UNSUNG HEROES: Wounded And Under Fire, This MARSOC Corpsman Kept Fighting

[Valin]

Task And Purpose:

James Clark

March 3, 2016

 

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On April 25, 2013, Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin D. Baskin, a Navy Corpsman, with 3rd Marine Special Operations Battalion, set out with his team on a mission to the Kushe Village in Herat province, Afghanistan.

 

Baskin’s team began taking sporadic fire as soon as they reached one of their checkpoints, according to a March 2015 Department of Defense article. The team identified two separate groups of attackers moving into fighting positions, and as the mission continued, Baskin’s team became pinned down down behind a cemetery wall.

 

“Another teammate ran to our position with the 60mm mortar and started sending rounds down range,” said Baskin. “When he ran out of rounds for the 60, he left the cemetery to another wall about 50 meters in front of us. When he looked up to try and suppress the enemy, he was shot.”

 

Related: UNSUNG HEROES: The Corpsman who sprinted into gunfire to save 5 Marines »

 

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For his bravery under fire, Baskin was awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor, during a ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on March 20, 2015. He also received his second Purple Heart. On a previous deployment with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Baskin was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and evacuated to U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where he worked for eight months while recuperating.

 

“I am proud to be receiving an award like this,” said Baskin. “I felt like I was just doing my job … what anyone else on the team would have done if put into the situation. It’s a very surreal feeling.”

 

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