Heavy rotor blades cut through the Iraqi night as American aviators raced towards a firefight unfolding below.
In August 2023, French special operations forces had come under attack from Islamic State militants near Hawija and a New York Army National Guard crew was sent to help. This week, France honored six of those guardsmen by awarding them the country’s National Defense Gold Medal with a Bronze star, the Army announced on Monday.
The crews launched from Erbil with orders to save around 35 French operators who were trapped under fire by ISIS combatants, according to the Army.
Within half an hour, the guardsmen loaded up — alongside a French quick reaction force — aboard two CH-47 Chinooks and took off into the night.
The crew had scant information about the situation on the ground as they flew 70 miles to insert reinforcements and then standby, ready to stabilize the situation from the air.
Years later, team members, who had in 2023 been assigned to B Company of the 3rd Battalion, 126th General Support Aviation Battalion, stood in a Rochester aviation support facility for commendation.
“We’re very proud of what they’ve done as aviators, but I’d say more importantly, I’m very proud of them being New York National Guard soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Michel Natali, the New York National Guard’s assistant adjutant general, Army, after the soldiers received their medals.
“The French government did not have to recognize our soldiers, but they went that extra mile to identify our soldiers who were working that evening to keep their soldiers safe,” he said.
The French government awarded medals to Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christopher Scott, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Aaron Taylor, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jared Twigg, Staff Sgt. Samuel Sacco, Sgt. Zachary Albright and Sgt. Jedediah Estrada.
The French National Defense Medal, the Médaille de la Défense nationale, can be awarded to French or allied military members in bronze, silver and gold. The addition of a bronze star device indicates that the awardee was recognized at the regimental or brigade level for work during multinational operations.
In 2024, French Gen. Thierry Burkhard, who was then country’s chief of National Defense Staff, authorized the medals.
One of the American crewmembers recalled the night as one fraught with unknowns.
“The biggest challenge was not knowing the situation on the ground or what support we had until we got on station,” said Scott, the operation’s air mission commander.
Despite that, the crew responded.
“I’m most proud of the way the crew came together,” Scott said, adding, “while I was receiving the mission, the crew was already preparing the aircraft.”
One French paratrooper, Sgt. Nicolas Mazier, was killed during the fight.
Estrada, who served as a door gunner during the mission, said Mazier’s death has lingered in his mind. For Estrada, the award is a symbol of remembrance.
“Being honored by the French government is a way for me to continue honoring his legacy — not just what our unit was able to do, but what we accomplished together with our partner force,” he said.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
