Posted on 03/30/2008 5:25:35 PM PDT by thundrey
A Royal Marine who threw himself onto an exploding grenade to save the lives of his patrol has been put forward for the UK's highest military honour.
Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, 24, a reservist from Birmingham, survived because his rucksack and body armour took the force of the blast.
He was part of a reconnaissance troop in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in February, when the incident happened.
The Ministry of Defence said he could be considered for the Victoria Cross.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
...pre-eminent act of valor, or extreme self sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty...
...to lay down your life for your fellow man...
A no brainer IMHO.
Exit this thread or you'll give your life on this forum.
Classic!
But he didn’t lay down his life.
He took a calculated risk, and saved his mates - and also saved himself.
He knew the blast radius of a grenade. He knew how strong it was likely to be.
If being willing to die, if necessary, but doing everything you can to stay alive got people the VC, I’d have one. So would 80% of the people I served alongside.
But that doesn’t get people the VC. What they do to get that is so much more.
I guess it doesn’t count as much for the one who survives that which should have killed him.
God bless and keep him ....... a true hero.
So... Your a democrat? Thought so...
You're so special, you're even immune to the self-degrading force of argument.
Or will you actually change your mind, if somebody tells you good reasons to do so?
You can’t have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat!!!!
#107
Thank you. I understand. Yes, heroes all.
Btw, I noticed your tagline. Just want to add that, as an American, I’m thankful that you all are our friends, and very grateful that you have been there for us and with us.
God bless all those, and their families, who fight, and have fought, for freedom.
Don't worry. One of these days Mom will kick you out of the basement, and you'll begin to understand there's a whole world out there beyond Nintendo.
God bless him.
There’s medals, and then there’s MEDALS.
The proudest is the one you get when the Lord says, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”
I have a hunch this hero will hear those words by and by...
A quote from the man himself.
“I knew a grenade like this has a killing circumference of about five metres. So I got down with my back to the grenade and used my body as a shield. It was a case of either having four of us as fatalities or badly wounded, or one.”
Yes, he put his life on the line - but his own statement shows he was thinking about what he did in the way I've described. He knew he could die. But he did everything he could to avoid it, and he worked how to do it.
He did expect to be seriously wounded - he was far luckier than he expected. He is a hero, without doubt.
Years ago when I was in collage I had a physical chemistry professor who was 6'5" and really slim. He had a belly that was incongruous to his physique, it protruded and was pronounced. I remember mentioning to a classmate how odd he looked; I was informed that the dry, unassuming, boring, gangly, p chem professor had thrown himself on a grenade in Korea saving six comrades, survived, and was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor. I was in awe of him after that.
As I would be. As I am in awe of the courage of Lance Corporal Croucher.
The reason it all concerns me so much, is that twenty five men have been awarded the CGC in this war so far - the decoration, I personally believe Croucher's actions deserve. I know what most of them did, and it was equal to this. Pushing the VC as what any hero gets serves to suggest that those who don't get it, weren't heroes themselves. Well, they were.
First off, you should be on your knees thanking people like the Lance Corporal that you’re able to live your life the way you want, since without men and women like him, you’d probably be long dead, if ever born, as just one of billions of drones working and dying for a collective good.
Secondly, be sure that you tell a fire fighter “no thanks, I’m OK, I don’t want to you endanger yourself for me or my family” as your house is burning down. That you really don’t want anyone else to run into a burning building to search for a son or daughter of yours. That you’re OK to go it alone.
You’re mixing up society with socialism. Anarchy with capitalism.
Nobody is asking you to sacrifice anything. I haven’t seen anyone here demanding that you do anything, other than keep a “civil tongue” and not to denigrate those who have a calling to protect others. Whether as policemen, firemen, or soldiers. Everyone of them deserves our thanks and our honor for putting themselves on the line, even for those like yourself who spit on them for freely giving their service so you have the freedom TO spit on them.
Mark
Bump for the heroes.
It's amazing how well you can quote things but don't seem to understand the things you're quoting.
In the introduction to her collection of essays on ethical philosophy, The Virtue of Selfishness (VOS), Rand writes that the “exact meaning” of selfishness is “concern with one’s own interests” (VOS, vii). In that work, Rand argues that a virtue is an action by which one secures and protects one’s rational values—ultimately, one’s life and happiness. Since a concern with one’s own interests is a character trait that, when translated into action, enables one to achieve and guard one’s own well-being, it follows that selfishness is a virtue. One must manifest a serious concern for one’s own interests if one is to lead a healthy, purposeful, fulfilling life.
Selfishness here (as Rand defines it) is different from the common vernacular of "Jimmy isn't sharing his toys with the other children." It's a completely individualistic thing. Doing that which protects one's rational values. Those values which are important to the person. If someone has a calling to serve his or her community, to put others' safety before their own, then that is serving his or her own self interest, hence, as Rand would define it, "selfish." Where Rand has a serious problem is when someone demands that you owe them service.
The Lance Corporal is a volunteer and a reservist, not even "regular military!" He's volunteered to do something that he feels is important, again, serving his own self interest.
Again, I have yet to see anyone here demand anything of you, other than being civil, and not denigrating the service of others.
Mark
Wasn’t one of the first VC’s won by a Charles Lucas of the Royal Navy for picking up a Russian shell that had landed on his ship’s deck and tossing it overboard before it exploded?
He didn’t even hurl himself on the actual shell, he just tossed it overboard. Suppose it’s just got harder and harder to win one over the years...
Actually, it's more like a recently "converted" person, who just can't get enough of a recently discovered philosophy, and tries to use it to define every part of his or her life.
It's almost as if "our media friend" has just discovered Objectivism and Rand, and has a need to evangelize, even though he or she hasn't actually bothered with anything more than a cursory reading.
He or she also seems to confuse society with socialism, and capitalism with anarchy. Even though he quotes Hayek and Reagan on his home page. Lots of quotes, little understanding.
Mark
What a wonderful hero! I’m so glad he survived!
Ref: your tagline
I just want to tell you that you and your countrymen/women have my love and gratitude for all the sacrifices your country has made in support of America.
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