Deebow at BlackFive makes wonders if/when we will award any Medals of Honor (MoH) to living recipients in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He makes the case for awarding the MoH to Army Medic Sgt Robert Fortner of 2/B/1-91 CAV, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Tea. Here’s the citation for Sgt. Fortner:
An American patrol near the village of Saret Koleh, Nuristan, came under fire from more than 100 insurgents dug into high ground on either side of the road. Turning his attention to two troopers wounded in the initial volley, Sergeant Fortner moved forward up the mountainside to treat the wounded where they fell. After removing a machinegun bullet from his own arm, Sergeant Fortner continued to treat and evacuate casualties, refusing medical aid and insisting on staying with his platoon. Sergeant Fortner continued to treat casualties in the engagement area, at times crawling on his belly to avoid the withering enemy fire, and refusing evacuation until all the other casualties were extracted.
Sergeant Fortner’s extraordinary heroism and medical aid rendered under enemy fire, saved the lives of more than 10 of his comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat.
Sounds like MoH stuff to me.
The Medal of Honor has been awarded only five times, all of them posthumously, since the US withdrew from combat operations in Vietnam in 1973.
There are still some, but not many, living recipients of the MoH. Of the 3445 MoH s that have been awarded since the Civil War, there are only 107 living recipients today. Chances are that you will go your entire life without ever having met one of these most distinguished heroes.
I’ve only met one, and it’s one of the most tremendous honors I’ve ever had. To stand before a MoH recipient is to stand before a truly great person.
And if we fail to award the MoH to deserving living candidates, such as Sgt. Fortner or Spc. Monica Lin Brown, then there will come a day when we won’t have a single living recipient to honor, to learn from, and to look up to.
And that would be a tragedy.
______
Deebow has his suspicions why more aren’t being awarded right now:
And I don’t know if this is the case or not, but if the military chiefs are afraid of the Congress, the politics of the Dems, the Old Media, and the Libtard Left in regards to the awarding of the MoH to a living recipient; then the awarding of this medal to a service member who could tell their story of heroism before the cameras and microphones to the world is being politicized, and that makes said politicization wrong.
I think he’s mostly right.
Robbie,
I had the pleasure of serving as an escort during the 2002 MOH convention when it was here in Shreveport. I assisted Robert Bush while he was in town for the week.
I spent everyday with him and our family went out to eat with him. He was a wonderful guy and the whole family loved him. He even offered to write Nathan a letter of recommendation to the Naval Academy. It was a sad day when he passed away a couple of years later. Along with him I meet many others during the convention, it was a truly inspirational experience. Here are a couple of links that tell his story.
From the Washington Post
and
PBS
Left by Rich on March 26th, 2008 at 8:36 pm