U.S. Army Captain Chris Carter won instant fame when he hoisted a Georgia

Bulldogs flag on one of Saddam Hussein's palaces during the invasion of Iraq

live on FoxNews. Nevertheless, that was not what earned him an official

commendation from the Georgia House of Representatives and made him a war hero.

Here is a spotlight on one of the Georgia Bulldogs' biggest fans.

The military piqued Carter's interest at an early age. He joined the Reserve

Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in high school and entered the Georgia National

Guard the summer before his senior year at Oconee County High. In 1995, Carter

earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of Georgia and then went on

active duty as a second lieutenant. He graduated from both the Army's Airborne

and Ranger schools and was assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a

unit in the 82nd Airborne stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Three years

later, he was reassigned to the 3rd Infantry Division and later sent overseas in

2001. Carter was in Kosovo on September 11.

"I had just walked out of a briefing and it was on the Armed Forces Network

live," he said. "I was pretty shocked."

He knew right away that at some point he would be called on to fight in the

brewing War on Terror, but nothing happened immediately, and his unit continued

their peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. Football season was in full swing at the

time, and the only way Carter could keep up with the Bulldogs was to access the

Internet, and one website in particular - UGASports.com - was his favorite.

"I would sit on the computer all the time looking at UGASports.com," he said.

"That is where I would get my Bulldog news."

While he was able to catch a game or two on the Armed Forces Network, the

Internet remained his primary source for Georgia news. Soon orders came to move

to Iraq. Carter was in charge of about 150 soldiers--Company A, 3rd Battalion,

7th Infantry, which was a part of Army's Task Force 4-64, part of the 3rd

Infantry Division.

When the 3rd Infantry arrived in the Middle East, they resumed training for the

impending invasion of Iraq. While they hoped to be deep into the country by the

end of the year, Carter spent New Year's Day in Kuwait. As the Army saying goes:

"Hurry up and wait"--and it was back to the day-to-day grind.

"We thought we would have already been in Baghdad by the time the Sugar Bowl

happened," he said.

As an officer, Carter had access to the Internet and continued to log on to

websites to get the latest Georgia football news, but finally the day came to

put football aside and win a war. After being delayed by sandstorms, Carter's

unit started moving forward on Saturday, May 17, 2003.

The 3rd Infantry Division saw their share of fighting on his way to Iraq's

capital. Carter's column consisted of six to ten Bradley armored fighting

vehicles, each loaded with a dozen infantrymen. Also along for the ride were

four Abrams tanks. Receiving sporadic small arms fire was not uncommon, but when

a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) exploded about 10 yards from his Bradley,

Carter certainly took notice.

"It was kind of like hunting in Oconee County at the start of deer season," he

chuckled.

With an Associated Press photojournalist embedded within his unit, Carter was

often quoted in news stories, but his actions warranted this exposure. His

biggest moment, the one for which he received commendation from the Georgia

Legislature, took place on March 31, 2003 at a bridge over the Euphrates River

at Al Hindiyah.

Carter recalls the scene: "One of my platoon sergeants was the first one to see

the woman on the bridge. He let us know that they were trading fire back and

forth with the enemy that was on the other side, and that there was a lady out

there trying to wave at us. She was shot and immediately it looked like she had

died. Then about 15 or twenty minutes later she poked her head up and started to

try to move her arm. I grabbed a couple of my soldiers and had them follow me up

to the bridge. I had my Bradley infantry fighting vehicle drive up to give us

cover."

Carter pulled the woman to safety and subsequently the enemy positions across

the bridge were neutralized.

Carter takes a humble approach to what he did.

"The reason we were there was to help the Iraqi people," he said. "So that's why

I did it. The Iraqis had shot her because she was fleeing to us."

It was not the first nor would it be the last time Carter saw action up close.

On April 5th, he saved his own life and those around him when he shot and killed

two suicide bombers approaching his position.

"They were members of a martyrs' brigade," said Carter. "They were not regular

army and they fight to the death. They are going to die or you are going to

die."

They died, but the fighting kept up.

On April 7, he was calling in indirect fire across the Tigris River at Iraqi

forces on the other side, while later that day, he was clearing bunkers of enemy

fighters. Carter's movements were chronicled well by the Associated Press, which

has several photos of him in action.

On April 12, Carter's men took one of Saddam's safe houses, and by tax day, his

troops were spending their nights at former Baath Party offices in downtown

Baghdad. His unit regularly patrolled areas of the city searching for arms

caches, and while enemy combatants were common, they found the majority of the

locals very receptive, too much, in fact, for Carter's blood.

