Sisters airman awarded Bronze Star

Senior Airman John Leese, a 1995 Sisters High School graduate, has been awarded a Bronze Star for his actions during a convoy ambush in northern Iraq near Mosul last March.

The Bronze Star is one of the military's highest decorations for "heroic or meritorious achievement."

"I was on a convoy that was hit by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device),"Leese, who is now on leave in Little Rock Arkansas, told The Nugget.

Leese is a transport driver, part of an Air Force contingent assigned to support the U.S. Army First Infantry Division. He also has some medical training.

"I was the only one with a combat lifesaving bag on the convoy," he said.

Leese went to the aid of a driver who was slightly hurt and an infantryman who had suffered severe injuries. The truck was on fire and rounds of ammunition were "cooking off," creating a hazardous situation.

The driver survived; the infantryman Leese treated died the next day.

The convoy ambush was not the only occasion in which Leese went to the aid of a soldier. He was also at a Forward Operating Base during a mortar attack in which an infantryman was hit by shrapnel.

"The mortar round that got him landed 10 feet behind my truck," Leese said.

Leese provided medical aid to the infantryman, who survived his wounds.

The senior airman was in Iraq from February through August 10. He noted that he missed the birth of his first son, Johnathan Tyler Leese, who was born on July 1.

The Sisters High School graduate enlisted in the Air Force in 2000, looking for a career path.

"Most of my family were active duty military at some point in time, so I carried on the family tradition," he said.

Leese said he is currently cross training as a firefighter. If he goes back to Iraq, he would likely be stationed at an Air Force installation instead of detailed to a support battalion for the Army.

Leese plans to serve a full 20 years in the Air Force, then move back to Oregon.

He is the son of Mark and Kim Leese of Sisters.