Posted on 08/01/2009 5:04:44 PM PDT by Cheap_Hessian
WASHINGTON (AP) - Eight years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 4,000 members of the U.S. military killed in action. More than 34,000 wounded. Just six considered worthy of America's highest military award for battlefield valor.
For some veterans and members of Congress, that last number doesn't add up.
They question how so few Medals of Honor—all awarded posthumously—could be bestowed for wars of such magnitude and duration.
Pentagon officials say the nature of war has changed. Laser-guided missiles destroy enemy positions without putting soldiers in harm's way. Insurgents deploy roadside bombs rather than engage in firefights they're certain to lose.
Those explanations don't tell the whole story, said Rep. Duncan Hunter, a first-term lawmaker who served combat tours as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has sponsored legislation that directs the defense secretary to review current trends in awarding the Medal of Honor to determine what's behind the low count.
The bill passed the House. If Senate negotiators go along, Secretary Robert Gates would have to report back by March 31.
"It seems like our collective standard for who gets the Medal of Honor has been raised," said Hunter, R-Calif.
"The basis of warfare is you've got to take ground and then you've got to hold it. That takes people walking into houses, running up hills, killing bad guys and then staying there and rebuffing counterattacks," he said. "That's how warfare has always been no matter how many bombs you drop and how many predators you have flying around."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
I remember when the question was whether or not we had seen the last MOH.
The MOH is an elite medal.
Similarly, in these current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, I am aware of one Victoria Cross being awarded to New Zealand, and one Victoria Cross to Australia. I do not know if any have been awarded to British forces during this time.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that there have been only six MoH recipients during these conflicts.
I have a gift for Kevin Freking.
I think that this is a reaction to the give aways in Viet Nam, I still think that D. Birdwell should have gotten the Blue Max, along with his Platoon Sargent, Silver Star and DSC respectively.
The give aways are 99% to officers. Now enlisted grunts pay the price. Officers get decorations based on time and location,,etc.
I agree the standard should be very high. But it shouldnt be in the realm of the exotic. Read the citations from Vietnam, Korea or WWII. They are normal, incredibly brave moments. We are turning MOH into an odd cult-like thing, and ignoring many who deserve it.
I think they just dont want a living man to get one in a ceremony. They dont want any heroes from this war who will live 50 more years. It would interfere with the DNC narrative of this being the evil Bush war.
Im probably saying it wrong, but if some politician gets too snotty today about Vietnam, they will eventually be faced with the heroes of that war. It impedes leftist office holders nastier impulses to this day.
They will not repeat that mistake about this war. Our heroes will be recognized and named. The left only loves the soldier as a helpless victim, they are horrified to show him in his strength. They *never* want that for an example to our young.
Thank you for the info, i sure will read that.
Go over to Gathering Of Eagles web site, many of us are not taking it sitting down.
I remember reading a story about a Marine who was wounded by an explosion set of by an insurgent, He forced himself up and gave the insurgent the finger. This guy has my vote for the medal.
http://viewfromtonka.blogspot.com/2005/09/injured-marine-defies-attackers-1.html
Im also going to look for Mr Birdwell’s story.
I have long argued that the MoH, while recognizing great heroism, is not given to the recipient for that heroism. Instead, it is to him, his family, his town, his State and the United States as a whole.
As such, it designates him as the conveyor of the Medal of Honor, that for the rest of his life, it is his status. There is no higher honor, and even if he is elected President of the United States, his title will still be “Medal of Honor Recipient and President of the United States.”
There is no military regulation that higher ranking military personnel must salute a Medal of Honor Recipient first, but from private to highest ranking flag officer, they will.
That there was a combat action that brought about the presentation of the Medal of Honor, is just a discriminator of its issuance. After then, the recipient wears the MoH so that his fellow citizens will be able to see heroism personified.
There are now fewer than one living MoH recipient for every 3 million Americans, with fewer ever year. If you ever have a chance to meet one, take it.
If they had not stopped them, the NVA would have overrun the base. I was just outside the west side of the base next to the Vietnamese Joint General Staff compound.
We had VC taking down the wall around the compound with RPGs. We had no weapons and the Vietnamese guards had only personal arms.
If the NVA had gotten past Dwight, we would have been goners. Luckily, a company of Vietnamese Marines arrived and quickly put the VC unit out of action.
Afterwards, we found the remains of many brave 716th MPs and other individual American military attacking the VC from the other side.
I wrote a letter to Dwight and thanked him for his bravery and determination not to give up to overwhelming odds. I hope he got my letter. Howard A. Daniel III, Master Sergeant, US Army Retired
"Read A Hundred Miles of Bad Road".
I believe we have just as many hero's today as at any time in our history and no reason to squeeze the numbers for any reason.
I was in Phoenix, when Medal of Honor Recipient, WWII USMC Fighter Ace Joe Foss was prevented from boarding a plane at Sky Harbor, to give a speech to cadets at West Point, because the airport security had never seen a Medal of Honor, had no idea what it represented, and were concerned he might try to hijack the aircraft with its pointed edges.
Yes, America still has heroes. Many veterans of the Second Gulf War and Afghanistan who performed acts of heroism far greater than throwing themselves on a hand grenade, yet have been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor solely because they survived.
Since Vietnam, no living soldier has been seen as worthy of the Medal of Honor. Not one.
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