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
Robbie Cooper:
I respectfully submit this correction to your photo caption. That is not Medal of Honor recipient, George “Bud” Day. Rather it is America’s oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, living his 99th year, former Aviation Chief Ordnanceman (ACOM), later wartime commissioned Lieutenant John W. Finn, USN (Ret.). He is also the last surviving Medal of Honor, “The Day of Infamy”, Japanese Attack on the Hawaiian Islands, Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941.
See my photo album tribute:
http://news.webshots.com/album/141695570BONFYl
[Editor --- Thanks for the heads up and correction. The caption has been fixed accordingly.]
Thanks TetVet — I’m just going by what my brother-in-law emailed me (that’s him in the photo).
Richard — are you sure that’s George “Bud” Day?
Robbie,
I stand corrected. TetVet is correct in that it is John Finn. It was a long day yesterday, however that is no excuse for not getting it right.
It is sad that we fail to recognize many MOH nominees from the long Wars that we are in. I have seen too many citations denied because of opinions from desk sitting politicians, old war protesters, and non combatants….less cordially known as REMFs. They are failing our nation. During Vietnam and Korea, When we did not have so many “non -military experienced”/ members of congress the approval rate was higher. Our percentage of combat veterans in the voting bodies was higher , now we have more liberal pinkos that in their hearts hate military members.
Here is some of USA todays manifesto;
“The lack of such medals — by comparison, two were awarded for fighting in Somalia — reflects today’s unconventional warfare and the superior weaponry of U.S. forces, military experts say. It’s not that today’s troops lack valor, but they lack opportunities to display it in the extraordinary way that would merit the Medal of Honor.
“The situations today are less likely to warrant the Medal of Honor than in past conflicts,” says Nicholas Kehoe, president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. “That doesn’t mean our troops aren’t acting courageously or even heroically.” taken from http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-27-valor_x.htm
This is ludicrous. I have seen Marines meet the requirements and be denied because of second opinions. It sickens me every time that i think of it.