This St. Paul soldier is in a class by himself

MANKATO -- Chad Malmberg isn't exactly a reluctant hero. More like a slightly bemused one.

Malmberg's world these days is the world of a 27-year-old senior at Minnesota State University, Mankato, happily completing studies at a campus peopled by slackers in flip-flops playing Hacky Sack in the bright autumn sun and coeds with cell phones that seem permanently attached to their ears.

His world was different just eight months ago, when Staff Sgt. Malmberg was commanding a convoy escort team attacked by 30 or more insurgents in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere in Iraq. What followed was a 50-minute firefight with the enemy so close you could see their faces in the muzzle flashes of their weapons.

When it was over, as many as nine insurgents lay dead and Malmberg's crew, though greatly outnumbered, escaped physically unscathed.

Malmberg's deeds that January night have elevated him to hero status.

On Saturday, the St. Paul native will be awarded the Silver Star, the fourth-highest military decoration available to a member of any branch of the U.S. military.

It is designated solely for valor in the face of the enemy, and Malmberg is the first Minnesota National Guard member to be awarded the medal since World War II.

Malmberg resists the idea that his is a special heroism.

"Anybody who is there when their country calls upon them and is willing to go overseas and serve their country is a hero," Malmberg said on Thursday at the condo he owns just off the Mankato campus. "The first time I put on that uniform, I felt like I was a hero. There's a lot of heroic actions going on all the time and they are not getting the same recognition."

A blast, then an ambush

Malmberg was in charge of five gun trucks that were escorting a couple dozen semitrailer trucks back to Talil from a base near the Baghdad airport on Jan. 27. He and about 2,500 other members of the Minnesota National Guard had been in Iraq for about 10 months of what would turn out to be a 16-month deployment. He had volunteered to go to Iraq and was assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry.

About 10 miles into the run, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in a convoy up ahead, forcing Malmberg's convoy to stop. It turned out to be the perfect place for an ambush: high berms and deep ditches and a guardrail making it impossible to turn around.

The enemy had established advantageous fire positions and were clearly skilled fighters.

When one of the Humvees ran low on ammunition, its gunner abandoned his mounted machine gun for his rifle. Another soldier got out of the truck and threw hand grenades. Malmberg fired a shoulder-launched rocket.

A rocket-propelled grenade detonated on the cab of one of the trucks, sending smoke billowing from both sides. A soldier rushed to the semi, thinking the driver was dead. Seeing that he had survived, the soldier dragged the driver to safety.

The fighting was intense and close. Soldiers had to use their personal weapons because the Humvee-mounted weapons could not be aimed so close to the vehicles. Malmberg threw a hand grenade, killing a half-dozen fighters in a nearby ditch.

His squad did not stick around to survey the damage. They moved to a safer area, made sure everyone was OK and continued on their journey to Talil.

"I didn't know if we had been there for 10 minutes or three hours," Malmberg said. "Even when I think back about it now, I kind of remember things in segments. You lose the concept of time because you are so focused."

Malmberg knew he and his men had been through a lot, but he puts it in perspective.

"It was a big deal, but it didn't seem like that at all," he said. "There's a lot of soldiers doing great things over there all the time."

Different from other students

Malmberg, a Stillwater High School graduate, didn't tell his family back home about the firefight for almost six months, until June, close to the end of his deployment.

"I guess he didn't want us to worry," said his father, Charlie Malmberg, a St. Paul cop who retired several years ago after putting in 25½ years on the department. "But we were worrying anyway."

An uncle, Gary, was also a cop in St. Paul for close to 18 years. It's Chad's hope to someday join the St. Paul Police Department when he completes his course work and licensing requirements.

Returning from Iraq to his senior year at Mankato, where he will graduate in December with honors, Malmberg enrolled in a police procedure class. The instructor asked the students one day if any of them had any experience that would relate to being a police officer.

Colleen Clarke, the instructor, recalled when Malmberg spoke up and told the story about the attack. It was more than anyone expected.

"We all stopped and everyone just listened," she said. "You could hear a pin drop. No one had any idea."

Clarke, who has several students now in Iraq, said Malmberg is different from most of her students. His short hair does not stand out so much these days, but he has a military bearing, sitting up straight in class and addressing questions only after giving his answer considerable thought.

"St. Paul would be lucky to have him," Clarke said. "Any department would be lucky to have him."

Another fight to remember

Despite numerous news media inquiries, Malmberg said he has not tired of talking about the firefight.

But in the end, he said, it doesn't rank as the most traumatic event during his 22-month deployment. That distinction would go to the IED attack during another convoy when the explosion nearly rolled over his up-armored Humvee.

Malmberg and his squad members spotted the bomber after setting off flares in the night sky. Using military terms, he said they "engaged" the man who had just tried to kill them.

"He, umm, won't be doing that again," Malmberg said, pausing and looking down.

Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636