The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Major General Terry Allen

The Civil War - First Medal of Honor Awarded
http://www.medalofhonor.com/FirstMedalAwarded.htm

Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed to General-in-Chief of the Army Winfield Scott. But Scott felt medals smacked of European affectation and killed the idea.

The medal found support in the Navy, however, where it was felt recognition of courage in strife was needed. Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy medal of valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war."

Shortly after this, a resolution similar in wording was introduced on behalf of the Army. Signed into law July 12, 1862, the measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldierlike qualities, during the present insurrection."

Although it was created for the Civil War, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration in 1863. 1,520 Medals were awarded during the Civil War, 1,195 to the Army, 308 to the Navy, 17 to the Marines and 4 to civilians. 25 Medals were awarded posthumously.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Established

The first military decoration formally authorized by the American government to be worn as a badge of honor, the Medal of Honor was created by an act of Congress in December 1861. Senator James W Grimes of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Naval Committee, proposed that a medal of honor, similar to the Victoria Cross of England and the Iron Cross of Germany, be given to naval personnel for acts of bravery in action. His bill was passed by both Houses of Congress and approved by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. It established a Medal of Honor for enlisted men of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Two months later, Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts introduced a Senate resolution extending eligibility for the medal to enlisted men of the U.S. Army and making eligibility retroactive to the beginning of the war. On March 3, 18 63, army officers were made eligible through another act of Congress; naval and marine officers were not included until 1915.

According to the act establishing the army medal, the award was to be given to those members of the armed forces who "shall distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldierlike qualities." Because of the act's vague wording and because the United States gave no other medal to its armed services, the Medal of Honor was awarded liberally during the Civil War to about 1,200 men.

The first to receive medals were the six survivors of Andrew's Raid. In 1916, Congress considerably tightened the rules for eligibility, requiring that a serviceman come into actual contact with an enemy and perform bravely at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty. Congress also created a board of five retired generals to review all previous award recipients for eligibility and found that about 911-most of them Civil War veterans did not meet the new standards and thus struck them from the list.

THE ORIGINAL MEDAL OF HONOR

The Navy's Medal of Honor was the first approved and the first designed. The initial work was done by the Philadelphia Mint at the request of Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. The Mint submitted several designs for consideration, and the one prepared by the Philadelphia firm of William Wilson & Sons was the design selected.

The selected Medal of Honor design consisted of an INVERTED, 5-pointed STAR. On each of the five points was a cluster of LAUREL leaves to represent victory, mixed with a cluster of OAK to represent strength. Surrounding the encircled insignia were 34 stars, equal to the number of stars in the U.S. Flag at the time....one star for each state of the Union including the 11 Confederate states.

Inside the circle of 34 stars were engraved two images. To the right is the image of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war. On her helmet is perched an owl, representing WISDOM. In keeping with the Roman tradition, her left hand holds a bundle of rods and an ax blade, symbolic of authority. The shield in her right hand is the shield of the Union of our states (similar to the shield on our seal and other important emblems.)

Recoiling from Minerva is a man clutching snakes in his hands. He represented DISCORD and the insignia came to be known as "Minerva Repulsing Discord". Taken in the context of the Civil War soldiers and sailors struggling to overcome the discord of the states and preserve the Union, the design was as fitting as it was symbolic.

The First Medal of Honor Action
Bernard J.D. Irwin on February 13-14, 1861
Bernard J.D. Irwin wasn't thinking about medals that February morning in 1861...indeed there was no such thing for American soldiers. Instead the Army Surgeon's mind was occupied with concerns for a young Arizona Territory boy and a group of fellow soldiers. Days earlier Cochise and a band of Apache warriors had captured the boy. The 7th Infantry's 2d Lt. George Bascom had immediately pursued with 60 men on a desperate rescue mission. Now word had reached Fort Breckenridge that the greatly superior Apache force had surrounded Bascom and his men and imperiled their own survival.
Accustomed to using his medical skills to save lives, Irwin was determined to now use his military skills to save his comrades. Unfortunately only 14 men could be spared from the garrison, these to be Irwin's rescue party. No horses could be spared for the mission, so Irwin and his 14 soldiers departed Fort Breckinridge on mules. Faced with a trek of 100 miles in the midst of a winter blizzard, the logistics of the mission were as improbable as the possibility of encountering the much larger enemy force, defeating them, and rescuing the captives. None-the-less the Irish-born surgeon was determined to try.

"D-Day" came on February 13, 1861 when Irwin's small rescue party encountered Cochise and his warriors at Apache Pass, Arizona. But it wasn't a battle so much as it was a TACTICAL engagement. With a carefully laid out plan and maximum placement of his 14 men, Irwin succeeded in convincing the Indian warriors that he had arrived with a much larger force, causing them to withdraw. Bascom's 60 men were liberated and joined Irwin and his 14 soldiers. The unified force then pursued Cochise into the mountains where they were able to engage him and rescue the captive boy.

Irwin's heroic rescue occurred almost a year before the Medal of Honor was introduced to the US Congress. Indeed, Irwin himself did not receive the Medal of Honor until January 24, 1894.... more than 50 years later. But his actions the cold mornings of February 13-14, 1861 are recorded in history as the FIRST MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION.

