Show Marines Marine's extended family accepts Navy Cross Tony lony Perry Los Angeles Times When Christopher Adlesperger graduated from Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego his family was there to show support And after he was killed in combat in Iraq the family gathered at the hometown airport in Albuquerque NM to await the arrival of his body On Friday his extended family assembled again this time at Camp Pendleton accepting a Navy Cross awarded to him posthumously More than Marines have served in Iraq but only 14 had received the Navy Cross second only to the Medal of Honor for bravery Adlesperger who was 20 and devoted to protecting his fellow Marines was the It means a lot to the family that Chris gets this recognition his mother Annette Griego said after a short and emotional ceremony He loved his family he loved his friends and he especially loved the corps The Navy Cross is in recognition of Adlesperger's bravery on Nov 10 2004 during a mission to rout out insurgents hiding in When his squad came under machine-gun machine fire from insurgents barricaded inside a house Adlesperger assumed leadership protecting two wounded squad members blocking an insurgent assault and killing an estimated dozen insurgents in a minute 30 firefight His face bloody with shrapnel wounds he refused medical aid until other Marines were given care and the body of his close friend Lance CpI Erick Hodges was recovered Adlesperger was credited with saving the lives of innumerable Marines Adlesperger was promoted to lance corporal and assigned as a squad leader I still cry a lot you never get over it Griego said You never forget Hundreds from Adlesperger's unit Kilo Company 3rd Battalion Regiment attended the ceremony S r 0 l t It l i u. u b Los Angeles Times photo by Don Bartletti Annette Griego attends a ceremony awarding a Navy Cross to her late son Christopher Adlesperger |