Posted on 10/10/2019 9:05:35 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Army Master Sgt. Matthew O. Williams will receive the Medal of Honor this month for his lifesaving actions in the frozen mountains of eastern Afghanistan’s Nuristan province during a 2008 mission to kill or capture a high-value target, the White House announced Thursday.
President Donald Trump will award the nation’s highest military honor to the Green Beret in a White House ceremony Oct. 30, the administration said in a statement. The award will be an upgrade of the Silver Star that Williams initially received for his role in the fight that would become known as the Battle of Shok Valley.
Williams, who remains on active duty with 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., will be the second soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during that battle, which took place April 6, 2008. Retired Army Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Shurer received the medal from Trump on Oct. 1, 2018, which was also an upgrade of the Silver Star that he was initially awarded for his actions in that battle.
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
Shurer was originally awarded the Silver Star but that awarded was upgraded upon further review, the Military Times reported.
Hell of a man. Good read. Thanks for that
“Would this not be unusual? The original award was a “slight” and you have to overide a lot to upgrade because it says the original officers who made the award were wrong?”
Usually awards get downgraded by REMFs between shoeshines at the Pentagon. What was he originally recommended for by his CO in country?
They under-decorated him originally. The DOD dislikes living MOH recipients. They are not so easy to control like the dead ones.
My view on this was that the review requirements for the MoH and Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) are lengthy, done at the Pentagon and subject to political views. I BELIEVE that the Silver Star is decided at Division level with 'oversight' by higher levels if someone raises an issue. There has been a past history of both too easy and too hard decisions in the award of these top two medals and I have little problem when a delayed award is announced.
Congratulations to Army Master Sgt. Matthew O. Williams, I know that you may feel unworthy of the honor BUT, like many of your predecessors, wear it to honor your fallen comrades! Ten-hut & hand salute!
The review process for valor awards during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars became ridiculous, especially for the Medal of Honor and the Service Crosses (Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, and Air Force Cross which required approval at the Department of Defense leve. The Army was the most stringent and was done by personnel specialists, mostly civilians with none or little military service. Panels included veterans who were receipients of the Medal of Honor or the DSC. Some of these believed that these wars were not like WWII, Korea, or Vietnam and therefore the highest decorations were not warranted.
The result was a mess, people sitting in a comfortable, air conditioned conference room making judgments on what people in dire combat did or did not do. All services have conducted reviews of these decisions and many have be reversed. Essentially DoD turned over the responsibility to the bureaucrats in lieu of the leaders and commanders who were in a position to make the right judgments.
They’ve turned the MOH into a political award, complete with numerous sorority rules and even political vetting to make sure you aren’t embarrassing.
It’s shameful and today many very deserving men are passed over for awards they would have normally received in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
The bottom line is that it’s all men, and such men exhibit values our government wants suppressed today.
An interim award.... While the bureaucratic machinations of the DOD/Specific service grind away at the MOH.
Usually it’s the next higher award, the DSC or Navy Cross.
hurer was initially awarded the Silver Star for his role in the operation. In 2016, the Pentagon conducted a review of all valor medals awarded since the 9/11 terror attacks and this resulted in Shurer’s award being upgraded to the Medal of Honor. He received the award from President Donald Trump on October 1, 2018 in a ceremony at the White House.[14]
I could be wrong but I think that was Operation Anaconda in Afgan. Although it didn’t say in the right up.
A very respectful bump to this American hero!
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