Congressional Medal of Honor

Max Rockatansky · Aug 3, 2013

This website has the details of those awarded our nation's highest medal for valor. Most of these were awarded posthumously. The two I noted were not.

http://www.cmohs.org/

One from the battle of Okinawa to Navy Corpsman Robert E. Bush:

Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Medical Corpsman with a rifle company, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Islands, 2 May 1945. Fearlessly braving the fury of artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire from strongly entrenched hostile positions, Bush constantly and unhesitatingly moved from 1 casualty to another to attend the wounded falling under the enemy's murderous barrages. As the attack passed over a ridge top, Bush was advancing to administer blood plasma to a marine officer Iying wounded on the skyline when the Japanese launched a savage counterattack. In this perilously exposed position, he resolutely maintained the flow of life-giving plasma. With the bottle held high in 1 hand, Bush drew his pistol with the other and fired into the enemy's ranks until his ammunition was expended. Quickly seizing a discarded carbine, he trained his fire on the Japanese charging pointblank over the hill, accounting for 6 of the enemy despite his own serious wounds and the loss of 1 eye suffered during his desperate battle in defense of the helpless man. With the hostile force finally routed, he calmly disregarded his own critical condition to complete his mission, valiantly refusing medical treatment for himself until his officer patient had been evacuated, and collapsing only after attempting to walk to the battle aid station. His daring initiative, great personal valor, and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice in service of others reflect great credit upon Bush and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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Sgt. Dakota Meyer, Afghanistan:

Citation
Corporal Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders. Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above. Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative. With a fellow Marine driving, Corporal Meyer took the exposed gunner's position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team. Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Corporal Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area. During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded. When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rally point to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush. Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Corporal Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members. Corporal Meyer's daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy's attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on. His unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
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waltky · Aug 27, 2014

Obama to award some long overdue Medals of Honor...

Obama to award 3 Medals of Honor, including 1 to Civil War soldier
August 26, 2014 ~ The White House announced Tuesday that President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to two soldiers who fought during the Vietnam War and one hero of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.

President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to two soldiers who served in Vietnam and one who distinguished himself in the battle of Gettysburg, the White House announced Tuesday. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins and Army Spc. 4 Donald P. Sloat will be honored Sept. 15 for their conspicuous gallantry. Adkins deployed to Vietnam three times. During his second deployment, in March of 1966, he was a sergeant first class with Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. Adkins displayed "extraordinary bravery" during a sustained and vicious attack by the Vietcong from March 9 to March 12, 1966, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala. said in 2013. Rogers spoke about Adkins' actions in asking Congress to pass a bill allowing the president to award him the Medal of Honor. Adkins had been recommended by his command for the Medal of Honor but received a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions, which included running through exploding mortar rounds while wounded to drag several of his fellow soldiers to safety, Rogers said. Adkins retired from the Army after serving 22 years and will travel to Washington from his home in Alabama to receive the medal, the White House said.

Sloat was a machine gunner with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, when he was killed in Vietnam in 1970. Sloats squad was on a patrol near Hawk Hill Fire Base on Jan. 17, 1970 when one of the soldiers triggered a grenade booby trap in their path, the White House said. Sloat picked up the grenade, intending to throw it away, but realizing it was about to explode, instead used his body to shield three fellow soldiers from the blast, the White House said. Sloats brother, William Sloat of Enid, Oklahoma, will accept the medal on his brothers behalf.

Army Spc. 4 Donald P. Sloat and Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins.

Obama also approved a Medal of Honor for 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for his actions while serving as commanding officer of Battery A, 4th United States Artillery, Artillery Brigade, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac. Cushing was shot multiple times while commanding his battery in the area of Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1863, but refused to retreat, according to the 2013 bill authorizing the president to award Cushing the Medal of Honor. His battery took a severe pounding by Confederate artillery, and as the rebel infantry advanced in what is known as Picketts Charge, Cushing manned the last working piece of field artillery in his battery, according to the White House. Cushing was killed, but his actions made it possible for the Union Army to overcome the Confederate assault, the White House said. A small monument was erected in Cushings honor at Gettysburg, and he was buried with full honors at West Point, his alma mater.

Congress in 2002 called for a review of records of Jewish-American and Hispanic-American veterans, to make sure deserving veterans were not denied the Medal of Honor because of their racial or ethnic backgrounds. During that review, the Pentagon also found other veterans who were worthy of receiving the Medal of Honor, including Adkins and Sloat. The Medal of Honor is awarded to servicemembers who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. Also this week, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has recommended awarding a Medal of Honor to Sgt. Henry Johnson, who served as a railroad porter in the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment during World War I. Obama has not yet approved the award, which, like those for Adkins, Sloat and Cushing, requires Congress to pass special legislation before moving forward because the actions took place more than five years ago.

http://www.stripes.com/news/veteran...nor-including-1-to-civil-war-soldier-1.300091
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waltky · Sep 14, 2014

Long overdue Medals of Honor to be awarded...

