MOH - only for the dead?

[Brig]

I too remember meeting Vietnam era MOH winners on active duty when I came into the service in the mid 80s. To bad our young troops will never see the same sight at one of their Xmas parties.

we don't do xmas parties, either. probably not politically correct

[Ricardo]

Col Robert L. Howard may be the most highly decorated living US Soldier, but I am not sure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Howard

 

WoW! Thanks!!

 

Medal of Honor

Distinguished Service Cross (2 awards)

Silver Star

Bronze Star for Valor, 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 awards)

Purple Heart 7th Oak Leaf Cluster (8 awards)

Defense Superior Service Medal

Legion of Merit 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 awards)

Air Medal for Valor, 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster (3 awards)

Army Commendation Medal for Valor, 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 awards)

 

He entered the Army at Montgomery, Alabama and retired as Colonel. After retirement from military service in 1992, Colonel Howard was employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. He retired in January 2006 after 52 years of government service.

 

Please, somebody knows what this in the active?

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

[willysmb44]

Army Commendation Medal for Valor, 3rd Oak Leaf Cluster (4 awards)

Sorry, but I don't think anyone ever got an ARCOM for valor...

[Stinger Gunner USMC]

Sorry, but I don't think anyone ever got an ARCOM for valor...

Commendation medals certainly are awarded for valor. Maybe you are thinking of achievment medals?

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

Sorry, but I don't think anyone ever got an ARCOM for valor...

 

It can indeed be awarded for valor:

 

3-16. Army Commendation Medal

 

a. The Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) was established by War Department Circular 377, 18 December 1945 (amended in DA General Orders 10, 31 March 1960).

 

b. The ARCOM is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Army after 6 December 1941, distinguishes himself or herself by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service. Award may be made to a member of the Armed Forces of a friendly foreign nation who, after 1 June 1962, distinguishes himself or herself by an act of heroism, extraordinary achievement, or meritorious service which has been of mutual benefit to a friendly nation and the United States.

 

c. Awards of the ARCOM may be made for acts of valor performed under circumstances described above which are of lesser degree than required for award of the Bronze Star Medal. These acts may involve aerial flight.

d. An award of the ARCOM may be made for acts of noncombatant-related heroism which do not meet the requirements for an award of the Soldier's Medal.

 

e. The ARCOM will not be awarded to general officers.

 

f. Awards of the ARCOM may be made on letter application to Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200, to any individual commended after 6 December 1941 and before 1 January 1946 in a letter, certificate, or order of commendation, as distinguished from letter of appreciation, signed by an officer in the grade or position of a major general or higher. Awards of the Army Commendation Ribbon and of the Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant were redesignated by DA General Orders 10, 31 March 1960, as awards of the Army Commendation Medal, without amendment of orders previously issued.

[SilverbackMP]

Let me post the following example to make my point. Here is a report (many of you may have seen it already) of the award of the Navy Cross to Marine Capt. Brian R. Chontosh for an action in Iraq, 2004:

 

While leading his platoon north on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah, Chontosh's platoon moved into a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons fire. With coalitions tanks blocking the road ahead, he realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone.

 

He had his driver move the vehicle through a breach along his flank, where he was immediately taken under fire from an entrenched machine gun.

 

Without hesitation, Chontosh ordered the driver to advance directly at the enemy position enabling his .50 caliber machine gunner to silence the enemy. He then directed his driver into the enemy trench, where he exited his vehicle and began to clear the trench with an M16A2 service rifle and 9 millimeter pistol. His ammunition depleted, Chontosh, with complete disregard for his safety, twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack. When a Marine following him found an enemy rocket propelled grenade launcher, Chontosh used it to destroy yet another group of enemy soldiers.

 

When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others.

 

In my mind that kind of action would have resulted in Chontosh being awarded the MOH during WWI, WII. Or Korea. I have a feeling that if he had had the misfortune of being killed as the result he his incredible heroics he would have been recommended for the MOH but instead he received the Navy Cross.

 

CPT (now MAJ?) Chontosh (Big Fish) took out 20-30 Iraqis by himself (he had a Lance CPL with him) with M16 and AK small arms fire. I knew him when he was a 1LT with weapons co 3/5 Marines in OIF 1. Should have been a MOH IMHO. If anyone watched the Fox news special about 3 years ago that imbedded itself with a company marines clearing Faluja, the company commander was CPT Chontosh.

[SilverbackMP]

Sorry, but I don't think anyone ever got an ARCOM for valor...

