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Look, I don't know much about gymnastics, but I do know that landing a vault on two feet is better than landing one on two knees. Olympic gymnastics judges evidently disagree with me, as they awarded China's Cheng Fei a bronze medal yesterday even after she fell on her vault landing. American Alicia Sacramone finished fourth despite, you know, not falling.

FENGCHENG, China — As a reward for winning an Olympic gold medal in flatwater canoeing four years ago, Yang Wenjun — the son of peasant rice farmers — was handed the deed to a three-bedroom apartment here in a neighborhood called Sunny City. The local government bought and decorated it, hanging giant scrolls in the living room that announce in Mandarin: “Yang Wenjun won gold in the Olympics. It brings good luck here.” But his mother, Nie Chunhua, said Yang had been anything but lucky. She wiped away tears with hands dark and swollen from farming. “If I had better...

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2008 – President Bush presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace during a White House ceremony today. Video Bush honored Pace with the highest civilian award the United States can bestow for a career that went from the streets of Hue City, Vietnam, to the halls of power in Washington. Pace retired as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October. He was the first Marine to serve in the position. During today’s ceremony, Bush said one of his greatest privileges as president is to meet servicemembers....

According to a White House press release President Bush has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a woman who did her best to stamp out freedom of speech while chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. Of all the educators in the country to choose from, the choice of Donna Shalala to receive our nation's highest civilian award is beyond puzzling; it is obscene.

SEVEN Network boss Kerry Stokes will return a Victoria Cross awarded to one of the country's greatest war heroes to the Australian War Memorial. The media mogul and the South Australian Government were yesterday revealed as the mystery bidders of the medal, which sold at auction in Sydney for $488,000. It is the third Victoria Cross Mr Stokes has bought at auction and returned to the War Memorial since 2006, spending almost $2 million to save the pieces of Australia's history from being lost to the public. Carey Badcoe, daughter of Adelaide-born digger Major Peter Badcoe, was happy her father's...

A VICTORIA Cross medal from the Vietnam War has sold for $488,000 at auction in Sydney as part of a collection of 12 medals and memorabilia. The medal was awarded to Adelaide-born Major Peter Badcoe for a series of heroic actions during the Vietnam War in 1967. The Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest decoration for gallantry, was sold to an anonymous buyer, but will remain in Sydney, the auctioneer said. Three bidders were in the race to buy the medals, with spirited bidding starting at $300,000 in Bonhams & Goodman's auction house in Double Bay tonight. Bonhams & Goodman chairman...

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2008 – A 13-year-old patriot from New Jersey received the Defense Department’s top award for public service at a Pentagon ceremony today. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Robert T. Hastings, left, presents the certificate for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service to Joey Rizzolo, a seventh grader from Paramus, N.J., at the Pentagon, May 6, 2008. Rizzolo was awarded the medal for his support of Americas's servicemembers and his ASY Freedom Walk contributions. Defense Department photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess  (Click...

CAMPBELL HALL — When Sean Harrington drives around Orange County, he scans the roadsides looking for wires, overturned dirt, suspicious-looking rocks or any other evidence he's about to be attacked. He can't help it. Harrington, 24, did two tours in Iraq, leading patrols both in Kirkuk and in the south. His squad's job was to protect Iraqi truck drivers transporting goods from the port city of Umm Qsar to the interior. "My unit was hit 21 times," he said at his home in Campbell Hall, where he's enjoying a week's leave from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. "It seemed...

An elected official charged with falsely claiming he earned the military's highest honor has filed a motion to dismiss the federal case against him on free speech grounds. The motion argues that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, under which water board member Xavier Alvarez was charged, is incompatible with the First Amendment because it restricts free speech by criminalizing false claims of military honors. Alvarez, an elected representative to the Three Valleys Municipal Water District, said last year at a water district meeting that he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his deeds as a Marine. After...

