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Beverly soldier commended for calm under fire in Iraq

By Paul Leighton
Staff writer
Published: January 13, 2009

BEVERLY — Patrick Cullen describes the events of April 23, 2008, with the matter-of-fact detachment of a soldier who, at age 21, has already seen his share of battles.

"I didn't think I did anything too spectacular outside of doing my job and getting it done," he said.

Cullen's superiors agree that the U.S. Army specialist from Beverly "got the job done" that day in Salahad-Dinh Province in Iraq, but they weren't so modest in their description of his actions.

The Department of the Navy has awarded Cullen the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for "heroic achievement" while serving as the gunner atop his platoon leader's Humvee on a reconnaissance patrol in support of a Marine Corps unit.

The commendation's retelling of Cullen's actions reads like a scene from a movie:

"Specialist Cullen exposed himself to enemy fire during a direct fire engagement with 11 heavily armed insurgents ..."

"Specialist Cullen calmly rendered reports to his platoon leader regarding the enemy's composition and disposition upon initial contact."

"Specialist Cullen aimed effective point and area fires on the enemy while his vehicle maneuvered through extremely rough terrain and was struck with numerous bullets and shrapnel from exploding grenades."

"Specialist Cullen killed at least two insurgents, one of which attempted to engage friendly forces with an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) less than 100 meters away, preventing damage and friendly casualties."

Cullen said getting the medal was "very cool," but downplayed his role that day as part of the job of an infantryman. He spent 14 months in Iraq, performing various reconnaissance missions and "owning battle space," as he put it.

"I'm an infantryman, so naturally you're going to see a lot of action," he said. "The idea of an infantryman is to go out and locate the enemy and close and destroy."

Cullen is also trained to serve as rifleman, grenadier or radio telephone operator on the Humvee. But he said he likes to ride on top, as the gunner, "so I can see what's going on."

"I just wanted to ride in the turret that morning," he said.

Cullen grew up in Ryal Side, the son of Don and Paula Cullen and the younger brother of Matthew. He enlisted in the Army five days after graduating from Bishop Fenwick in 2006.

He said he always wanted to serve his country, and with two wars in progress, "I figured somebody had to step up. If I wasn't going to do it, who was?"

He graduated from infantry school at Fort Benning in Georgia, then enrolled in airborne school and joined the famed 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He's a member of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, one of the 82nd's three infantry regiments.

Cullen said he plans to complete his four-year enlistment and then go back to school, with an eye on getting into law enforcement.

"I wanted to enjoy being young while I can," he said.

In the meantime, he's back at Fort Bragg for more training and expects to be sent back overseas in the near future.

"I'm not too nervous about it. I'm a little excited," he said. "It's another opportunity to do my job and serve my country again."

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