Posted on 04/13/2010 4:41:10 PM PDT by naturalman1975
A soldier who was just 18 when he braved enemy fire to rescue his wounded commanding officer in Afghanistan has been awarded the Military Cross.
Private Alex Kennedy had been in the Army for only eight months and is believed to be the youngest winner of the gallantry award since the Second World War.
But yesterday the young rifleman modestly insisted that he was 'just doing his job' and added: 'I don't feel like a hero - that title should really go to those who go out to Afghanistan and don't make it back.'
Private Kennedy risked his life crawling to help his platoon commander who had been shot three times during a gun battle in Helmand province on June 8 last year.
He pressed on as Taliban bullets rained down around him, even after one struck the barrel of his gun and the impact flipped him over on to his back.
When he reached his commander, the teenager showed incredible coolness by administering first aid, then taking the badly injured man's radio and directing his comrades to fire towards the Taliban fighters.
He also removed some of the commander's equipment to make it easier to move him then dragged him to safety.
Private Kennedy, now 19, a Mercian Regiment rifleman from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, will be presented with the MC for his 'selfless bravery' later this year.
The teenager, whose grandfather and great-grandfather were in the Army, said: 'I'm amazed and shocked to be getting a medal. I told my mum as soon as I knew.
'But it's just the job I was trained to do. I'm a normal guy and it's just how any other soldier would act.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Bravo young Man!
You da man, soldier.
I joined the Royal Australian Navy before I was 16 - great way to finish growing up.
It is for others to proclaim a person to be a hero, not the person themselves. And as an ‘other’ who has that prerogative, I think the label fits him very well...
He’s still a hero to anybody who hears his story.
Why is he still a Private?
Years ago when I was very young and didn't know much about the more important things in life I had the opportunity to do guard duty at Battalion Headquarters a few times, and if you were Guard of Honor you got to read the citations for the 21 or so Medal of Honor awardees they had had over the years.
You could read the Silver Star commentaries as well.
As a general matter, all the MOH guys had done exactly what a soldier should do, and at considerable risk of life and limb ~ particularly the dead guys who got the award posthumously. The Silver Star guys did too ~ but with maybe fewer witnesses.
Audie Murphy was one of the MOH guys in that unit. He said you have to be doing whatever it is before you get scared so you just keep on doing it.
The young man here probably thought you were supposed to feel fear and then do it. Alas, fear paralyzes. You have to run ahead of it.
He should not express any guilt about receiving this award. The people of his nation are honored by his presence among their number.
Probably because he’s still only 19. Being an NCO (even a junior one like a Lance Corporal) requires a level of judgement and maturity that you cannot assume exist just because somebody is very brave.
Hey, Australia’s recent Victoria Cross recipient, Trooper Mark Donaldson VC, is still a private soldier and he’s 31 (admittedly he is SAS and they handle ranks a bit differently from everybody else). But Britain’s most recent VC is a 30 year old Lance Corporal (Johnson Beharry VC). In British and Commonwealth forces, exceptional bravery isn’t the way you get promotions - not by itself.
I pray for God’s blessings on this young man.
Bless you, SIR
I ran into a high school buddy who'd gone in the year before me, and he'd received the Silver Star during his tour.......he was being treated like a Rock Star around Camp Pendleton, and had been promoted to Sergeant. What a hoot.
Son, take the medal.
The current leadership has set up a PC set of rules that makes getting gallantry medals almost impossible for living warriors.
We need more living heroes, and yes, you are a hero.
Bravo Zulu, young warrior.
Good soldier,wish him the best.
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