A gold and enamel medal that once belonged to the American Revolutionary hero the Marquis de Lafayette goes on auction here Tuesday, and could fetch as much as 10 million dollars, experts said. The medal being sold by Lafayette's descendants was given to the Frenchman in 1824 by relatives of America's first US President George Washington, when Lafayette was 67 years old. The gift was made a quarter-century after the death in 1799 of Washington, who as a general led US troops to victory in their battle for independence against Britain. -snip-

On a spring day in Basra in 2004, nine men from the Royal Horse Artillery found themselves surrounded by 200 Iraqis, all shooting to kill. The man who saved them is Sgt Terry Bryan, a modest 37-year-old father of three, who joined the Army at 16. Here, in our first extract from a new book in which medal-winning soldiers tell their stories, he describes how he won the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his astonishing bravery....

The ultimate tribute: Iraq-hero Hall nominated for George Cross medalBy JONATHAN POWELL - More by this author » Last updated at 22:53pm on 13th October 2007  A British security guard who died as he saved the lives of four colleagues in Iraq is to be recommended for Britain's highest civilian honour, the George Cross. Simon Hall and his companions were unarmed when they were overpowered by gunmen near the Kuwait border, bundled into a pick-up truck and taken on a terrifying journey to almost certain death. But the captives launched a daring escape attempt, with Simon heroically grabbing hold...

PEARLAND — This time, Nyles Reed didn't have to pay for his Purple Heart medal. Monday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn awarded him the medal, saying it is "embarrassing" Reed was ever told he'd have to pay $42 to get his own. The 75-year-old retired salesman got a standing ovation at a packed luncheon of the Pearland and Alvin Chambers of Commerce. Navy officials notified him a couple of weeks ago that he had qualified for the medal 55 years ago as a Marine sergeant in Korea. The medals were out of stock, officials told him in a letter. He got...

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) -- Before a U.S. aircraft broke the sound barrier, the Tuskegee Airmen overcame a daunting social hurdle: breaking the Air Force's color barrier. In the Capitol Rotunda here March 29, President Bush and Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, more than 60 years after the 332nd Fighter Group's World War II achievements that were made bittersweet by the racial discrimination they endured after returning home. "I thank you for the honor you have brought to our country, and the medal you are about to receive means that our country honors you," President Bush said...

From just a little earlier today at the White House: THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. I am pleased that you all are here on a very special day. Presenting the Medal of Honor is one of the great privileges for the President. The medal is the highest military decoration a President can confer. This medal is awarded for actions above and beyond the call of duty... If Major Crandall had stopped here he would have been a hero. But he didn't stop. He flew back into X-Ray again and again. Fourteen times he flew into what they called the Valley of Death....

LEXINGTON, Ky., Feb. 21, 2007 – A Kentucky Army National Guardsman has become the first Guard soldier -- and only the fifth servicemember overall -- to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. Kentucky Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein, left, remains at attention after receiving the Distinguished Service Cross from Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, in Lexington, Ky., Feb. 17. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Distinguished Service Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor among awards for valor in battle. Staff...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2007 – More than 40 years after demonstrating the heroism immortalized in the bestselling book and movie, “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young,” retired Army Lt. Col. Bruce P. Crandall will receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced yesterday. Crandall will receive the nation’s highest military award for actions during the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in November 1965. The battle, at Landing Zone X-Ray near the Ia Drang River, was the first major ground battle of the war. During the incident, Crandall, then a major and commander of Company A,...

