U.S. Marine Lance Cpls. James Blomstran and Ryan Gerrity,
Summary
U.S. Marine Lance Cpls. James Blomstran and Ryan Gerrity, an improvised explosive device detection dog handler and fire team leader with 2nd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and Blomstran’s dog Sage halt during a security patrol here, Dec. 12, near the canal from which they previously helped rescue nine Afghans. The 22-year-old Blomstran is from Cortland, Ohio, and the 21-year-old Gerrity is from Cranford, N.J. On a Dec. 2 night patrol, a vehicle carrying an Afghan family struck an Afghan National Army soldier and sent both plunging into the frigid canal. The ANA soldiers provided security while the 2nd Platoon Marines braved the swiftly moving current to recover the accident victims. “If any one of the Marines from our platoon was put in that situation, they would’ve done the same thing,” Gerrity said.