Army Capt. Jason Amerine led a handful of Special Forces troops into southern Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks, linking up with the future president of the country, Hamid Karzai, and a band of guerrillas to take on the Taliban in their own backyard.

The 1989 Roosevelt High grad's mission was to open up the south.

Amerine's 11-man team did so in spectacular fashion. On Nov. 17, 2001, Operational Detachment Alpha 574 rallied Afghan fighters and directed Navy aircraft to repel an approximately 100-vehicle enemy convoy seeking to re-take Tarin Kot in the Taliban heartland.

It was a huge psychological loss for the fundamentalist regime.

Eighteen days later, an errant U.S. 2,000-pound bomb landed near his team, killing three Americans and about 50 Afghan fighters and wounding Amerine.

As part of an effort to recognize the bravery of U.S. service members such as Amerine, the Defense Department created "50 Heroes From 50 States," a Web page recognizing "Heroes in the Global War on Terror."

Amerine represents Hawai'i, but the state also can claim at least two others who were based here: Master Sgt. Sarun Sar, an Army Special Forces soldier who also fought in Afghanistan; and Navy SEAL Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, who was based at Pearl Harbor.

Axelson was severely wounded in a firefight with enemy forces in the mountains of Afghanistan, but continued to fight on and hold his ground until he was killed.

Angela French, a Defense Department spokeswoman, said the "50 Heroes" program grew out of a weekly recognition of service members in the Global War on Terrorism that began in September.

"We were just getting a lot of questions ... about why there was no, for lack of a better term, positive news to highlight in the war on terror," French said. "We're very good at keeping up with casualty reports and suicide bombings and so forth, but we've got guys down there who are winning Navy Crosses and Silver Stars and really making some great efforts, so we decided we'd start highlighting them."

Amerine, now a 35-year-old major who teaches international relations and Arabic at West Point, was awarded a Bronze Star with "V" for valor. His citation states that his "actions in the face of overwhelming odds and direct hostile aggression resulted in the surrender of Kandahar by the Taliban forces."

He deflects the praise onto those who made more of a sacrifice.

"It's one of those things that's so humbling," Amerine said, "(but) I don't know, when you think of all the people that died both in Afghanistan and Iraq, to all of us in the military, the heroes are the ones who paid the ultimate sacrifice."

In September, the Navy's Axelson was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross at a ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. In the "50 states" recognition, Axelson represents California.

In March 2005, meanwhile, Sar, who was based at Camp Smith, flanked a ridge in the mountains of Afghanistan and surprised other militants who had his team pinned down.

Two bullets missed Sar and a third creased his Kevlar helmet and snapped his chin strap. The Silver Star recipient is credited with saving the lives of fellow service members with Operational Detachment Alpha 732.

Sar, a native of Cambodia who has been a U.S. citizen since 1986, represents Maryland in the 50 heroes list.

The actions of Amerine's team at the outset of the war in Afghanistan have been part of books and documentaries. His likeness also has been incorporated into the "America's Army" video game, and he'll be an action figure that may come out around the summer.

Amerine said it's all a little hard to swallow. On the one hand, "it's a good thing for the military to show the public the people who were overseas fighting. It's good to see names and faces," he said. "I think as soldiers, we would have the instinct to say, 'Yeah, great idea, but pick somebody other than me.' "

At the start of the Afghanistan war, Amerine's team, including an air combat controller from Hawai'i who prefers that his name not be used, was helicoptered in from Pakistan.

The Afghan and U.S. fighters also took the town of Showali Kot before the Dec. 5 bomb strike that resulted in his injuries. A B-52 bomber attacked his position after an inexperienced controller not part of his team gave the wrong coordinates.

Amerine was able to secure Silver Stars for three men on his team for their role in the war. Two were awarded posthumously.

The Special Forces officer considers Hawai'i home and hopes to get stationed here this summer. He received shrapnel in his leg, but he said it doesn't keep him from doing anything.

His father, Ron, who lives in the Diamond Head area, said his son experienced tremendous sorrow over the loss of so many men. He said he's extraordinarily proud of what his son accomplished.

"What my son had done to fly into the middle of nowhere, the first boots we had on the ground (in Afghanistan) after 9/11, and to go after the Taliban, I was just blown away. So proud of him," Ron Amerine said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.