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FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: David H McNerney ~ October 25, 2010
Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !!
| StarCMC and MS BEHAVIN
Posted on 10/24/2010 5:13:33 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska
Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! |
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For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. |
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Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! |
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~ Hall of Heroes ~ David H. McNerney Info from here. |
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David Herbert McNerney (June 2, 1931 October 10, 2010) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decorationthe Medal of Honorfor his actions in the Vietnam War. A native of Massachusetts who moved to Houston, Texas, as a child, McNerney served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before enlisting in the Army. He earned the Medal of Honor as a first sergeant on March 22, 1967, for taking command of his company during an attack by a numerically superior North Vietnamese force. Although wounded, he organized the unit's defense, exposed himself to hostile fire in order to mark and clear a helicopter landing site, and refused to be evacuated until a new commander arrived the next day. McNerney retired from the military in 1969, after serving four tours of duty in Vietnam, and began a career as a customs inspector in Houston. McNerney was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1931, into an Irish Catholic family with a history of military service. He was one of five children of Edward and Helen McNerney; his siblings were Ruth, Edward, Richard, and Susan. His father was a decorated World War I veteran, having received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and two Purple Hearts. Two of his siblings served in World War II, Ruth as an Army nurse and Edward as a submariner on the USS Dace, and a third, Richard, was an Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam. McNerney's family moved to Houston, Texas, in the early 1940s and he graduated from St. Thomas High School there in 1949. He soon enlisted in the United States Navy and served two tours in Korea during the Korean War before his 1952 discharge. Briefly attending the University of Houston, McNerney disliked school and decided to join the Army after seeing a recruiting poster on campus. In 1961, McNerney married Parmelia Marie "Charlotte" Moeckel; the couple had no children. Parmelia died in 2003. |
After enlisting in the Army in 1953 at Fort Bliss, Texas, McNerney was stationed overseas in Korea and Okinawa. In 1962, he volunteered for special warfare training and was among the first 500 U.S. military advisers sent to Vietnam. He was deployed to that country a second time in 1964.[1] In late 1966, McNerney began his third tour of duty in Vietnam. By March 21, 1967, he was stationed in the Central Highlands near the Cambodian border as a first sergeant with Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On that afternoon, he and his company were dropped by helicopter into Polei Doc to search for a missing reconnaissance team. After camping for the night, the unit advanced on the morning on March 22 and came under attack by a North Vietnamese force three times their size. McNerney moved to the front to assess the situation and was wounded by a grenade. When the company commander and forward observer were killed, he assumed command of the unit and began organizing the defense. He called in air strikes to within 65 feet (20 m) of his own position and marked the unit's location by climbing a tree, in full view of the hostile soldiers, and tying an identification marker to the upper branches. Braving heavy fire to collect demolition equipment which had been dropped early in the battle, he blew up trees in order to clear a landing site for a helicopter extraction. Despite his wounds, he refused to be evacuated himself and stayed with the company until a new commander arrived the next day. For his actions during the battle, McNerney was awarded the Medal of Honor. McNerney returned to the United States in August 1967 and worked as a training instructor at Fort Dix, New Jersey. During a ceremony at the White House on September 19, 1968, he was formally presented with the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He volunteered for a fourth tour in Vietnam with Co B, 2nd Bn, 8th Inf Reg, 1st Cavalry Division before retiring as a first sergeant in December 1969 After his military career, McNerney returned to the Houston area and settled in Crosby. He worked at the Port of Houston as an inspector with the United States Customs Service, a job he held from 1970 until his final retirement in 1995. In his later years he attended numerous public speaking engagements and events in his honor and was involved in Crosby's American Legion post and Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. On August 24, 2004, McNerney donated his Medal of Honor to his alma mater, St. Thomas High School, at a ceremony inducting him into the school's Hall of Honor. A documentary entitled Honor in the Valley of Tears, which tells the story of McNerney's company in Vietnam and details his Medal of Honor action, premiered at the May 2010 GI Film Festival. The film was co-written by the son of one of McNerney's soldiers. McNerney battled lung cancer which was declared terminal in the spring of 2010. He entered hospice care at Houston's DeBakey VA Medical Center in early October and died there a week later, on the morning of October 10, 2010. He was buried at Houston National Cemetery on October 16 |
McNerney's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
1st Sgt. McNerney distinguished himself when his unit was attacked by a North Vietnamese battalion near Polei Doc. Running through the hail of enemy fire to the area of heaviest contact, he was assisting in the development of a defensive perimeter when he encountered several enemy at close range. He killed the enemy but was painfully injured when blown from his feet by a grenade. In spite of this injury, he assaulted and destroyed an enemy machinegun position that had pinned down 5 of his comrades beyond the defensive line. Upon learning his commander and artillery forward observer had been killed, he assumed command of the company. He adjusted artillery fire to within 20 meters of the position in a daring measure to repulse enemy assaults. When the smoke grenades used to mark the position were gone, he moved into a nearby clearing to designate the location to friendly aircraft. In spite of enemy fire he remained exposed until he was certain the position was spotted and then climbed into a tree and tied the identification panel to its highest branches. Then he moved among his men readjusting their position, encouraging the defenders and checking the wounded. As the hostile assaults slackened, he began clearing a helicopter landing site to evacuate the wounded. When explosives were needed to remove large trees, he crawled outside the relative safety of his perimeter to collect demolition material from abandoned rucksacks. Moving through a fusillade of fire he returned with the explosives that were vital to the clearing of the landing zone. Disregarding the pain of his injury and refusing medical evacuation 1st Sgt. McNerney remained with his unit until the next day when the new commander arrived. First Sgt. McNerney's outstanding heroism and leadership were inspirational to his comrades. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his count
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Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families. This is a politics-free zone! Thanks for helping us in our mission! Thank you, Ms. Behavin, for the heads up on this one!! *HUG* |
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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen; military; troopsupport
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To: Kathy in Alaska
2
posted on
10/24/2010 5:14:25 PM PDT
by
Army Air Corps
(Four fried chickens and a coke)
To: Kathy in Alaska; StarCMC
Thanks ladies for tonight’s Canteen!!
