York Town News
York soldier finds a piece of home in Afghanistan
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Capt. Sean McQuade shows the discarded York School Department book he found on a shelf in the abandoned guesthouse of an anti-coalition commander in Afghanistan.
Courtesy photo
YORK - When Army Capt. Sean McQuade stood in the deserted guesthouse of a key leader of insurgent forces in Afghanistan, he never expected he would find a small hardcover book that was once the property of his elementary school.
But there it was, on a bookshelf with several other items, a small orange-colored book entitled "Virgil I. Grissom Boy Astronaut," published in 1971 and written by Carl L. Chappell, and stamped with a York School Department insignia and, in capital letters, the word "DISCARD."
The deserted compound where McQuade stood belonged to Habib Jan, a man described by Army officials as an insurgent commander - responsible for many Coalition Force casualties - who had been sought for three years.
"I had no idea what this was doing up there," McQuade said in an interview in York last week during his leave from active duty.
Before he stood in Habib Jan's guesthouse in Afghanistan and saw a book from Coastal Ridge Elementary School, McQuade said he had believed in free will. At that moment, though, he said he had to wonder.
McQuade brought the book home with him, and pointed to a faded stamp that reads "Bridges of Learning" as an indication of how the book made the long journey to Afghanistan. However, he said, it is a mystery as to how it fell into the hands of Habib Jan or his followers.
"I found the book in this one village," he said of the unexpected discovery, adding that he did not know at the time that he and his officers would be the ones to destroy Jan's anti-coalition cell.
For his actions in Shudergay village on April 22, McQuade has been nominated for the Army's Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action.
And although his entire term of service in Afghanistan, to date, has been just over 15 months, this is not the first time he has been honored.
McQuade was awarded the Bronze Star for performance during his first eight months of service in Afghanistan. He was a first lieutenant at the time.
Not one to brag about accomplishments, McQuade explains he has a job to do and is striving to do that job to the best of his ability.
McQuade said some of the things he is most happy about is the work being done for the people of Afghanistan, such as building roads and schools. He said the portion of the country where he is stationed is incredibly beautiful, but unlike any place he has been before.
"I grew up here. I went to high school here and then I went to college at Northeastern," said McQuade, who graduated from York High School in 1999 and went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual major in political science and criminal justice in 2003.
During college, McQuade took part in a co-op program working for the York Police Department as a part-time police officer for three years. He worked full-time in the summer and then as needed during the year before departing for active service in Afghanistan.
McQuade received an ROTC scholarship right out of high school "prior to the world falling apart on Sept. 11," and chose active duty in the Army for the service obligation part of his ROTC participation.
He was first deployed in March of 2006, serving in Afghanistan for 15 and a half months before returning home on leave just a few weeks ago.
In nominating McQuade to receive the Bronze Star Medal for his first eight months of service, his commanding officer wrote of McQuade's assignment in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan.
"McQuade was chosen to spearhead this incredibly difficult task because of his ability to think outside of the box, to accomplish any task he is given no matter the circumstances, and to courageously lead his soldiers from the front and tenaciously pursue the enemy at all times," the narrative reads. "... He immediately made a significant impact on the companies' operations in the Pech River Valley through his thorough understanding of civil-military operations and their effect on the local populace."
And McQuade's actions have now been credited with the death of Habib Jan, who was killed in that 17-hour battle in Shudergay where McQuade's 24 soldiers and the seven Afghan National Army members who joined them fought against all odds to defeat a much larger and well-hidden team of insurgents.
When his former colleagues at the York Police Department learned of his honors in Afghanistan, they were quick to praise McQuade for living up to his potential.
For his part, however, McQuade is modest about his accomplishments. In discussing his Bronze Star Award and the pending Silver Star Medal nomination, McQuade's focus is on making a difference. He said he never expected when he graduated from York High School eight years ago that he would find himself serving in the rugged mountains of a nation so far from home.
He left Afghanistan as a captain, but will return as a platoon leader when he returns for his next year-long tour of duty. After that, he hopes to go to graduate school, he said, smiling as he added that he would like to be accepted to an Ivy League university - just to prove he can do it.
And those who have served with McQuade seem to have no doubt about his ability.
According to the nomination entered by McQuade's commander for the Silver Star Medal, "Capt. McQuade's total disregard for his own personal safety, in order to suppress enemy fighting positions ... exemplifies what it means to be a combat leader. His valorous actions under intense enemy fire display his personal courage, his dedication to duty and his men."
