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| Afghanistan |
| Pentagon Finally Recommends Living Soldier For Medal of Honor Citation |
| 2010-07-01 |
| 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 identify 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 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. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #11 Great read, Chuck, thanks for the link. I wonder what happened to PVs and frozen zones, Afgan BS too PC to go against, or just money and BS? It needs sorting out. |
| Posted by: Rhodesiafever 2010-07-01 23:11 |
| #10 The name is out there. I would highly recommend reading this NY Times article on his unit and their fight. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/magazine/24afghanistan-t.html |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2010-07-01 21:03 |
| #9 I realize we're all (including me) a pretty cynical lot around here, almost as bad as Ace of Spades, but I'd suggest we not trash Obama on this one. Obama isn't awarding the MoH, if in fact it occurs. The Office of the Presidency is, on behalf of the Congress. Did any of the Vietnam MoH recipients do anything stupid just because it was Nixon who awarded them the medal? I believe the MoH recipients are a very special breed, and that they handle themselves with more class and dignity than I could ever muster. I don't worry about them, and I don't worry about Obama on this one. He'll do and say the right things because that's what he must do. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-07-01 15:27 |
| #8 Inre: Dalai Lama: "And don't forget your cufflinks!" They have to be doing it on purpose. |
| Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats 2010-07-01 15:12 |
| #7 This is the guy who doesn't put his hand over his heart for the Pledge of Allegiance. He would probably present him the medal, then have him ushered out the back door through the trash, like he did with the Dalai Lama. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-07-01 14:46 |
| #6 but it will take attention away from Obama so you know he won't give it too the man although he deserves it. Since then the pres would have too salute this soldier. |
| Posted by: chris 2010-07-01 14:13 |
| #5 I hope you're right. This will be one of the last steps in the recover of the military from the Vietnam war. |
| Posted by: Alistaire Glavins9758 2010-07-01 13:13 |
| #4 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 There. Fixed that for ya. Oh, and BTW, this is a MAJOR breach of tradition - the number of people in on an MOH citation is VERY small and they're supposed to say NOTHING. That leads me to believe that the leak was authorized at the highest level, and that the kid is indeed going to get an MOH to recognize his courage and so that people will stop asking tough questions. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2010-07-01 11:40 |
| #3 In my previous comment I probably offered a lousy reference for this article, since Sgt. Peralta's award would have been posthumous if approved. But it still goes to probable denial of the MoH for political factors: in Sgt. Peralta's case, due to his possibly having been an illegal immigrant when he first came to the U.S.; for living nominees, the fear that a MoH winner might say/do something embarrasing to the government. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2010-07-01 11:38 |
| #2 Prediction: another DSC award. Don't forget Gates was behind the denial of the MoH to Sgt. Rafael Peralta. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2010-07-01 11:25 |
| #1 Go Joe! He and many others deserve a lot more but great job. |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Flainter9609 2010-07-01 11:19 |