3
posted on
10/24/2010 5:16:48 PM PDT
by
PROCON
(9 More Days Until Independence Day, Woo-Hoo!!)
To: Kathy in Alaska
4
posted on
10/24/2010 5:17:09 PM PDT
by
oldteen
To: Kathy in Alaska; StarCMC; MS.BEHAVIN
Evenin' Ladies! *hugs*
Thanks for tonights Hall of Heroes!
be back shortly!
5
posted on
10/24/2010 5:19:31 PM PDT
by
oldteen
To: StarCMC; MS.BEHAVIN; MoJo2001; 007; 1 FELLOW FREEPER; 11B3; 1FreeAmerican; 1stbn27; 2111USMC; ...
Please note: The author of the Hall of Heroes is StarCMC.
Please thank her and Ms Behavin for todays thread.
Hall of Heroes: David H McNerney FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT
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6
posted on
10/24/2010 5:21:02 PM PDT
by
Kathy in Alaska
(~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
To: oldteen
*Salutes* This brave man and all our gallant armed forces.
7
posted on
10/24/2010 5:22:54 PM PDT
by
Mmogamer
(I refudiate the lamestream media, leftists and their prevaricutions.)
To: Kathy in Alaska; LUV W; All
8
posted on
10/24/2010 5:23:04 PM PDT
by
SevenofNine
("We are Freepers, all your media belong to us ,resistance is futile")
To: Kathy in Alaska; LUV W; All
9
posted on
10/24/2010 5:23:23 PM PDT
by
SevenofNine
("We are Freepers, all your media belong to us ,resistance is futile")
To: Kathy in Alaska
10
posted on
10/24/2010 5:23:49 PM PDT
by
Red_Devil 232
(VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
To: Red_Devil 232
Good evening, Red_Devil....what a GREAT tune! Thanks for sharing with our troops.
11
posted on
10/24/2010 5:31:29 PM PDT
by
Kathy in Alaska
(~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
To: txradioguy; tongue-tied; SoldierDad; mike1sg; Milo828; mystery-ak; CMS; The Sailor; Jet Jaguar; ...
Honoring Our Heroes 2LT Rebecca USA (Daughter of U S Army EOD) 3 sons (armymarinemom and amdad) AbnSarge USA Allegra Anoreth USCG (daughter of Tax-chick) aviator USAF BIGLOOK USN Brett USN (CindyDawg) Brother and Son-in-Law (kalee) Cannoneer No. 4 CAPT Future Snake Eater USA (RightOnline) CAPT Jason Clendenin (friend of Frou) Chris USA (amom) Chuck USA (RightOnline) COL Mike (gpapa) CMS USA ConorMacNessa USN USMC David USAF (LUV W) Defender2 Deven USA (Shimmer) Ethan USMC (georgiabelle) forgotenknight13 USA (grandson of Monkey Face) Fred (DocRock) GulfWar1Vet USA HiJinx USA IS2 Brianne USN (My Hearts in London - Everett) IS2 Heather USN (My Hearts in London - Everett) Jade Falcon USN JemiansTerror USA (Jemian) Jet Jaguar USAF Joel (NEMDF) Jonathan USMC (AZbushgal) Josh USN (doug from upland) Karen USA (fatima's granddaughter) Kenneth (Sweetbaby/LadyPilgrim) Kevin USMC (skimask) Kevin and David USA (vigilante2) Laurita USA LCpl Carter USMC LCpl Joe USMC (DontMessWithTexas) Lindsay (Sweetbaby/LadyPilgrim) LT David (Coldwater Creek) M1911A1 USMC (M0sby) M1Tanker Major joma89 USAF MEG33's Navy Grandson Michael USAR (RightOnline) Mike1Sg USA (mystery-ak) Milo828 USA (mystery-ak) MSgt Eddie USAF ( Son of ThomasPaine2000, CMSgt USAF, Ret) MSGT Glen Ignasiak USAF (nephew of AirForceMom) Nate USN (sneakers) Old Sarge USA OneLoyalAmerican USCG PFC Alan USA (brother-in-law Stonewall Jackson) PFC Dan USA (son of swmobuffalo) PFC Jake USMC (son of Enough_Deceit) Philetus USA PROCON USA Pvt Alex USA (son of Enough_Deceit) Rick USAF (Doogle) Robert, Jeremy, Daynnis USA (SoldierDad) SandRat USA Sat-Com Chris USA (son of KC Burke) SGT Ev USA (Mozie) SGT Gray USA (colorcountrys son) SGT Robert USMC (MarineMom613) SGT Sean Reed (preed) Son USCG (GodBlessUSA) SPC Mike USA (AbnSarge) SPC William Akin USA (Step-son of BlueLancer) SrA The Black Knight USAF SSG Brian USA (repubmom) SSG Dustin USA (SIL of U S Army EOD) SSG Dusty USA (MountainDad) SSG Mitchel USA (tina07) SSG Spencer USA (grame) SSGT Don May Jr USMC (debm29palms) SSGT John Linde USA (JFoxbear) Terrence USN (Sweetbaby/LadyPilgrim) The Sailor TMSuchman USMC tongue-tied USN/USA Tonkin USN/USCG TSGT Jason M Kibler USAF (son of AirForceMom) SFC txradioguy USA USAFSecurityForces (son of visualops & TheStickman) Valerie USAF (Shimmer) Victor and Tony D USMC (weldgophardline) William USA (jackv) WOs Bob and Michelle USA (nephew, and his wife, of BnBlFlag)
