"The Blessed Company:" SSG William Francis ‘Bill’ Manuel Memorial Highway and Overpass: U.S. Highway 165

This article recounts the story of the death of SSG William Manuel and SSG Robert Sweeney III on January 10, 2005, in Iraq as part of their service to their country during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This article contains subject matter that some may find distressing. Please note that this article’s purpose is to honor the sacrifices of these brave men who were involved and to ensure that they are not forgotten.

       William Francis ‘Bill’ Manuel was born February 27, 1970, in Oberlin, Louisiana to Kermit and Shirley Manuel. He attended Oberlin High School and McNeese State University in Lake Charles, where he received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. In 1995, he began working at the Grand Casino Coushatta in Kinder around the time of its grand opening. Manuel was a remarkable man of faith, having been an altar server at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church for eleven years and later a member of St. Phillip Neri Catholic Church in Kinder.

       Manuel enlisted and was assigned to the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana Army National Guard at the time of the first Persian Gulf War. He trained at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas and Fort Irwin in California before being deployed to Iraq in 2004 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was a member of Hard Rock Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion of the 156th Mechanized Infantry Regiment that was based out of Camp Liberty near the Baghdad airport.

         After a series of near misses from missiles and other explosives during their time out in the field, Manuel and his men felt as if they were protected by God as they prayed daily for safety. He worked closely with 1st LT Brian Stevens of Baton Rouge, SFC Orise Cormier of Oberlin, SSG Thomas Berryhill of Pineville, SSG James Johnson of Lake Charles, SGT Cletus Baber, SGT (promoted to SSG after death) Robert Sweeney III of Pineville, SGT Blake Quebedeaux of Leonville, SGT Jack Gunter of Natchitoches, SGT Cezar Francis studying at Northwestern State University, SGT Gary Walters of Sulphur, CPL Eric Sessions of Lake Charles, SPC Matthew Carnicle of Deville, SPC Kyle Pilley of Natchitoches, and SPC James Tidwell of Ville Platte. The following story was reported by the survivors the day it happened.

       On the morning of January 10th, 2005, Manuel returned to Camp Liberty with a damaged Bradley Fighting Vehicle (a tracked armored fighting vehicle). He spoke with Cormier who told him to be careful. “’Don’t worry. Three-two never gets hit,” he [SSG Manuel] said, using the numerical designation for his Bradley. “Nobody wants a piece of three-two.’” Manuel and his men set off again in another Bradley accompanying Berryhill’s lead Bradley. An explosion from an IED (improvised explosive device) ripped through the desert and Manuel’s Bradley burst into flames. Hundreds of the squad’s own rounds of 25mm had been lit by the flames and pelted the inside of the Bradley.

     The first Bradley, driven by Pilley stopped, Carnicle and Quebedeaux jumped out to save their squadmates. Sessions was the first out, opening the top hatch in a daze. He was interrupted by a scream from Walters, trapped in the gun turret by one crushed and one fractured ankle. Carnicle shouted for Sessions to drop the back ramp that only came down partially because of the damage the Bradley took in the attack. Johnson, covered in oil, face and leg battered by shrapnel, with a broken kneecap, was standing at the back of the Bradley where he was struggling to rescue Sweeney. Quebedeaux and Berryhill stepped in as Johnson collapsed from exhaustion. Sweeney was dead and the men prayed over him.

      Meanwhile, Sessions, who was not wounded, dodged bullets and flames and climbed back into the Bradley. He rescued Walters and set him down on the ground, joining Quebedeaux and Stevens in the pursuit of Manuel, who had been last seen inside reaching for something within the Bradley. They opened the hatch, and the smoke cleared just enough for them to see where the IED had exploded and left a hole in the floor of the Bradley. Manuel was dead and they were unable to rescue his body at that time. Still inside the Bradley, Baber regained consciousness as he was drenched in diesel fuel. He carefully avoided the flames and rescued Tidwell and escaped the Bradley. Once the others were out, they radioed for help and the medevac helicopters arrived.

     These 14 soldiers were recommended for medals of valor, “up to and including the Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor among combat awards.” However, some struggled with the thought of even getting inside of another Bradley. Berryhill told Carnicle “You have to. You don’t have a choice. I’m going to have to go back, too. It’s what the men who died would have wanted.” The wounded men were already in route to Louisiana. Those still in were thankful to be alive and lived out the rest of their careers in honor of those they loved on that cold January morning in Baghdad.

     At Manuel’s funeral, retired SGT Nora Popillion recounted how the two would sit on the second story of the tower at Fort Polk, smoking cigars and listening to zydeco music. He said Manuel would tell those attending his funeral, “Bury me. Honor me, but live ... I lived a good life.” A week before the deaths of Manuel and Sweeney, SPC Bradley Bergeron, SGT Christopher Babin, and PFC Armand Frickey, all of Houma, SPC Warren Murphy of Marrero, SPC Huey Fassbender III of LaPlace and SFC Kurt Comeaux of Raceland had been killed in another blast.