Page 113 - michael-ollis-album

Report: Staten Island soldier Michael Ollis died while protecting

another soldier from a suicide bomber (photos)

silive.com/news/index.ssf /2013/09/army_times_staten_island_soldi.html

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Everyone knew Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis was a hero, but new details have surfaced
documenting the leadership, selflessness and bravery that cost him his life.

One Army commander called Ollis a "Great American" and Rep. Michael Grimm said the New Dorp man displayed the
"ultimate act of heroism."

Ollis, 24, died in Afghanistan Aug. 28 protecting a Polish soldier from a suicide bomber during an attack on their base
that according to Army Times, included "grenades, rockets and a 3,000-pound bomb."

The Fort Drum, N.Y., soldier, of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division (Light), stepped into the path of an unnamed Polish officer, blocking him from the suicide vest of an insurgent
who had raided Forward Operating Base Ghazni.
"In emotional interviews with investigators, the Polish officer repeatedly praised SSG Ollis and credited him with saving
his life," according to an Army account of the Aug. 28 action obtained by Army Times.

"Unfortunately, we lost a great American there from 10th Mountain Division in that attack, but the defenders did
extraordinarily well," said Army Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, the No. 2 commander for the NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force. Milley is a former commander of the 10th Mountain Division.

Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, 24, of New Dorp, died saving another soldier.

In a ceremony on Sunday at the base, four American and two Polish army soldiers were recognized for valor in the
attack, according to the Army Times, "which began when a car bomb breached the base's eastern perimeter wall,
allowing 10 insurgents in suicide vests to infiltrate the compound."

The Army Times gave this account of the attack:

The massive blast from the car bomb reverberated across the post at 3:54 a.m. on Aug. 28, kicking off an
assault from the east, west and north sides, as insurgents rained mortar shells, shoulder-fired rockets and
hand grenades from outside the post, according to Army accounts.

Though it's highly unlikely insurgents would have been able to overrun the base, it holds strategic importance
as ISAF's local headquarters and a traffic hub to Gardez and Khost to the east.

Troops who headed to the blast site to aid the wounded found insurgents in suicide vests with assault rifles
who had poured through the breach.

The two sides locked in 10 minutes of close combat as coalition troops fought through gunshot and shrapnel
wounds.

Meanwhile, Ollis -- who first accounted for his men in a bunker -- raced toward the bomb blast's massive white
smoke plume and the sound of gunfire.