By Robert Marchant, Journal News

Shawn Tabankin was a 30-year-old lieutenant and platoon leader in the Army National Guard when a bomb exploded under his vehicle in Iraq.

“It was like being in the worst car accident ever,” he recalled.

After five hours in a hospital for observation, Tabankin was back on the job.

“You get right back in the saddle,” he said Friday.

It was an attitude like that, and taking part in 300 combat patrols during Operation Baton Rouge in the city of Samarra in 2004, that earned Tabankin a Bronze Star. The 37-year-old Bedford Hills resident, who was raised in Pomona and served with the 108th Infantry Regiment, also received a promotion to captain.

Tabankin’s job during the operation was to root out insurgents in an enemy stronghold — going on patrols, searching for explosive devices and conducting-door-to-door searches.

Because of bureaucratic delays, it was only Friday that Tabankin had the actual award bestowed on him at Camp Smith in Cortlandt. An Army colonel affixed the medal on his uniform.

To Tabankin, and his platoon sergeant, Arnold Stone, who was also awarded the Bronze Star, it marked the end of a harrowing odyssey.

“Irregular warfare, it’s very, very difficult. It’s hard work,” Tabankin said. “The weather, the heat, 120 degrees sometimes, they can be tough to deal with. For four days and nights we went house to house, we just kept pushing things. Not too much sleep.”

He said the other men in the platoon also shared in his moment of recognition.

“It kind of closes the story,” said Tabankin, a lawyer and father of two small children. “I’m proud of the work we did. We were given a mission and we accomplished it.”

Since his unit demobilized back to New York before the medal recommendation could be processed, it took some wrangling and a congressional assist from Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, to get the award process completed.

Four re-submissions and a formal inquiry were required before the star could hang from the captain’s collar. In addition, Tabankin and Stone, a Saranac, N.Y., native who is now a command sergeant major, insisted the other platoon members get their Combat Infantry Badges — a source of pride and promotion opportunities — before their own medals were bestowed.

“We made sure the others got theirs first,” Tabankin said.

In presenting the medals, Lt. Col. Joseph Biehler said the two men showed true leadership in the Samarra campaign, and the platoon was credited with finding dozens of explosive devices.

“They don’t give out the Bronze Star, you earn it,” he said.

The battalion commander continued, “They led that platoon in combat operations ... and it did good things for the people of Iraq. Things got better from there. They led 30 soldiers, and they did not lose a single soldier — a great credit.” As to the medal, Biehler said, “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s here.”

Hayworth said she was pleased that she and her staff got the job done.

“It’s persistence and doggedness,” she said. “Just don’t give up.”

Stone said the medal was a nice bonus.

“We didn’t do it for the recognition, we did it because it was our job,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.”

Tabankin isn’t done with the military. He is planning to deploy to Kuwait for another year of service this winter.