Sacramento Marine posthumously awarded Bronze Star

The family of Cpl. Gurpreet Singh visited Camp San Mateo here to receive the Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device posthumously awarded to their son, May 30, 2013. Singh, a native of Punjab, India, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor for heroic service in Afghanistan. After immigrating to Sacramento, Calif., when he was 10, Singh enlisted as an infantryman in the Marine Corps when he turned 17, and went on to serve two combat deployments with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. As stated in his award citation, Singh aggressively led his Marines on daily combat patrols through insurgent infested areas in Sangin district, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Despite being struck in his front body armor by small-arms fire during a firefight on June 4, 2011, he remained undeterred and continued to lead his Marines. On June 22, 2011, while leading his Marines through a dangerous area, Singh was struck down by enemy fire.