Spc.Jason Stadel

Joey Banegas and his wife Jennifer, of Las Cruces, N.M., stand on stage with Maj. Gen. Robert P. Lennox, commanding general of Fort Bliss and USAADACEN, and Command Sgt. Maj. Robert S. Rodgers, command sergeant major of Fort Bliss and USAADACEN. They awarded the medically retired Soldier the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device. Banegas lost his leg in another firefight four days after the action that earned him the Bronze Star.

Las Cruces Soldier receives unexpected hero’s honor

Spc. Joseph Edmondson
USASMA Public Affairs

The spread of democracy to the oppressed people of Afghanistan was never more crucial than during their historic elections in October 2004.

Joey Banegas, of Las Cruces, N.M., understood this firsthand. On the 10th of that month, Banegas, then a specialist and a 50-caliber anti-tank gunner assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, was in charge of providing MK-19 machine gun protection atop an up-armored Humvee. The mission: safely deliver ballot boxes to their nearby camp for tabulation.

That day would test Banegas’ resolve, and his actions would take two-and-a-half years to be recognized, but he would pay a huge price for it that would be exacted four days later.

As Banegas’ convoy cruised through the streets near Pir Jawad, Taliban fighters unleashed a deadly ambush from a nearby cornfield. The lead vehicle – Benagas’ vehicle – was hit head-on by a rocket-propelled grenade and burst into flames. Ignoring the flames and a growing fuel leak threatening to kill him and everyone else near the vehicle, Banegas held the enemy at bay, cleared the vehicle of all sensitive items and secured the ballot box for delivery while saving the life of a lieutenant.

These actions led to the formal recognition he received Jan. 4 in front of more than 700 students and staff from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

The ceremony began when Banegas, now a medically retired sergeant, was escorted into the auditorium by Col. David J. Abramowitz, the Academy commandant, and Maj. Gen. Robert Lennox, commander of U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss.

Banegas wore his Class A’s, adorned with his previous awards, including the Combat Infantryman Badge and two Purple Hearts. His uniform was pressed and clean, the brass shining and creases sharp. The only thing missing, other than the Bronze Star he was about to receive, was his right leg. He entered to a spontaneous standing ovation with thunderous applause and took his seat next to Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Rodgers, command sergeant major of Fort Bliss.

The ceremony began with the reading of a letter written by Capt. Drew Sloan, the then lieutenant who Banegas saved in 2004. Sloan described the scene that day as a 30-minute firefight with enemy bullets impacting all around them and Sloan praised Banegas’ dedication to him as he pulled him out of the burning vehicle and carried him on his shoulder from point to point while making sure Sloan was always out of harm’s way. Sloan recalled the last thing he told Banegas when he finally delivered him to a helicopter for evacuation: “Don’t drop me, Banegas!”

“I don’t know why I said that – Joey doesn’t drop people, Joey doesn’t let people down,” Sloan said. “It’s not who he is.”

Banegas’ actions left an impression on Sloan, and last week on Lennox and Abramowitz, who both spoke of the Soldier’s actions in high regard.

Lennox told the audience that it was only after talking to Banegas he realized he did not lose his leg on that particular day. Instead, he went out on another patrol four days later, still bandaged and wounded from the previous ambush, when his Humvee hit an IED.

Banegas said the attack happened in the same location as the ambush; this time luck wasn’t on his side. He found himself 75 feet from his vehicle, feeling as though he had lost both his legs and realizing that his right leg was only loosely attached to his body.

That injury, among others sustained that day, would lead to multiple surgeries and more than 18 months of recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In January 2006, Banegas retired from the Army; a choice he said was very difficult to make.

Abramowitz stood on stage after Lennox and said he was awake for much of the previous night thinking about Banegas and his story. He said he wasn’t worthy to present such an outstanding Soldier with such a distinguished award and that’s when he called Lennox and asked him to pin Banegas.

Lennox made good on his commitment and bestowed an honor upon Banegas he never expected.

“[This ceremony was] a lot more than I expected … I don’t see it as being a hero, I think that ‘hero’ is a really big word … it’s too big of a word,” Banegas said. “I’m just a Soldier like any other Soldier doing my job, it just happened to be me that day at that place and time.

“I truly have faith and confidence in my fellow Soldiers that they would have done the same for me.”