2 Vietnam War soldiers to receive Medal of Honor
September 14, 2014 ~ For decades, Spc. 4 Donald P. Sloats mother thought he had died after stepping on a land mine in Vietnam. Then, in 2010, she heard the real story: Her son was killed saving the lives of the other men in his squad.

Evelyn Sloat died before she learned that her efforts to have her son recognized for his heroism were successful. But on Monday, nearly 45 years after Sloats death, his brother, Bill Sloat, will accept the Medal of Honor on his behalf. Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins was recognized for his actions during the second of his three tours to Vietnam, with a Distinguished Service Cross. But 48 years after the 38-hour fight in Camp A Shau, Vietnam, he, too, will receive the nations highest award for military personnel.

Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, shown here receiving the Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam, will receive the Medal of Honor Sept. 15 for distinguishing himself during combat operations March 9-12, 1966. He was drafted in 1956 and deployed to Vietnam three times between February 1963 and December 1971.

Sloat enlisted in the Army in 1969, when he was 20 years old, and became a machine gunner with 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. On Jan. 17, 1970, a month before his 21st birthday, Sloat was on patrol when the lead soldier tripped a booby trap, sending a grenade rolling down the hill toward him. Sloat picked up the grenade to throw it away from his fellow soldiers, but realized it was about to explode. So he pulled the grenade into his own body, to shield the rest of his squad from the blast.

Former Pfc. DeWayne C. Lewis Jr. said he was only a few feet behind Sloat with the grenade went off. His act saved my life, he said, according to an Army website. Bill Sloat told the Coweta American, an Oklahoma newspaper, that he will accept his brothers medal for his mothers sake. I dont think it would have mattered to Don if he had [the medal], but he would be proud of it, and Im proud of it, he said at a news conference last month.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins takes a tour of the Vietnam War exhibit at the National Infantry Museum Sept. 4. Adkins will receive the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House Sept. 15 for his actions during combat near Camp A Shau, Vietnam, March 9-12, 1966.

One of Sloats two sisters, Karen McCaslin, said at the news conference her brother was a true American hero in every sense of the word. He chose his path into the Army because it was what he wanted to do. While Sloat volunteered, Adkins was drafted into the Army in 1956, when he was 22. He was initially assigned as an administrative clerk-typist, but later volunteered for and served with Special Forces for 13 years. He deployed to Vietnam from February to August of 1963, from September 1965 to September 1966, and from January to December 1971.

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smevins · Sep 14, 2014

Obama has been handing them out like candy. Makes me wonder if he is compensating with volume to bury the skepticism of some of his first living recipients' acts meriting the distinction. I never agreed with the Bush policy of refusing to consider anyone who survived the encounter that was the basis for the presentation of the CMH either. Maybe a happy medium between the two standards would be best.

Max Rockatansky · Sep 17, 2014

smevins said: ↑

Obama has been handing them out like candy. Makes me wonder if he is compensating with volume to bury the skepticism of some of his first living recipients' acts meriting the distinction. I never agreed with the Bush policy of refusing to consider anyone who survived the encounter that was the basis for the presentation of the CMH either. Maybe a happy medium between the two standards would be best.
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I've noticed several being awarded in retroactively but have yet to see one which didn't deserve it.

http://www.cmohs.org/medal-history.php

smevins · Sep 17, 2014

Max Rockatansky said: ↑

I've noticed several being awarded in retroactively but have yet to see one which didn't deserve it.
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There was some skepticism I think on if Salvatore Giunta's actions merited the distinction (including by the recipient) and of course, there was the Dakota Meyer dispute over many of the facts related to his actions.

Max Rockatansky · Sep 17, 2014

smevins said: ↑

There was some skepticism I think on if Salvatore Giunta's actions merited the distinction (including by the recipient) and of course, there was the Dakota Meyer dispute over many of the facts related to his actions.
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Many of those labeled heroes don't feel they deserve it since many of their comrades did the same or similar things without recognition.

This article addresses some points you made. Note that many think Meyer deserved the award even if some of the facts reported are in error:
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131014/NEWS/310140004/Rift-between-Medal-Honor-recipients-exposed

waltky · Nov 7, 2014

Hero Of Gettysburg Awarded Medal Of Honor...

