech, deflecting attention away from himself, and you could tell it was bittersweet for him because two of his buddies were killed," his wife explained, adding that she and her entire family then stood in front of the podium and "every single person there came and shook our hands, expressing their praise and thanks."
Mrs. Walker said she feels better now that her husband is out of active patrol.
"He is on a base now and relatively safer, but I know the kind of man I married, and I told him when he left, 'I can do this for a year.'"
Jeff Gatlin Jeff Gatlin is a staff writer at The Hollister Free Lance. You can call him at (831) 637-5566 or send him an email.
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