Posted on 07/04/2008 7:42:16 AM PDT by Joiseydude
A little-known tribute some Navy SEALs gave to a fallen comrade is gaining notice.
Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor was killed in battle in Iraq in September 2006, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in April.
During the service, as Monsoor's coffin was taken from the hearse to the gravesite, Navy SEALs lined up in two columns. As the coffin passed, video shows each SEAL, having removed the gold Trident from his own uniform, slapping it down and deeply embedding it in Monsoor's wooden coffin.
The slaps were reportedly heard across the cemetery.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Monsoor was killed on Sept. 29, 2006. He had been assigned to protect fellow SEALs on a rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq, when a fierce firefight with insurgents broke out. During the battle, a grenade bounced off Monsoor’s chest and landed on the roof.
Faced with the choice to save his comrades or save himself, Monsoor threw himself on the grenade, absorbing the impact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfK2BQCIIes&eurl=http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/03/us-navy-seal-mi.html
Just watched the video
BTTT!
It’s a little delicate to post this, as I don’t want to either hijack the thread or in any way diminish the tribute to this noble hero. But when I hear about extraordinarily brave men who do this sort of thing—throwing themselves on a grenade to save their comrades—I always wonder: if there is enough time (half a second?) to leap through the air and throw yourself on a grenade, isn’t there enough time to kick it away so that no one dies?
I just hate to see magnificent young men killed like this and I wish I could hear that something else could be done to save their comrades. Can someone who has been in combat or knows about grenades clarify for this future Marine mom?
To quote from The Bridges At Toko-Ri, ‘Where do we get such men?’
There’s about 5 seconds from the time the spoon is released until the grenade goes off. The guy had almost no time to decide so he chose to protect his friends, very noble.
Michael A. Monsoor
Look at the roof top. They have walls around them, no way to kick it off. If he had picked it up to throw it, it would have gone off in his hand and got them all.
Petty Officer Second Class Michael A. Monsoor
Its a darn shame, they have a body armor now that supposedly can withstand a grenade explosion, its called dragon skin. It is so expensive the gov wont buy it. Could have saved this young guys life.
There was no where to kick it to, it had landed inside their vehicle.
I remember the first time I held a grenade, a WWII vintage grenade, and was astounded at the heft of that thing! You couldn’t throw one of those things and that’s why it was said the ‘lobbed’ one.
I don’t think your post detracts from the bravery of the person who did this at all. It’s an honest question.
Hand grenades have relatively short fuses (3 to 5 seconds). (Count this out while going through the motions and you will see it isn't much time.) Common practice to prevent the grenade from being thrown back at you is to let the safety spoon fly after pulling the pin, wait a moment, and then quickly throw it. This burns up a couple of seconds. Usually, there is only a second or two left on the fuse when it arrives in the enemy position. You can try to throw it back, but that takes time and you probably don't have it.
Imagine that roof top. Heavy fire is coming in, so you and your fellow SEALs have gotten down behind what cover there is and are moving around in low crouches or maybe crawling around on your belly. Weapons are firing, there are orders being shouted, the radio is crackling, and maybe there are occasional deafening explosions throwing dust and debris into the air. Everyone's attention is focused OUTWARD toward the enemy. Suddenly, something thumps you in the chest, breaking your outward focus. You look down (or perhaps over, if you are laying down) and there is an armed enemy grenade. You can get to it but there probably is not enough time to pick it up and get it out of the position.
At this point, your world comes down to that small group of men with whom you are currently sharing the most dangerous moments of your collective lives. You have trained and lived with these men a long time. You have shared danger together and have come to know each one as a friend. You and they have long since accepted that doing your duties fully might require your lives; any one of them or all of them. Now the moment is at hand. Since you are nearest to to the grenade, you are already dead and you know it. It remains for you to perform one last duty and act of friendship. But this duty requires you to knowingly sacrifice yourself so that your friends might live. So you shout a warning as you roll on top of it to shield them from the blast.
You have done what you could, you hope it will be enough. You will never know. Then the final painful darkness comes.
I hope this helps you gain some perspective on this last profound act of comradely love and loyalty that you can perform for your friends.
Anyone who can survive SEAL training is one hell of a man. The word “hero” is tossed around too casually. This guy is a hero.
Wow....awesome.
The gulf between those who serve and protect us, and the clueless ones who make up a majority of the population they protect and serve, continues to widen.
I stand in awe and gratitude of Michael Monsoor’s service and sacrifice. May those of us he protected with his life, honor his memory and cherish the freedom he defended for us.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Don’t buy the dragon skin hype. It would not save you from a grenade going off betweeh you and a cememt floor. Not even close. No body armor would. The blast wave, never mind shrapnel, would turn your guts to jelly.
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