. Download HiRes1/26/2007 - WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) -- Since the Air Force started manning convoy operations in support of the war on terror, more Airmen have had an opportunity to put their rifle training to use in real-world scenarios. Today, explosive ordnance disposal and security forces Airmen, along with those performing in-lieu-of taskings, have joined battlefield Airmen working "outside the wire" in Iraq and Afghanistan and are regularly involved in combat situations as part of their duty...all alongside their fellow Airmen that continue to engage in daily combat, delivering decisive effects from the air! "We are a warfighting Air Force," said Chief of Staff...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2007 – Thanks to the efforts of Silver Star Families of America, Indiana and New Mexico have proclaimed May 1 as “Silver Star Day” to honor the nation’s wounded servicemembers. Silver Star Families of America is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation’s servicemembers. “What we really want to do is have a nationwide event that day,” Janie Orman, the group’s vice president, said. She added that the proclamation had been sent to every state. The group, which would like to establish May 1 as...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2007 – The second servicemember to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the Iraq war was inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes today. Officials inducted U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jason Dunham into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes as a Medal of Honor recipient, Jan. 12, 2007. Dunham received the medal posthumously for his heroic actions in Iraq. Defense Dept. photo by William D. Moss  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham’s name was added to the more than 3,000 engraved on the wall in the Defense Department’s shrine to those...

FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Spc. Ronnie Wheat wears a Combat Action Badge, proof he survived a life-threatening encounter while deployed in Iraq. Now he wears a Soldier's Medal, proof the 70th Engineer Battalion Soldier helped save two civilians from a life-threatening accident on a highway between Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Col. Norbert Jocz, 3rd Brigade commander, presented the medal Nov. 17 in front of a battalion formation on the Kodiak Parade Field on Custer Hill. “It's pretty neat,” the Oklahoma native said about getting the medal. “I never expected to get anything like this.” The...

Army bestows prestigious heroism laurel on soldier who assisted rescue of 3 in tank There's a humming noise a cable makes when it is about to snap. On an awful morning in Iraq, the sound echoed in Kraig Lemme's head. When he heard it, the 24-year-old Tucson soldier was chest-deep in filthy water, standing atop an Abrams tank that had flipped into a canal with three crew members inside. On shore, another Abrams hooked to one end of the cable was straining to lift the disabled tank's hatch above water so Lemme could get at the trapped trio. "Everybody stood...

HOLIDAY, Fla.(Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – What began last year as a suggestion by retired Maj. Gen. Fred Raymond came full circle last Friday during a dedication ceremony of the new Paul R. Smith Middle School in Holiday, Fla. More than 500 family, friends, Soldiers, veterans, legislators, county officials and students were present. Raymond recommended to the Pasco County School Board in September 2005 that the new school be named after Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant 1st Class Paul R. Smith. Smith’s parents, widow and two children live in Holiday, and his 12-year old son David is now...

Grigory Perelman a no-show for his Fields Medal.Four mathematicians were today due to collect gold medals and glory in Madrid, Spain, having been declared winners of the 2006 Fields Medals — referred to as the 'Nobel prizes' of mathematics. But only three turned up. Grigory Perelman, a reclusive Russian mathematician who was widely expected to be one of this year's winners (see 'Maths 'Nobel' rumoured for Russian recluse'), was indeed honoured at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians. But after a round of applause, president of the International Mathematical Union John Ball said "I regret that Dr...

MARINE BARRACKS WASHINGTON, D.C., August 4, 2006 – Twenty-six Marine heroes were honored at a Medal of Honor flag presentation ceremony here yesterday. A crowd of more than 1,000 friends, family members and patriotic spectators watched as Marine Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee and Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, presented flags to 16 Medal of Honor recipients and family members of 10 other Medal of Honor recipients. "On behalf of all Marines, thank you for your service and example for the thousands of Marines that followed you," Hagee told the recipients. "Your legacy is...

"I honestly don’t remember ever being afraid,” Command Sergeant Major Gary L. Littrell (U.S. Army, ret.) says, recalling a fierce four-day, four-night battle he led against a numerically superior enemy force that had surrounded his battalion and was hell-bent on destroying it. “I just remember being very, very angry, because all of sudden — from the first mortar round that killed one of my best friends and seriously wounded several others — there was this nonstop fighting that lasted for days where the enemy was killing my soldiers. The effect it had on me was extreme anger.”

