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March 25, 2009
National Medal of Honor Day
America’s Ignorance of Her Heroes
by W. Thomas Smith, Jr
During a recent commercial flight from Jacksonville (Fla.) to Baltimore, a flight attendant offered free drink coupons to any of the 150 passengers who could name just one of the five Medal of Honor recipients from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Awkward moments of silence followed until one man, Navy veteran Dale Shelton of Annapolis, Maryland, spoke up and named Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith.
Shelton was correct: Smith received the award posthumously in 2005 for his actions during the April 2003 battle for Baghdad airport.
No other passenger was able to name a recipient.
The flight attendant then asked the passengers to name an American Idol winner. “The cabin lit up like a pinball machine as 43 passengers scrambled to push their attendant call button,” according to a piece by the American Forces Press Service. “Passengers named various Idol winners.”
The flight attendant then announced there would not be any free drink coupons for that answer, adding that naming an American Idol winner was not worth a drink.
Good for the flight attendant. Shame on the passengers and what their ignorance says about our greater society
For the record, the other four Medal of Honor recipients – all of whom, like Smith, received the award posthumously for post-9/11 actions – are Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham (for actions in April 2004), Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy (June 2005), Navy SEAL Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor (Sept. 2006), and Army Spc. Ross McGinnis (Dec. 2006).
Which brings us to our recognition this week of National Medal of Honor Day, the significance of the award, and the necessity of honoring the heroes who wear it.
In 2007, Congress designated Mar. 25 (of each year) as National Medal of Honor Day: The date coinciding with the same date in 1863 when Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton presented six Union Army soldiers with the first-ever Medals of Honor.
More than 3,400 Medals of Honor have since been awarded up through the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Standards for receiving the award have stiffened to the point that most nominees today are killed in the action for which they are deemed worthy of the Medal. And every recipient of the Medal since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 has earned the decoration posthumously.
The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military award for battlefield heroism. To receive it (no one wins it) the recipient’s gallantry in combat must be such that it is considered beyond that warranting a lesser-ranking – though also astronomically esteemed – decoration for valor like the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, or the Air Force Cross.
Today there are only 98 living recipients of the Medal of Honor (out of a nation of 306-million people). The oldest living recipient is nearly 100. The youngest is 58. And since Mar. 25, 2007 – the first designated “National Medal of Honor Day” – 13 recipients have died.
Each year, the Medal of Honor Society holds a national convention for its living recipients and supporters (It will be held in Charleston, S.C. – my homestate and the Society’s hometown – in 2010.). But according to Society bylaws, when the number of living recipients drops to 25, the Society will disband.
So we’re losing these great men – and rapidly – and we will soon lose the Society. “So what?” the American Idol fans on the aforementioned commercial flight might wonder.
My response would be – and as I’ve often said – far too many of us assume America wins all of its wars because we have resources and technological superiority: and those things count to be sure. But it is our military prowess that wins battles. Military tradition is the lifeblood of that prowess and our living recipients of the Medal of Honor are the greatest living pillars of that tradition which in turn fuels the prowess.
We need our recipients. We need to recognize them and expand our national awareness of who they are and what the Medal itself represents. For as Pres. Abraham Lincoln said, “Any nation that does not honor its heroes, will not long endure.”
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As one of America's most decorated soldiers, Col. Robert Howard served five tours in Vietnam and is the only soldier in our nation's history to be nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor three times for three separate actions within a 13-month period.
During Vietnam, he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and spent most of his five tours in the Special Operations Group, which ran classified cross-border operations into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. These men carried out some of the most daring and dangerous missions ever conducted by the U.S. military.
Wounded 14 times in 54 months of combat duty in Vietnam, Robert Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, The Silver Star, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and eight Purple Hearts.
National Medal of Honor Day 2009
By Col. Robert Howard (U.S. Army, Retired), Special to Stars and Stripes
When I joined the military in 1956, I was like many young men my age who enlisted; I wanted to protect the ideals of this country and also build a career. Little did I know that my experiences would lead to a Medal of Honor, and how poignant those lessons would be even now — 53 years later — during our current national hardship.
Just after Christmas in 1968, I was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled Vietnam. We had just left the landing zone when we were attacked and many of us critically wounded, including me. For the next three and half hours, I had one choice: to lay and wait, or keep fighting for my men.
If I waited, I gambled that things would get better while I did nothing. If I kept fighting, no matter how painful, I could stack the odds that recovery for my men and a safe exodus was achievable.
On National Medal of Honor Day (March 25) — an annual tribute that I and other recipients humbly appreciate — I encourage Americans to recognize that in untenable situations, selfless people make the difference.
The Medal of Honor has been awarded only 3,448 times since the Civil War, and I’m reminded regularly by my fellow recipients (only 98 are living today) that extraordinary things can be accomplished by ordinary people from all parts of America.
Hard times ask us to put a greater good before our own interests. It is sometimes physically or emotionally painful. Yet throughout history, you will find common men and women who fought selflessly in a variety of ways for something so much larger than just their own benefit.
Today, we’re fighting terrorism and the spread of tyranny. We’re challenged by market upheaval, joblessness and perhaps hunger. But the human spirit is resilient and can withstand more than sometimes we are able to immediately comprehend.
It’s up to each of us to not lay and wait for better days, but instead look for opportunities to make the lives of those around us better. National Medal of Honor Day is not a celebration. It is a solemn time to reflect on the freedom we enjoy, its price, and how our own bravery can improve the world around us.
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Wild Thing's comment........
I humbly thank you all for serving our country.
"A nation that does not honor it's heros, will not long endure." ~President Abraham Lincoln
....Thank you Ben.
