Hero, Beaufort-based Marine awarded Bronze Star

BEAUFORT -- On Oct. 30, 2006, with his ears still ringing from a nearby explosion, Staff Sgt. Daniel Bogart told approaching medics to halt while he dismantled an improvised explosive device by the side of the road in Ramadi, Iraq.

Bogart said he had just disarmed two of three improvised explosive devices under enemy small-arms fire with a remote-controlled robot when an approaching Humvee triggered a hidden fourth IED.

The blast was blocked partially by the Humvee's tires, but Bogart's eardrums were damaged and his partner was sprayed with shrapnel fragments.

To ensure the medics were not harmed by the third IED, Bogart defused it by hand before he and his partner were taken to safety. Manually defusing an IED is considered one of the most hazardous operations an explosive ordnance disposal Marine can perform, Bogart said.

Bogart, 28, accepted the Bronze Star on Friday at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort with the same cool demeanor that saved his life and the lives of those around him on 174 bomb-disposal missions in Iraq.

Bogart received the medal and his senior explosive ordnance disposal insignia for defusing more than 11,000 pounds of ordnance from August 2006 to March.

The Midland, Texas, native is with the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company of the 1st Marine Logistics Group.

"I wish they could give this award to my whole team," he said. "Nobody gets anything done on their own. When your team sets you up for success like this, you can't go wrong."

Bogart's father, Brian, said he waited by the phone for days with Bogart's wife, Melissa.

"At first, he couldn't even talk to his wife on the phone to tell her he was OK," he said, because Bogart still couldn't hear. "He had to send her an e-mail."

Despite his job's hazards, Bogart said he doesn't believe in sugar-coating what he does for his children, Kimberly, 8, and Austin, 7. "They know what I do," he said. "I won't hide it from them."

As they watched the Bronze Star being pinned to their father's chest, however, Kimberly and Austin were all smiles.

"I'm so happy for daddy," Kimberly said. "I think daddy and all the people who work with him did a good job."