Local Marine To Return Service Medal To Bush In Protest3/25 Marine Calls War On Terrorism Medal 'Eye Candy' From Bush  POSTED: 12:41 pm EDT July 3, 2006 UPDATED: 1:08 pm EDT July 3, 2006 AKRON, Ohio -- A local Marine who service in Iraq earned several medals for serving his country, but he's giving back one of the medals to the White House as a form of protest. Sgt. Matthew Bee is a decorated Akron Marine who spent seven months in Hadeetha, serving with the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines Weapons Company based in Brook Park. Bee received six medals of...

6/23/2006 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- A sergeant severely wounded in action in Iraq received the Purple Heart Medal today, pinned on his chest by the Air Force chief of staff. Staff Sgt. Israel del Toro Jr. accepted the medal from Gen. T. Michael Moseley at a ceremony at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. More than 200 people attended the event, including family members. The sergeant, supported by family members, fellow controllers, A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots, Soldiers, an Airman Leadership School class and the hospital medical staff was at a loss for words because...

6/8/2006 - MILFORD, Mass. (AFPN) -- When servicemembers deploy, they aren't the only ones who serve. Their families serve also, and usually the separation is hardest on the children. Homecomings are joyous moments for military families, but until recently, the service and sacrifice made by the children of deployed troops went largely unrecognized. That has all changed here, thanks to the Massachusetts State Family Program Office and their new Youth Service Medal. “At each reunion briefing, we are all amazed at how strong these children are and the degree of resiliency they demonstrate” said Jennifer Cesaitis, youth program coordinator for...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Curtis Haines Soldier Receives Medal for Bravery in Iraq By Sgt. Chris A. Durney Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 31, 2006 — To Sgt. 1st Class Curtis Haines of Hope, Ark., being presented the nation's highest awards for non-combat related bravery is a source of pride for his whole unit, and not just himself. Haines is a member of the Arkansas Army National Guard's Company A, 1-153rd Infantry of the 39th Brigade Combat Team. He thinks that any one of his fellow Guard soldiers is capable of the same...

SPLIT, Croatia (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe Adm. Harry Ulrich presented a Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously, to the family of Chief Watertender Peter Tomich during a solemn ceremony aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) May 18. Retired Croatian Army Lt. Col. Srecko Herceg Tonic received the award on behalf of Tomich. Tonic is the grandson of Tomich's cousin John Tonic. Tomich and the elder Tonic immigrated to the United States from what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina on the Croatian border. Commander, Enterprise Carrier Strike Group Rear Adm. Ray Spicer said it was an honor and privilege to help deliver...

MARINE CORPS RECRUITING STATION PITTSBURGH (May 17, 2006) -- In a recent ceremony held in a room full of friends, family, and members of his former Camp Lejeune, North Carolina-based Marine unit, 1st Lt. Raymond G. Baronie, was honored with a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, with combat “V” for Valor, for his courageous actions while deployed to Iraq. Baronie, a native of Lower Burrell, PA and 2002 graduate of Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA, served in Iraq with the Marine Corps’ 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force as a liaison officer between the newly created Iraqi Security Forces and the...

SPLIT, Croatia, May 11, 2006 – The Croatian family of a U.S. Navy enlisted man will accept a posthumous Medal of Honor here next week for the man's heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Navy Adm. Harry Ulrich, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, will present a posthumously awarded Medal of Honor to the family of Chief Watertender Peter Tomich at a ceremony May 18. Retired Croatian army Lt. Col. Srecko Herceg Tonic will receive the U.S. military's highest award on behalf of the Tomich family. Tomich, a U.S. citizen of Croatian heritage, served in the U.S. Navy...