Mornin' snippy...

"FReep All The World!!"
(To be sung to Van Halen's "Beautiful Girls")

RightWing's a FReedom-fightin'...we ain't jokin', we're just thinkin' 'bout doin' Right!!
We're savin' the world, oh yeah!!
We're gonna make righteous stands...ol' Mudboy Slim's gotta band and WHOA!! ha ha...
We're whuppin' Dem Lib'rals...ah yeah!!
Love to FReep 'cuz it's funny...and Dem Leftists, they are SCUMMY!!
RATS yearn fer Guv'ment Power...
Treas'nous John Kerry LOATHES yer Liberty...
Fight fer Right...put foolish down!!

Liberated those Iraqis...gonna FReep 'til Terror's vanquished!!
Please accompany me...'til Right wins 'cross the Earth...ah yeah!!
Yeah...Lib'ralism's dead!!

Here Right stands...with our banners unfurled...YO!!
The Right FReeps fer the Fate of the World...
Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!

Woo, come here, Lib'rals. Come here, come here, come here...

Folks, Right likes fun in the sun, yet we're armed with guns...
And I know you know Right's takin' righteous stands!! (Righteous stands!!)
Big Guv'ment's fer slaves...taxes, we pay and we pay!!
The RightWing's FReepin' 'gainst Big Guv'ment, ha-ha-ha!! (Join our stand!!)

Love to FReep 'cuz it's funny to see Lib'rals oh so scummy...
RATS yearn fer Guv'ment Power!!
Slick's treason 'gainst the FRee threatens Liberty...
Crimes're more than foolin' 'round!!

Here Right stands with our banners unfurled...YO!!
The Right FReeps fer the Fate of the World!!
Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!

Oh, FReep this way, y'all!!

(Guitar Solo)

Git down...right here...Ooh la la!!
Help Right DEVOLVE POWER!!

RightWing's a FReedom-fightin'...we ain't jokin', just a'thinkin' 'bout our Rights!!
Right's savin' the world!! (Savin' the world!!)
Ol' Mudboy Slim's gotta band...we're takin' some Righteous stands!!
The Right FRee-ee-eeps fer the Fate of the World!! (Fate of the World!!)
Oh yeah!!

Here Right stands...with our banners unfurled...YO!!
The Right FReeps fer the Fate of the World...
Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!

Whoa! I ain't lyin' to ya...FReedom's all Right needs!!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!! Git yourself on down...
Ah yeah...FReep all the World!! Ow!!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!! Ow!!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
Woo! Come here, Lib'rals!! Come here!! Woo!!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
What's your name, Lib'ral? What's your--hey! Hey, where ya goin'?!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
Hey! Hey, hey! Wait a minute, wait a min... Oh!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
Left's scumbags...we'll FReep 'em!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
We'll do without 'em...YO!!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!

Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
Ah yeah...FReep all the World!!
(smooch)

Heh heh heh...MUD

well folks, here's the update:

Sandra is recovering from her surgery after destroying about 1/2 of her left kneecap. the orthopedist was able to save between 1/2 & 2/3 of the kneecap by wiring part of it back together (the 3 larger pieces) & cleaning all of the other "gravel" (read bone splinters) out of the knee.

she had a pretty rough night, as the pain control meds prescribes were NOT even minimally effective, but the doctor changed her meds COMPLETELY this AM & she is now resting comfortably!

she has slept a TOTAL about 2-3 hours since returning from surgery yesterday.(fyi, for those who wrote: i'm holding up fine, thanks! i got a little nap from time to time)

if all goes well, she will be released from this hospital tomorrow or the next day, depending on what facilities are available for physical therapy elsewhere???? (the plan is to admit her to something less than a traditional hospital & more than a convalescent home.) the doctor said 6-10 weeks of intensive rehab is LIKELY. perhaps more time than that.

meanwhile, keep Sandra (duckie) in your PRAYERS. i firmly believe it has HELPED!

our love to all, sw & duckie in San Antonio.

Allen entered the blackest period of his Army life. The 1st Infantry Division found itself in a situation remarkably similar to that which the 1st Division of World War I faced in early 1918. It was broken up.Its battalions, with those of other divisions, were scattered over a 100 mile defensive front, under British and French command.These arrangements may have been unavoidable at the time, but they graveled Terry Allen. "I blooded them, didn't I?" he would say in aggrievement when he thought of his lost battalions.

IMHO, this was not necessary. SNAFU seems to have summed up the situation in North Africa before Patton assumed Corps command and got the units straightened out.

I remember an incident in my peacetime experience. It was the Jimmuh Carter Army, low on troops, low on supplies, high on worn out equipment. Our battalion was tasked for a company to deploy, on some sort of alert I think, but really don't recall. The commander and S-3 came up with the idea of scavenging the battalion for the best troops and equipment to put together a full strength elite ersatz company. The Division Commander turned the plan down cold. When asked why, he replied, "that's why we have units." Real teams, regardless of their problems, almost always out perform all star teams. Once it was put back together, the Big Red One became one heck of a team.

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