 

I got one.

[nuke41]

Follow up to this thread, article from the news today:

 

Denver Rocky Mountain News

September 15, 2008

 

Few Medals In Current Conflicts

 

In Iraq and Afghanistan, wars that have gone on longer than World War II, only five Medals of Honor have been awarded. A number of reasons are offered, but some are still asking the question: 'What's really going on here?'

 

By Bill Gallo, Special to the Rocky Mountain News

 

On the grim afternoon of Dec. 4, 2006, an Iraqi insurgent threw a hand grenade from a rooftop into a U.S. Army Humvee on patrol in Baghdad.

 

Pfc. Ross A. McGinniss did not hesitate.

 

Rather than leaping from his gunnery hatch to safety, McGinniss, a 19-year-old old machine gunner from Knox, Pa., yelled a warning to his four comrades in the vehicle, then leaped onto the grenade, absorbing the force of the explosion.

 

He was killed. The others lived.

 

McGinniss is one of just five American servicemen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive the Medal of Honor, which since 1862 has been the nation's highest military award for valor. Both conflicts have now gone on longer than World War II and hundreds of thousands have served. But the top medal count is still five. And all five were awarded posthumously.

 

Comparisons: In World War II, 464 Medals of Honor; in Korea, 133; in Vietnam, 246.

 

Why so few now?

 

That question is bound to be raised again when the Congressional Medal of Honor Society holds its annual convention in Denver this week. Convention co-chairman Nick Del Calzo, a 71-year-old Denver photographer and co-author of the 2003 book Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, says that at least 64 of the 101 living Medal of Honor recipients will be coming here.

 

Don't call them winners. "They didn't set out to 'win' anything," Del Calzo says.

 

His explanation for the current Medal of Honor dearth echoes the explanation given by the U.S. Department of Defense. The review process for acts of valor in combat is so rigorous - and so secretive - that Pentagon officials don't discuss it. A dozen or more Medal of Honor reviews could now be under way, under wraps. No one knows.

 

But the basics never change: like Ross McGinniss' self-sacrifice, the action must be "beyond the call of duty," be recognized by a commanding officer and witnessed by at least two other members of the unit, then mulled over by Congress and the president.

 

That can take years.

 

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Del Calzo says, the front lines are uncertain and new styles of warfare preclude most conspicuous acts of bravery.

 

"Combat now is not hand-to-hand," he says, "and it's not in an open field. It's much more technological. Many soldiers are killed by IEDs (improvised explosive devices). The fighting is house-to- house. There are relatively few incidents in which the action taken merits the Medal of Honor, but the criteria remain the same."

 

Three of the five recent recipients threw themselves onto live enemy hand grenades - the classic act of selflessness in combat.

 

With some heat in his voice, Del Calzo rejects the notion that the politics surrounding an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq may inhibit Medal of Honor reviews.

 

"No. Absolutely under no circumstances," he says. "There's just a rigid process through which the medal is considered. And the Defense Department doesn't look favorably on any outside influence."

 

Some returning soldiers and Marines have complained, however, about the lack of official recognition for their bravest comrades.

 

James Taylor, who will be coming to the Denver convention from his home in northern California, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery west of Khe Sanh on Nov. 9, 1967, during the Vietnam War.

 

Then a 29-year-old first lieutenant with the Army's Americal Division, he pulled a dozen wounded comrades from three assault vehicles under enemy attack and, although wounded himself, destroyed an enemy machine gun crew.

 

Taylor rejects both the "style of warfare" and "political caution" explanations for the tiny number of Medal of Honor citations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He remains baffled.

 

"I have no answer," he says. "I just can't think, for the life of me, that there haven't been acts worthy of this great medal in those conflicts. I'm thinking that some recipients of the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross will be upgraded. That's what happened with me; I initially got the DSC. But to me this is really a mystery."

 

Taylor points out that house- to-house fighting and hidden explosive devices have been features of all wars, and as for the bad publicity argument, he says: "As anyone can tell you, the Vietnam War wasn't very popular, either. I just don't know. I've talked about this with several others, and we're all puzzled."

 

But he does have an answer for the hardest question of all. Since 1862, 18 percent of the 3,467 awards have been posthumous; since 2003, it's 100 percent.

 

Must a young American now give his or her life to earn consideration for the Medal of Honor?

 

"Well, it definitely appears that way," James Taylor says.

 

"Because that's what's happening. It's sad, and I am amazed by it."