   The Free Republic Canteen Looks At The Purple Heart     Attached to the piece of dark blue cloth is a purple heart of silk, bound with braid and edged with lace. The cloth is believed to be part of the uniform or the tunic of a soldier of the Continental Army. There is no name, rank or regimental insignia on the piece of cloth. The Purple Heart is displayed in Washington, DC, at the Society of the Cincinnati's Anderson House Museum and another at Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, New York. The Purple Heart itself...

Corpus, Christi, Texas (April 27, 2006) - Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Juan M. Rubio, of San Angelo, Texas, was awarded the Silver Star Medal for conspicuous gallantry against the enemy on Jan. 1, 2005, while serving as a Marine platoon corpsman in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Medical Corps, Commander, Navy Medicine East and Commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va., Rear Adm. Thomas R. Cullison, left, made the presentation in front of the Naval Hospital on board Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Bill W. Love (RELEASED)

AL ASAD, Iraq (April 26, 2006) -- Two Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam era toured through Al Asad, Iraq, April 20, meeting with deployed service members. Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard and retired Marine Capt. John J. McGinty III ate lunch and dinner with several service members. Upon completion of dinner, the two honored visitors met with service members in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation building and gave a speech on their tales of war. The two gentlemen also met with several service members individually, giving each a morale boost, an autograph and a 100-minute phone card...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (April 24, 2006) -- In Iraq, leaders have sought the recipe for building a viable police force capable of maintaining the peace and security of a nation torn at the seams. Last year, Capt. Thomas “Tad” Douglas and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Force Reconnaissance Marines cooked up something special by throwing 12 members of the Iraqi Police into combat and ultimately creating one of the finest fighting organizations in Iraq – the 500 member Hilla Special Weapons and Tactics team. In addition to his work in shaping Hilla SWAT, Douglas was responsible for...

ARLINGTON, Va., April 14, 2006 – Six Medal of Honor recipients and the Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights, were among those gathered at Arlington National Cemetery here yesterday to pay their last respects to retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. "Mike" Novosel, a Medal of Honor recipient and former Golden Knight. Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) carry Medal of Honor recipient retired Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel Sr. at Arlington National Cemetery April 13. Novosel, 83, was laid to rest after he succumbed to a long battle with cancer. A former pilot...

PHOENIX — Army Sgt. Jim Witkowski threw his body over a grenade before it exploded six months ago, saving the lives of three fellow soldiers. The Army will posthumously honor Witkowski with a Silver Star for bravery in action at a ceremony in Los Alamitos, Calif., today. Witkowski, 32, grew up in Phoenix and went to high school in Scottsdale. He was assigned to an Army Reserve unit based in Fresno, Calif.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (March 13, 2006) -- A Twenty-nine Palms Marine participated in a United States naturalization ceremony, along with 33 other people from 20 different countries, more than 60 students here in Fort Collins and political representatives from the national, state and local levels. Corporal Artyom N. Dutchak was born in the Ukraine and moved to Sterling, Colo. in 1999 when he was 14 years old along with his sister Alyoha and his mother Nataliya Nickels. Shortly after graduating from Sterling High School, Dutchak took the oath to become a United States Marine. “I have always had the desire...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – Underneath a portrait of Czar Peter the Great, the Russian Ambassador to the United States presented two U.S. officers with the Order of Friendship for their parts in rescuing submariners trapped underwater off the Kamchatka peninsula in August. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov meet after the ceremony that presented the highest honor awarded to non-Russian citizens, the Friendship Medal, to two American officers at the Russian Embassy in Washington Feb. 28. U.S. Air Force Maj. Patrick Poon and U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Steven Smith...

SESTRIERE, Italy – Unbent, unbowed and ultimately unsuccessful, Bode Miller said in an interview yesterday he is skiing away from these Olympics on his own terms — content without any medals and impressed by the local nightlife. “I just did it my way. I’m not a martyr, and I’m not a do-gooder. I just want to go out and rock. And man, I rocked here,” Miller said in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press soon after he skidded off the slalom course in his fifth and final race, completing an 0-for-the-Olympics.

