Now this is heroism!!!!

Salvadoran Army Cited for Heroism in Iraq

Mon May 3, 6:07 AM ET

By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer

NAJAF, Iraq - One of his friends was dead, 12 others lay wounded and the four soldiers still left standing were surrounded and out of ammunition. So Salvadoran Cpl. Samuel Toloza said a prayer, whipped out his switchblade knife and charged the Iraqi gunmen.

In one of the only known instances of hand-to-hand combat in the Iraq (news - web sites) conflict, Toloza stabbed several attackers who were swarming around a comrade. The stunned assailants backed away momentarily, just as a relief column came to their rescue.

"We never considered surrender. I was trained to fight until the end," said the 25-year-old Toloza, one of 380 El Salvador (news - web sites) soldiers whose heroism is being cited just as criticism is leveled against other members of the multinational force in Iraq.