 

Iraq and Afghanistan

 

*Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, U.S. Marines, 22, Scio, N.Y. On April 14, 2004, Cpl. Dunham shielded fellow Marines from death near Husaybah, Iraq, by falling upon an insurgent hand grenade. He died eight days later in Bethesda, Md. He was the first Marine recipient since Vietnam.

 

*Pfc. Ross A. McGinniss, U.S. Army, 19, Knox, Pa. On Dec. 4, 2006, McGinniss smothered an Iraqi insurgent's grenade inside an Army Humvee in Baghdad. His four comrades escaped; he died. His Silver Star was upgraded after a Pentagon review.

 

*Master-at-arms, 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, U.S. Navy, 25, Garden Grove, Calif. On Sept. 29, 2006, Navy SEAL Monsoor covered an enemy hand grenade that had struck him in the chest at Ar Ramadi, Iraq, giving his life while saving the lives of two SEAL teammates.

 

*Lt. Michael P. Murphy, U.S. Navy, 29, Patchogue, N.Y. On June 28, 2005, east of Asadabad in Afghanistan's Kunar Province, Navy SEAL Murphy and his four-man team were surrounded by more than 50 insurgents. He fought to the death while trying to communicate the unit's position to headquarters.

 

*Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith. U.S. Army, 33, Tampa, Fla. On April 4, 2003, near Baghdad International Airport, Smith, a 13-year Army veteran, manned a .50-caliber machine gun and held off an enemy force of more than 100 while numerous American wounded were evacuated from the battlefield. He was killed by enemy fire. On April 4, 2005, he became the first Iraq war Medal of Honor recipient.

 

Decorated with Colorado ties

 

*Navy Petty Officer Danny P. Dietz, of Littleton, was killed in Afghanistan's Kunar Province on July 4, 2005, during a Navy SEAL search and rescue operation. The 25-year-old was awarded the Navy Cross, which ranks just below the Medal of Honor.

 

*Army Chief Warrant Officer Robert C. Hammett, 39, was killed June 24 by a bomb while meeting with local leaders in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. The Fort Carson-based soldier was decorated with three Bronze Stars.

[teufelhunde.ret]

This has been an interesting thread to follow and with many good replies. Along with each generation and each war, this question or similar has been raised about awards for acts of valor. Being a generation away from active duty allows me the benefit of time for reflection on my era. My own sediments reflect a time when our armed forces were not held in as high esteem as they are today, nonetheless no less proud than todays men and women. The premise behind the opening question begs the question: whom are the Officers sitting in judgment of these acts, thereby sending the field commanders recommendation up the chain w/ yea or ney endorsement. The prescribed standards for which each of these valor awards is made... has not changed, its the folks along the chain of command who have changed. And with each change of the commanders in these seats, comes a different interpretation of the prescribed standards and regulations. From my front porch, it appears to me that fewer and fewer of the men and women who hold these positions along the chain - are warriors. Those who have seen the proverbial tragedy of war and waged the wars... and awarded for their own bravery in the face of the enemy, should be the only ones in the reviewing chain of command. A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon ~ Napoleon

Semper Fi, Darrell

[bigredone]

Medal of Honor winners sometimes get careers in politics. Might be a factor.

 

They switched generals half way through the Mexican-American war because the administration was worried a successful general was a political force.

[shrapneldude]

I've heard the MOH referred to as a "Dead Medal" many times.

Here's a few things I've noticed on the subject.

 

1) A Marine in my unit, Cpl. Todd Corbin, as I recall, was put in for the Medal of Honor which was downgraded to the Navy Cross because he wasn't "wounded in the process" of saving a bunch of lives. CRAZY! The guy was a hero.

 

2) A Marine by the name of Peralta (forgot his rank) was denied the MOH because it couldn't be proven whether he'd thrown himself on a hand grenade or fell onto it after being struck in the head by a 7.62, but in either case, his body ended up on top of a live grenade and took the full force of the explosion, shielding the Marines he was with from certain injury or death. (I wonder how many "grenade jumpers" in wars past have had similar things happen and because of the lack of forensic science it was never investigated??)

 

3) Everyone in here can call me a liar or dispute this all they like, but I'll swear I've seen it ... A posthumous BRONZE STAR group for a Marine Lance Corporal who died shielding fellow Marines from two grenades thrown into a bunker during the Tet offensive. It was shown to me at a military show by a medal dealer who I've bought a lot of nice things from, Tom Koenig. 45th ID banner, if you've ever seen him at the SOS.

