SGT David Wimberg, 24, was a member of a Marine Reserve unit based [in Louisville, KY]. He was killed in Hadithah, in western Iraq on May 25, 2005.

Wimberg, a 1999 graduate of Louisville Trinity High School, was a squad leader in Iraq. He and his fellow Marines were pinned down in a street after an enemy ambush, according to a citation signed by Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter.

It said Wimberg left his covered position, "maneuvered through intense small-arms fire and scaled a wall" to reach the courtyard where the attackers were.

"Although twice driven back by high volumes of enemy fire, on his third attempt, he opened the gate and allowed his squad to enter" the courtyard. After two failed attempts to breach the front door of the house where the gunmen had holed up, "Sgt. Wimberg kicked in the door."

Wimberg was then face to face with four armed insurgents, and he "engaged the enemy at close quarters, firing his M16-A4 rifle until he was shot and fell to the ground unconscious," the citation said.

His actions "created the momentum needed to break the ambush. Many Marines' lives were saved as a result of Sgt. Wimberg's decisive and selfless actions," it said.

Gunnery Sgt. Larry Bowman, who served with Wimberg in Iraq, described him as "an exceptional Marine and a great leader. We had great respect for him."