"They were so grateful to see us," he said. "They recognized that we as

Americans were there to help them. Some of the Iraqi men were kissing us. We

told them that we were southern boys and didn't like that, and that they should

go over and find some of the Yankees in our group because they like that kind of

stuff."

One of the personalities that will be remembered from the war is Iraq's Minister

of Information Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, a.k.a. "Baghdad Bob". Saeed al-Sahaf was

regularly broadcasted on state run television and the Arab news network, Al-Jazeera,

telling whomever would listen that the Americans were lying about taking control

of parts of the city. The truth of the matter was that the Americans had taken

most of the city and soon had it all under at least loose control.

Baghdad Bob's actions were a big story back in the States as American news

networks broadcasted his rants to the nation. FoxNews was certainly in on this

and wanted embedded reporter Greg Kelley to get a picture of U.S. soldiers in

Saddam's palace. That is when he met Captain Chris Carter.

One of Carter's few reminders of home was a Georgia Bulldogs flag he had tucked

away in one of his cargo pockets. This was no ordinary flag; it was a flag with

a mission.

"I always carry one with me," Carter explained, "but this one came from our Ole

Miss tailgate. I told my buddies that if I went to Baghdad I would hang it on

Saddam's palace."

Now he was presented with that opportunity, and the opportunity to do it on

camera. He recalls the scene: "It was very early in the morning. Greg Kelly was

riding with our brigade commander (Colonel Phillip DeCamp). Kelly asked him if

he could do one or two quick interviews. Colonel DeCamp asked if I was willing.

I had told people that I was carrying the flag around in my pocket, but I was

not carrying it at that time. I ran back to my Bradley, ran back to where the

interview was, and Colonel DeCamp - who is also a Georgia grad, and I were on.

If we had known it was going to be live, we would have been a little more crazy

and 'called the Dawgs' (referring to the UGA fan cheer: Goooooooo Dawgs! Sic' em!

Woof woof woof …)

It was shown live, at about 2:00 a.m. EST, and instantly UGASports.com's message

board, The Dawgvent, exploded with posts from fans that had seen it live on

FoxNews.

By 6:00 a.m., a screen shot of the moment was posted at the top of The Dawgvent.

By midday, the local papers picked up the story, and by late afternoon it was

all over the television news. Georgia fans everywhere were ecstatic at seeing

their Georgia G being shown repeatedly by FoxNews.

People at the UGA Athletic Association also noticed, and in no time Carter

received a package with a letter from athletic director Vince Dooley and head

coach Mark Richt congratulating him on his service. They enclosed a Sugar Bowl

poster and a few other UGA trinkets.

Carter returned to the States to much fanfare. He was featured in several news

stories and even has a "war hero" page at CNN.com for saving the woman on the

bridge. For him, however, the only thing on his mind was to get to the nearest

Waffle House and a decent bite to eat.

Last fall Carter and DeCamp were honored at the Georgia-Alabama game. They held

aloft the same flag that had flown over Saddam's palace at halftime to a roar

from the crowd at halftime. There has been talk since of displaying the flag somewhere in the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, but as of this time there is nothing set in stone.

These days, Carter is an advisor to Georgia National Guard units and other units

getting ready to ship out to Iraq. Halfway into a 20-year stint in the Army, he

hopes to someday coach high school football. He told Richt about this recently

and could not be more thrilled with the coach's reaction.

"I mentioned to coach Richt that I would like to go into coaching after I

retire, and he invited me to come to practice," said Carter. "I have been going

by and watching what they do and filing it away in a notebook."

"Of course we got to know each other because of what he did in Iraq, putting up

that flag," said Richt. "Then when he came to town I got to know him, and we

enjoyed our time together. I took my wife and my kids over to his house for

dinner and got to know his mom and dad. I have the ultimate respect for what he

and all the men and women in the Armed Services are doing. If we can help him

set up his life after his military stint, I would be happy to do it."

The good feelings are mutual, and Carter could not be more pleased with the

state of affairs in Athens.

"I think Mark Richt is the best thing that could have happened to UGA," he said.

"Not just on the field but his leadership style is what I like because he

believes in honor and respect."

Ten more years of service and hopefully no more wars to fight, Carter is back

home and looking forward to the upcoming season. He plans to spend a lot of time

on his favorite website.

"I love UGASports.com and the Dawgvent because people can come together and talk

about the Dawgs," he said in closing. "I'm a Dawgventer!"

GIVE UGASports.com A TRY. Click here to take advantage of UGASports.com's 7-Day Free Trial and get all the INSIDE SCOOP on Georgia football and recruiting led by UGASports.com's staff of experts Steve Patterson, Todd Unzicker, and Jeremy Patterson.