 

Reading citations from history proves all sorts of actions, none more or less heroic than others, but a great variety, in awards of the Medal of Honor. For example...if you get a chance to look up and read the citation for Army Sgt. Troy A. McGill (a relative of mine) and what he did to rec. his MOH posthumously, and some of the ones from WWI, those actions are just beyond compare of anything a soldier or Marine can do in today's style of combat.

 

We'll never again see mass uniformed armies converging on one another in great epic battles. The modern battlefield is full of technology (on our side!) and small pockets of resistance which may only be two or three men firing off an AK or a mortar and then disappearing again. Not that anyone sets out to receive a Medal of Honor, but the chance of something happening in combat that would merit such an award is so slim now that it's no surprise that there's such a low number of them being awarded, and even fewer (if any at all) being awarded to living warriors. The number of troops in contact, the nature of modern warfare, and the advancements made in medicine, early detection, body armor, and early detection have put the troops at such an advantage as to practically eliminate the chance / need for such acts. This is not necessarily a bad thing either. I'd rather see 10,000 troops arrive home safe and in one piece than see one box come home with a posthumous MOH for their family.

[ItemCo16527]

I truly believe that there should be room for the living on the rolls of the MOH. This country need heroes – living ones too.

This reminds me of something Patton said in a speech, I think just after WWII ended, which got him in a little bit of trouble with Ike and company. To paraphrase, he said something along the lines of: "People always talk about the heroic dead. Well, godd***it, there's a lot of heroic alive ones, too!"

 

Truer words were never spoken.

 

I'd rather see 10,000 troops arrive home safe and in one piece than see one box come home with a posthumous MOH for their family.

Amen.

[Guest armydocflc]

COL Gordon Roberts (Medical Service Corps, 11-series in RVN) is the only Soldier to earn the MOH still on active duty.

[willysmb44]

I talked with a solider yesterday who swore he was with SFC Paul Smith's unit during the action where he was killed. This NCO said it best, "I didn't know Paul well but he was a good guy and kicked some serious [butt] there. He deserved the medal, no question. But I know two other guys who did pretty much the same kind of awe-inspiring thing later on and both walked out without a scratch. Nobody even thought to ask for a MoH for those guys. [Heck], I think they didn't even get Bronze Stars..." :thumbdown:

[Brig]

the rationale as I've heard it, to some point, is that after WWII and Korea, MOH recipients used their status to skate through the remaining 20 years of their career, becoming not quite squared away individuals, and they're trying to avoid a potential embarrassment

 

as I said, through the grapevine. take it for what it's worth

[Ricardo]

COL Gordon Roberts (Medical Service Corps, 11-series in RVN) is the only Soldier to earn the MOH still on active duty.

 

Thanks!!!!! :thumbsup:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ray_Roberts

 

 

 

 

Ricardo.

[Donald]

But at least one VC was awarded in the Iraq war to a still living soldier, Private Johnson Beharry, 25,

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4358921.stm

 

Regards,

Stephan

 

Only one Victoria Cross was awarded during the Iraq campaign (Pte Beharry)

There has been only one other VC awarded for Ops in that part of the world (Cpl Budd. Parachute Regiment)

With regret it was posthumously.

 

There have only been 4 VC's awarded since the end of the Korean War (Two during the Falklands War and

both posthumously)

[Donald]

Thanks!!!!! :thumbsup:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ray_Roberts

 

 

 

 

Ricardo.

 

Until Pte Beharry was presented with the VC by HM the Queen, the British Armed Forces did not have a serving

recipient of the VC since the retirement ( in the 1980's) of the the Gurkha who won his during the Korean War.

[mmerc20]

It's wierd how they seem to have increased the requirements for the medal of honor but have cheapened the bronze star by practically giving it away in Iraq. Our commanders are automatically getting them for the deployment. We had one commander quietly relieved and she is still being put in for one.

 

It would seem to me that there should be a parallel set of commendation/achievement awards for combat only. They said I will probably get a meritorious service medal for the trip over here.... don't get me wrong, that is pretty cool, but still, I could go out of my way and get one in the states too. Why not have a meritorious combat service, or a army combat commendation medal, etc.

 

We have enough medals as it is and don't think they should have things like the Army Service ribbon, ones that everyone has. It means nothing, but why not recognize combat achievements by a seperate group of awards.

 

Mike

[nuke41]

UPDATE! Maybe we'll get a "live" one after all.