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12
posted on
10/24/2010 5:38:04 PM PDT
by
Kathy in Alaska
(~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
To: Kathy in Alaska
13
posted on
10/24/2010 5:43:59 PM PDT
by
Red_Devil 232
(VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
To: All
A PRAYER OF PROTECTION
The light of God surround you The love of God enfold you The power of God protect you The presence of God watch over you Wherever you are, God is, And all is well. Amen.
BLESS THIS HOUSE Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day;
Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out:
Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light;
Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;
Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee.
(Click on graphics for music)
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14
posted on
10/24/2010 6:04:49 PM PDT
by
Kathy in Alaska
(~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
To: Kathy in Alaska; StarCMC; MS.BEHAVIN
Thank you for your ~Hall of Heroes~ and in honoring the life of David McNerney-A true hereo!!
15
posted on
10/24/2010 6:08:51 PM PDT
by
tiapam
To: Kathy in Alaska
Ma!!!
I'm getting a cold, any suggestions?
Have you had any experience with Zicam?
16
posted on
10/24/2010 6:19:34 PM PDT
by
PROCON
(9 More Days Until Independence Day, Woo-Hoo!!)
To: Red_Devil 232
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan-Cpl. Scott Esker, a plane captain with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), directs Capt. Daniel Tongson, a VMFA-232 pilot, into an aircraft parking spot after a flight here Oct. 13. The squadron has been deployed since May and is preparing to head home to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. The squadron pilots flew more than 4,090 combat flight hours, with more than 1,190 sorties and performed more than 140 weapon employment strikes., Sgt. Deanne Hurla, 10/13/2010 7:01 AM
'Red Devils' clear path for 'Werewolves' - click
17
posted on
10/24/2010 6:25:26 PM PDT
by
Kathy in Alaska
(~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
To: Kathy in Alaska
Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list
Toxic Look-Alikes
October 25, 2010
Our yard makes poison ivy happy. I learned this the hard way. Even though I was being careful, I came in contact with the plant and ended up with a nasty, itchy rash.
Poison ivy looks like many harmless plants, and it keeps company with some beautiful ones. One gardener couldnt figure out why she got poison ivy whenever she pruned her roses. She later discovered that a poison ivy vine was taking advantage of the tender loving care she gave to her rosebush.
Some people are like toxic plants. They look harmless, and they blend in with people who, like roses, are fragrant and beautiful.
Simon the sorcerer fit this description. He followed Philip and was baptized, but then he asked to buy the ability to lay hands on people so they could receive the Holy Spirit. Peter was appalled at his request and urged him to repent (Acts 8:22).
Sometimes people use the favorable environment of a healthy church as a network for selfish purposes. Like poison ivy among roses, they cause much misery. Like Simon, anyone who does this needs to repent, and everyone else needs to avoid contact with such a person. Spiritual look-alikes appear good but their fruit is toxic.
A Prayer:
Help me, Lord, to be discerning and not let others
lead me astray with their falsehood. May the fruit
of my life be an example of a follower of Christ. Amen.
Your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness.
Acts 8:21-22
18
posted on
10/24/2010 6:27:39 PM PDT
by
The Mayor
(Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty!)
To: Kathy in Alaska
So... It was not only in WWII that the greatest generation fought!
19
posted on
10/24/2010 6:30:12 PM PDT
by
Redbob
(W.W.J.B.D.: "What Would Jack Bauer Do?")
To: SevenofNine
They just kill off everyone who counts for anything!
20
posted on
10/24/2010 6:30:36 PM PDT
by
luvie
(DIMs?......start packin'--you're fired!....I can see November from my house!)
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