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LOU DOBBS:
And now "Heroes," out tribute to the men and women
who serve us all in this nation's uniform. Tonight,
we introduce you to former Army Staff Sergeant Scott
Lawson. Four years ago he led a weapons squad into
the Iraqi city of Fallujah to root out al Qaeda
terrorists. Philippa Holland has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIPPA HOLLAND, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice
over): In his work boots and hard hat, Scott Lawson
blends right in with his fellow construction workers.
He's part of a team with a goal to accomplish, yet
what happened on a house-to-house search for members
of al Qaeda will make him stand out forever.
Lawson was in charge of an Army weapons squad in
Fallujah with orders to enter a maze of darkened
houses to kill or capture insurgents. CNN Baghdad
correspondent, Michael Ware, then writing for "Time"
magazine, embedded with Lawson's platoon on the
mission.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: When Lawson and
the others of the platoon went into that house, al
Qaeda lay in wait. They'd set an ambush under the
stairs, drawing the young soldiers into the house,
and waiting until they were just six feet away in a
narrow corridor before they opened up with machine
guns from behind a fortified bunkered position.
HOLLAND: Driven out by heavy gunfire, the soldiers
reground. Lawson's squad leader asked for volunteers
to join him and root out the enemy. Lawson, armed
only with a pistol and 30 rounds, stepped forward.
STAFF SGT SCOTT LAWSON, U.S. ARMY (RET): It was just
me and him. And he was going to go in and I said, I
can't let you go in by yourself. I wasn't going to
let him go in there by himself and die. Because
that's what we thought was going to happen. So much
is running through your head, it's like, am I going
to come back out of this house? What's going to
happen?
That night it was hectic, crazy. You lose your mind a
little bit. You try to keep yourself sane. But
there's not much you can do when you got bullets
whizzing all around.
HOLLAND: As Lawson provided cover, the squad leader
killed two al Qaeda terrorists and then moved to a
second floor. By the time the fight was over, there
were as many as six al Qaeda terrorists dead.
Today, Lawson works for a contractor in suburban
Detroit. Soon he will marry his fiancee. Four years
after Lawson left Fallujah, he's still modest about
his bravery.
LAWSON: The owner of the company, he calls me a hero
every time he sees me. It's kind of funny. A lot of
the guys I worked with never really knew. I felt like
I did my job over there. That's what I went over
there for.
HOLLAND: Philippa Holland, CNN.