 

Pentagon recommends Medal of Honor for a living soldier

 

By Greg Jaffe and Craig Whitlock

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, July 1, 2010

 

The Pentagon has recommended that the White House consider awarding the Medal of Honor to a living soldier for the first time since the Vietnam War, according to U.S. officials.

 

The soldier, whose nomination must be reviewed by the White House, ran through a wall of enemy fire in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley in fall 2007 in an attempt to push back Taliban fighters who were close to overrunning his squad. U.S. military officials said his actions saved the lives of about half a dozen men.

 

It is possible that the White House could honor the soldier's heroism with a decoration other than the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. Nominations for the Medal of Honor typically include detailed accounts from witnesses and can run hundreds, if not thousands, of pages. The review has been conducted so discreetly that the soldier's family does not know that it has reached the White House, according to U.S. officials who discussed the nomination on the condition of anonymity because a final decision is pending.

 

Pentagon officials requested that The Washington Post not name the soldier to avoid influencing the White House review. Administration officials declined to comment on the nomination.

 

The nomination comes after several years of complaints from lawmakers, military officers and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the Pentagon had become so cautious that only troops whose bravery resulted in death were being considered for the Medal of Honor. Gates "finds it impossible to believe that there is no one who has performed a valorous act deserving of the Medal of Honor who has lived to tell about it," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, who declined to comment on specific nominations.

 

George W. Bush similarly lamented during the latter days of his second term as president that he had never had an opportunity to present the award to a living recipient.

 

The presentation of a Medal of Honor to a living soldier would be an important moment for President Obama, whose relationship with the military has been complicated in recent months by controversy over the administration's Afghan war deliberations in the fall and the recent firing of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal for remarks that belittled senior Obama administration officials.

 

The honor would also mark an important moment for a military that is exhausted after nine years of repeated deployments and increasingly worried that the rest of the country has tuned out the wars and their service. "There has been a certain emotion that is almost like martyrdom within the military," said Richard Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina. "It's a feeling that they are sacrificing a great deal while the rest of the country is going about its business."

 

Obama presented a posthumous Medal of Honor in September to the family of Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti for his heroism in exposing himself to enemy fire to retrieve a wounded comrade. But honoring a living soldier with the nation's highest award for valor would give the president an opportunity to ease some of the military's feelings of estrangement from the rest of U.S. society.

 

Such a ceremony also would allow the president to honor military heroism and virtue, sentiments that Republicans say Obama does not celebrate frequently enough.

 

The award has the potential to produce something increasingly rare in today's wars: a recognizable hero in uniform. "The Afghan and Iraq wars really haven't produced heroes with a face," said Peter Feaver, a professor at Duke University who served in the Bush White House. In World War II, Medal of Honor winners such as Audie Murphy and John Basilone came to represent the ideals of the U.S. fighting force.

 

Some senior Bush administration officials worried that the lack of visible heroes made it tougher to convey the importance of the Iraq and Afghan wars to the American people, Feaver said. Early efforts by the Pentagon to weave heroic narratives out of the lives of soldiers such as former NFL football player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman collapsed when early military accounts of battlefield valor proved to be untrue. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

 

Six posthumous Medals of Honor have been awarded for heroism in the Iraq and Afghan wars. The honorees exposed themselves to enemy fire to call for reinforcements or pull wounded colleagues to safety. Three of the six jumped on grenades, sacrificing their lives to save their fellow troops.

 

In response to the paucity of Medals of Honor awarded since 2001, the House Armed Services Committee directed the Defense Department to conduct a formal review of its award policy. Pentagon officials insist that the criteria for awarding the Medal of Honor hasn't changed since Vietnam.

 

But the nature of battle has changed, said Eileen M. Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman. Precision bombs and lethal attack helicopters typically give U.S. troops a huge firepower advantage over lightly armed insurgents on the battlefield. To compensate, fighters in Afghanistan and Iraq have relied heavily on roadside bomb attacks and ambushes that lasted for only a few minutes. Previous Medal of Honor recipients have typically displayed extreme bravery in battles that last for hours.

 

There are at least three Medal of Honor nominations, including the one at the White House, working through the system. The three nominees served in sparsely populated valleys in eastern Afghanistan that U.S. troops have abandoned in recent years.

 

The valleys, which are within 30 miles of each other, are dominated by treacherous, mountainous terrain that frequently allowed enemy fighters to move within close range of U.S. forces before launching their attack. The remote nature of the valleys meant that troops often had to fight for an hour before attack helicopters arrived on the scene to drive back the enemy.