Posted by Wild Thing at March 25, 2009 05:50 AM
Comments
My company sent four couples to the CMH Society's Patriot Award for Colin Powell in 2007. I went as the company's token veteran (USMC-Viet Nam), the others were execs.
I caught up with Viet Nam Marine CMH recipient Robert O'Malley to introduce myself and hand him a challenge coin from my org, Marine Corps Combat Helicopter Association, (popasmoke.com). O'Malley shook my hand and handed me one of his coins bearing his name and The Medal. He posed for a photo with me, then one with my wife. As we parted, he slapped my back and said, "Semper Fi, brother." Talk about validation! His coin is the prize of my collection.
Posted by: Billy Ray at March 25, 2009 08:55 AM
The sad thing is that the Bush Administration only gave five Medals of Honor since this war began and they're all been posthumously.
I feel that to not award the Medal to any surviving service member is a dishonor to those who risked life and limb during this war. It sends a bad message that in order to be awarded the Medal of Honor you have to die in battle.
Posted by: BobF at March 25, 2009 10:54 AM
Several highly decorated men, including LtCol David Hackworth, claimed to be the most decorated men from Vietnam. However Col Robert Howard is actually the most decorated by medal count. I have heard and read so much about his exploits. He is truely a legend.
What worries me now is that Obama will pull a Nixon and require a Black to be awarded the MOH.
Posted by: TomR at March 25, 2009 12:14 PM
TomR, if we're lucky, O'Vomit will be impeached by that time. Cross your fingers.
Posted by: cuchieddie (VN66/68) at March 25, 2009 12:49 PM
America's oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, living his 100th year is former enlisted Chief Petty Officer, Aviation Chief Ordnanceman (ACOM), later wartime commissioned Lieutenant John W. Finn, USN (Ret.). He is also the last surviving Medal of Honor, "The Day of Infamy", Japanese Attack on the Hawaiian Islands, Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941.
Visit my photo album tribute:
http://news.webshots.com/album/141695570BONFYl
San Diego, California
Posted by: TetVet68 at March 25, 2009 01:01 PM
Bless you Col. Howard and all.
Posted by: Odin at March 25, 2009 04:01 PM
To BOBF:
"The Bush Administration?" Congress apporves the CONGRESSIONAL Medal of Honor, not the President. THe Medal of Honor is by its very nature rarely bestowed. Chesty Puller received 5 Navy Crosses and since he was so gung ho unpolitically correct, he was never written up for the CMH.
Non-combatant Americans don't really understand war and tend to throw the title "hero" around when caught up in the emotion of the moment. Not every brave American troop can't get the CMH just like not everyone can be a Marine. That is why both are such coveted honors.
The Bush Administration protected this country from any more domestic acts of terror and in the doing sacrificed its own popularity. God Bless George Bush. THAT is the embodiment of Semper Fi.
Posted by: Billy Ray at March 25, 2009 05:56 PM
We definitely had some real heroes in Vietnam. 5 Tours there. That in itself deserves a MOH, that is above and beyond the call of duty. Why wasn't there more MOH's given out during the WAR ON TERROR, I have no idea. The individual effort certainly was there and It seems that none of these recipients ever gave the risk of what they were doing any consideration. Like most of these heroes, they are grunts, first, and thats where they want to be. When they are singled out like they did John Basilone, and others, he hated being in the spotlight and wanted desperately to be back with his unit. I remember reading Paul Ray Smith's citation, he was a regular guy, but his squad was under attack and he took the extraordinary inititive to save his squad at the risk of his own life and gladly gave it to save them.
General Puller definitely had some enemies higher up in the Corps. He should have been recommended for one but I don't think he was. Especially after the Chosin Resevoir. Especially after he testafied at S/Sgt Matthew McKeon's court marthial for the Ribbon Creek incident. He testafied in favor of S/Sgt Mckeon which pissed off a lot of the Brass.
At the Chosin he was asked about all the Chinese that had the, First Marine Division surrounded he said, "I don't give a good goddam how many chinese there are, there's not enough to stop a Marine Regiment from moving when it wants to move."
Posted by: Mark at March 25, 2009 07:34 PM
Billy Ray, although many like to call the Medal of Honor the Congressional Medal of Honor, it's true title is Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor was authorized by Congress in 1863. It's presented by the President in the name of Congress. Nomination is initiated at field level and works it way up the Chain of Command to the White House where the CINC resides. But, a member of Congress can initiate a recommendation and get it approved by a special Act of Congress although I haven't heard of that happening in the past 50 years. Throughout my military career, we studied the MOH in Professional Military Education and I don't recall Congress being in the Chain of Command.
Posted by: BobF at March 25, 2009 11:07 PM
Billy Ray, thank you so much for sharing about Robert O'Malley. What a wonderful story.
Thank you Billy Ray for serving our country. This is a special day for Americas and I wish more people would know about it. And they can look up the Medal of Honor winners online and read about them too, that would be so good for people to do.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 25, 2009 11:54 PM
BobF., I am concerned with Obama being the CIC and what he will or won't do about all of this.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 25, 2009 11:57 PM
Tom, good point, and the kind of person Obama isi I can see Obama something like that. Very bad thing to do when they are not qualified.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 26, 2009 12:00 AM
TetVet68, nice to meet you, thank you for those photos of Lieutenant John W. Finn at the link. Fantastic!!! Wow what an amazing life and person he is.
Thank you TetVet68 for serving our country.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 26, 2009 12:06 AM
Mark, thank you so much for sharing that about Chesty, I am a big fan of his. Thank you for that quote of his.
Posted by: Wild Thing at March 26, 2009 12:09 AM
