Posted on 10/29/2004 12:39:05 AM PDT by The Klingon
Maybe you'd like to hear about something other than idiot Reservists and naked Iraqis.
Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored the uniform he wears.
Meet Brian Chontosh.
Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant (now Captain) in the United States Marine Corps.
And a genuine hero.
The secretary of the Navy said so yesterday.
At 29 Palms in California Brian Chontosh was presented with the Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery the United States can bestow.
That's a big deal.
But you won't see it on the network news tonight, and all you read in Brian's hometown newspaper was two paragraphs of nothing. Instead, it was more blather about some mental defective MPs who acted like animals.
The odd fact about the American media in this war is that it's not covering the American military. The most plugged-in nation in the world is receiving virtually no true information about what its warriors are doing.
Oh, sure, there's a body count. We know how many Americans have fallen. And we see those same casket pictures day in and day out. And we're almost on a first-name basis with the pukes who abused the Iraqi prisoners. And we know all about improvised explosive devices and how we lost Fallujah and what Arab public-opinion polls say about us and how the world hates us.
We get a non-stop feed of gloom and doom.
But we don't hear about the heroes.
The incredibly brave GIs who honorably do their duty. The ones our grandparents would have carried on their shoulders down Fifth Avenue.
The ones we completely ignore.
Like Brian Chontosh.
It was a year ago on the march into Baghdad. Brian Chontosh was a platoon leader rolling up Highway 1 in a Humvee.
When all hell broke loose.
Ambush city.
The young Marines were being cut to ribbons. Mortars, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades. And the kid out of Churchville was in charge. It was do or die and it was up to him.
So he moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his men to safety. As he tried to poke a hole through the Iraqi line his Humvee came under direct enemy machine gun fire.
It was fish in a barrel and the Marines were the fish.
And Brian Chontosh gave the order to attack. He told his driver to floor the Humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was firing at them. And he had the guy on top with the .50 cal unload on them.
Within moments there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the Humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his Marines. Over into the battlement the Humvee went and out the door Brian Chontosh bailed, carrying an M16 and a Beretta and 228 years of Marine Corps pride.
And he ran down the trench.
With its mortars and riflemen, machine-guns and grenadiers.
And he killed them all.
He fought with the M16 until it was out of ammo. Then he fought with the Beretta until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up a dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up another dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo.
At one point he even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy cluster, sending attackers flying with its grenade explosion.
When he was done Brian Chontosh had cleared 200 yards of entrenched Iraqis from his platoon's flank. He had killed more than 20 and wounded at least as many more.
But that's probably not how he would tell it.
He would probably merely say that his Marines were in trouble, and he got them out of trouble. Oooh-Rah, and drive on.
"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
That's what the citation says.
And that's what nobody will hear.
That's what doesn't seem to be making the evening news. Accounts of American valor are dismissed by the press as propaganda, yet accounts of American difficulties are heralded as objectivity. It makes you wonder if the role of the media is to inform, or to depress - to report or to deride. To tell the truth, or to feed us lies.
But I guess it doesn't matter.
We're going to turn out all right.
As long as men like Brian Chontosh wear our uniform.
BUMPMARK for tomorrow
Makes this vet proud.
This is what movies are made of.
A true hero and patriot.
This is what the MSM should be about, instead of the doom and gloom, but that would benefit Bush now, wouldn't it?
The MSM can FOAD and take Kerry and his ilk with them.
A WOW!!!! bump. US Marines rule.
WOW, he makes Rambo look like a p*ssy. He proved the best defense is a good offense.
ping. Awesome story.
The MSM does not want the world to know about Brian because he is everything they could never be. They desire to appease our dangerous enemies because they are cowards but they want the power available to our leaders. Do they want that power to be able to protect and advance every life in our nation? No! They want that power so they can oppress and punish any ideas which are different than theirs. They want to end debate about abortion, gender issues, traditional families, unfair taxation and recognition of those who are truly successful in doing something which will really carry over to the next generation after they are gone. Brian has done something which will carry over to the next generation and the MSM hates that above all things when the person who accomplished it is not of their kind..So, they suppress the story, hoping no one will hear of it. I feel that the character of our MSM is now the lowest it has ever been and they are "in your face" with their false stories such as the one about the explosives and the President's national guard record while ignoring this one. In addition, they are ignoring the threat of election fraud and the stories of violence from Democratic supporters. I was taught if you do not have an opinion about wrong doing, then you have participated in it.
Thanks for sharing a story of a brave soldier.
Prior to the election frenzy, some of the local tv channels here in Southern California carried some very touching stories. Here are a few I remember:
I recall returning soldiers, including Shoshannah Johnson, being honored in local churches.
An immigrant who had been raised by adoptive parents was honored at his funeral and his parents and some friends said that he had served with pride and went willingly to give something back to the country that allowed him to be freer than where he came from.
Parents of a fallen soldier who died disabling land mines said they were proud of their son and believe he gave his life to save others.
A family that had lost their son in Iraq, invited other soldiers who were far from home to join them in holiday celebrations and barbeques.
Thousands of families of deployed soldiers received help from volunteers offering everything from child care to basic car and home repairs.
Not too long ago, local kcal9tv showed the flag-draped casket of a fallen soldier. He was a Fillipino immigrant from a family of five who had left his second year of college to serve. His family was gathered in prayer at the showing and his sister, who was dressed in her "navy whites" was shown at his casket saluting her fallen brother.
God bless America and the young men and womwn who wear her Uniform WHEREEVER THEY ARE
Uncommon valor a common virtue
Race, thought you'd be interested in a story about what someone in the crinton administration called extremists.
tgsl thought you might be interested.
BTTT
Great story!
Do you have an original link or did you write that yourself? I'd like to print the story out and pass it around at work. Thanks.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/200456162723 Here is the link, I recieved the story as an email and didn't have the link when I posted it.
Bump
"The MSM does not want the world to know about Brian because he is everything they could never be."
Very nicely said.
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