 

Senior military officials described the fighting in those valleys as some of the toughest since the Korean and Vietnam wars. "It is a very, very challenging fight," said one military official. "It is sustained lengthy ground combat."

 

The relatively large number of potential Medal of Honor nominations emerging from this remote area of Afghanistan also reflected a war strategy that asked U.S. commanders to do too much with too few resources, military analysts said. Frequently troops were overextended in hostile terrain.

 

"We should be stationing our troops in places where they won't be earning the Medal of Honor because the population and terrain favor us and we have quick access to air support," said John Nagl, one of the authors of the Army's counterinsurgency doctrine and president of the Center for a New American Security, a defense think tank.

[Cobrahistorian]

It is going to happen. Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

 

http://biggovernment.com/jhanson/2010/07/0...he-vietnam-war/

[Bugme]

Here's the article for furture reference and for those who dislike links:

 

SSG Sal Giunta, a paratrooper w/ the 173rd Airborne, is likely to be the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War. He earned this by charging a group of Taliban who were trying to make off with a wounded comrade in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. His actions broke the Taliban’s attack and allowed him to regain control of SGT Josh Brennan. He also saved the lives of the many other members of his unit who had been caught in a near ambush by the Taliban. Giunta didn’t hesitate one second before advancing on his own to ensure the enemy would never take one of ours, but sadly Josh Brennan was too badly wounded too survive. His cousin PVT Joe Brennan recently graduated airborne school and has joined the same unit proudly carrying on Josh’s memory.

 

The 2nd Battalion (Airborne) 503rd Infantry Regiment “The Rock” deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 for 15 months of the most intense combat any US unit has faced in this war. During the time they spent on the border with Pakistan, this one battalion averaged three troops in contact incidents every day. They were right in the path of the Taliban’s major push back into Afghanistan after years of resting, recruiting and retraining in their safe havens in Pakistan. The Rock proudly upheld the tradition of our airborne forces in some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth. SSG Giunta was a member of Battle Company and the exploits of some of his compatriots in that unit are vividly chronicled in Sebastian Junger’s book “War” and the documentary “Restrepo” (in theaters now) he made with Tim Hetherington. The two spent a total of five months with a platoon from Battle Company and the book and film show the tremendous challenges these men faced and overcame.

 

Giunta was a Specialist when the action occurred and his squad was hit with a well-planned ambush at extremely close range. He was the trail team leader and Josh Brennan was the lead. When the fighting started Brennan was severely wounded, their squad leader was knocked to the ground, their medic was killed and several others were wounded. Giunta immediately began maneuvering toward the enemy throwing grenades and eventually charging them when he saw two of them hauling Josh away. He emptied a magazine killing one and wounding the other and grabbed Brennan telling Josh to stay with him so that he would get a chance to tell heroic stories. They did get Brennan on a medevac chopper, but unfortunately his wounds were too severe and he didn’t survive. But Giunta’s actions stopped the Taliban from taking him and by running headlong at the enemy he disrupted the ambush. SSG Giunta’s story can be read in Junger’s book “War” starting on page 115.

 

It has been far too long since we have awarded the Medal of Honor to someone who survived, and SSG Giunta is a wonderful addition to the ranks of those who have earned our country’s highest honor. There are a number of others under consideration for this decoration and hopefully this is a sign that more of these brave warriors will be recognized. We have heard this was approved by the White House and they are only waiting to set a date for the ceremony.

 

We salute SSG Giunta and all who serve or have served our country. We are also proud to announce that Andrew Breitbart will be launching a new site called Big Peace on July 4th to focus on the efforts of our troops to spread freedom and liberty and all of those who work to ensure our national security.

[BigJohn#3RD]

It's about time!!!

Strength and Honor

De Oppresso Liber

John

[willysmb44]

It's wierd how they seem to have increased the requirements for the medal of honor but have cheapened the bronze star by practically giving it away in Iraq. Our commanders are automatically getting them for the deployment. We had one commander quietly relieved and she is still being put in for one.

How about the CIB? When it first became an award, you had to spend a LOT of time on the line to get one (30 days, if memory serves). I served with a guy who’d been awarded one who’d landed in a C-130 in Panama, heard shooting far in the distance, left two days later and that was it for his ‘combat’ experience. You know the WW2 vets must roll their eyes at stories like that.

[USMCRECON]

If the MoH was limited to men/women killed in action, it would certainly make it easier to weed out people who fraudulently wear/claim the MoH in the future, wouldn't it.