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 18, 2006) -- A Marine from Maryville, Tenn., was recognized here today for his life-saving actions during combat operations in Husaybah, Iraq, last November. Cpl. Neill A. Sevelius, a 21-year-old combat videographer with Regimental Combat Team-2, received the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat “V” for valor for aiding a wounded Marine while under fire. The Combat “V” device is awarded specifically for heroic actions in combat. Sevelius was attached to a Marine infantry company during Operation: Steel Curtain – the Marine and Iraqi Army-led, two-week offensive, in western Al Anbar Province to disrupt insurgent...

2/17/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force Uniform Board announced Feb. 6 that the Good Conduct Medal will no longer be awarded. The Air Force director of Airman development and sustainment recently explained the reasons behind this decision. "The quality of our enlisted personnel today is so high, we expect good conduct from our Airmen," said Brig. Gen Robert R. Allardice. "It begged the question, ‘Why do we have a Good Conduct Medal?’" "Having a medal for good conduct is almost to say we don't expect Airmen to do well, but if they're good we will give them a...

BRUCK, Germany (Army News Service, Feb. 6, 2006) -- Soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division and the 101st Military Intelligence Battalion braved cold, icy conditions to earn the Schutzenschnur German marksmanship in Bruck, Germany Feb. 1. Since the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of 1st ID is scheduled to move to Fort Riley, Kansas, in the near future, this may be the last opportunity for many of the Soldiers to earn the award, said Staff Sgt. Larry Gormley, 1st ID noncommissioned officer in charge of civil military operations The Schutzenschnur medal is awarded for qualifying on two German weapons -- usually...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 20, 2006) -- Major Paul T. Deutsch of Addison, Ill., the disbursing officer for Camp Lejeune, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during an awards ceremony Jan. 18 for his service while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 04 - 06. Deutsch deployed with Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, and served as the Service Company commander. He oversaw five platoons including disbursers, postal clerks, exchange salesmen, dental technicians and mortuary affairs specialists. Service Company covered the entire Al Anbar province during their seven-month stay, and achieved amazing things, according...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Jan. 9, 2006) -- Navy Lt. John G. Meeting of Mansfield, Ohio, the comptroller for the Naval Dental Center was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during an awards ceremony Dec. 16 for his service while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 04 - 06. In January 2005, Meeting deployed as the commander for Surgical Company A, 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Meeting’s company deployed to Kuwait to relieve a National Guard unit. “There were about 100,000 service members in Kuwait at the time we got there, so it was a little...

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Jan. 3, 2006 – A Medal of Honor recipient saluted the work servicemembers are doing around the world as part of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's tour of the U.S. Central Command area. Retired Army Col. Jack Jacobs, who received the nation's highest award for heroism in the Vietnam War, told servicemembers that he has seen improvements all across the theater "and it's all because of you." Jacobs, a military analyst for NBC News, thanked the troops for their service. He spoke to thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at 13 stops in...

In an article two days ago, "Muhammad Ali v. George W. Bush," I castigated President Bush bestowing a prestigious award on former boxer Muhammad Ali and for lavishly praising Ali's beautiful soul, his compassion, and his being a man of peace. I offered some evidence to the contrary and concluded by calling this incident "the nadir of his presidency."The column prompted a fair amount of comment, positive and negative. I'd like to note here two noteworthy responses. One is from Judea Pearl, father of the late Daniel Pearl, murdered by Islamists in Pakistan in 2002: When Danny was in captivity,...

George W. Bush honored the boxer, Muhammad Ali, and 13 others with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, called "the nation's highest civilian award," on November 9 at the White House. The president praised Ali for his sports accomplishments and called him "The Greatest of All Time."Fine, but he then proceeded to laud Ali's character: "The real mystery, I guess, is how he stayed so pretty. It probably had to do with his beautiful soul. He was a fierce fighter and he's a man of peace. … Across the world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a brave, compassionate, and...