Lt. Alonzo Cushing, Hero Of Gettysburg, Awarded Medal Of Honor
November 06, 2014 ~ 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing, whose defense of a key ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg helped turn the tide of the Civil War and end slavery, was today posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by the country's first black president.

At the ceremony, President Obama said the award highlights the obligation the nation has to the military men and women who serve it. "No matter how long it takes, it's never too late to do the right thing," the president said. "This story is part of our larger American story and one that continues to this very day," he said. More than 150 years after the pivotal battle, Obama bestowed the highest award for battlefield bravery to Cushing, who was killed at the age of 22 while repelling 13,000 rebel soldiers at Pickett's charge, one of the most famous tactical thrusts of the three-day fight in rural Pennsylvania.

1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, shown in an undated photo provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society, is expected to get the nation's highest military decoration -- the Medal of Honor -- this summer, nearly 150 years after he died at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Wisconsin native commanded about 110 men and six cannons at Gettysburg. He defended Cemetery Ridge against an assault led by Confederate Gens. George Pickett and James J. Pettigrew. The Union victory in July 1863 halted a Confederate advance into northern territory and is widely viewed by historians as a turning point in the brutal conflict. Normally, the Medal of Honor is awarded often posthumously within a few years of the act that merits it. However, Congress granted an exemption in the case of Cushing, whose cause, as NPR's S.V. Date reported in September, has been the subject of a three-decade campaign by a Wisconsin woman, Margaret Zerwekh, now in her 90s, who lives on what had been the Cushing family farm.

In a statement issued by the White House when it first announced the award to Cushing, it said: "Cushing was only two years out of West Point on that third day of the battle, in charge of an artillery battery in the Army of the Potomac. According to the White House announcement, Cushing was manning the only artillery piece in his unit that still worked. " 'During the advance, he was wounded in the stomach as well as in the right shoulder. Refusing to evacuate to the rear despite his severe wounds, he directed the operation of his lone field piece, continuing to fire in the face of the enemy,' the White House statement said. 'With the rebels within 100 yards of his position, Cushing was shot and killed during this heroic stand.' "

Confederate soldiers are shown during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, as Gen. George E. Pickett orders his 15,000 men to charge.

The Milwaukee Sentinel reports: "Receiving the medal will be Cushing's closest relative, Helen Loring Ensign, 85, of California. "Cushing died childless at age 22, and none of his brothers had children. It took the Army Past Conflict Repatriations Branch weeks to find the closest living relative after the president announced in late August that he would present the posthumous medal to Cushing. "Ensign is related to Cushing through Cushing's mother and is his first cousin twice removed."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...ing-hero-of-gettysburg-awarded-medal-of-honor
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galant · Nov 7, 2014

we could send all the illegals over there, too. For sure, the Muslims will know what to do with invaders.

waltky · Oct 21, 2015

Post named for Kit Carson - brave Indian fighter...

3 Medal of Honor Recipients from Same Fort Carson Brigade
Oct 15, 2015 | The White House announced on Wednesday that Florent Groberg, formerly of the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, is the third Fort Carson soldier from the unit to receive the Army's highest award, the Medal of Honor.

Former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha and former Staff Sgt. Ty Carter received the award in 2013 in recognition for their bravery during a deadly fight in a remote area Afghanistan in 2009. Groberg was honored for his actions in a August 2012 suicide bombing attack. Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor on Feb. 11, 2013, and Carter received the award a few months later, on Aug. 26.

In October 2009, Romesha was assigned to defend Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan. On Oct. 3, hundreds of Taliban insurgents attacked the post, a spot that an Army investigation later declared to be "tactically indefensible." Although he had been wounded by shrapnel in his arm, Romesha coordinated a counterattack that saved Keating and most of its troops. He coordinated airstrikes, killed insurgents with a Soviet-era sniper rifle he found on the ground and made a bold 100-meter dash through a rain of bullets to retrieve the bodies of men who were killed. Romesha was discharged from the Army in 2011.

On that same day, Carter also was wounded when fighting broke out at Keating. Like Romesha, despite his injuries, Carter braved enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade, Spc. Stephan Mace. Carter pulled Mace to safety and dressed his wounds; Mace eventually died of his injuries. Mace's dying cries for help continued to haunt Carter in 2013, when he spoke openly about suffering from PTSD. Carter was eventually transferred to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, and deployed again to Afghanistan in 2012, according to his website. He was discharged in October 2014, Carter said in an email to The Gazette.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/10/15/3-medal-honor-recipients-same-fort-carson-brigade.html
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waltky · Nov 13, 2015

Tackled a suicide bomber...

Latest Medal of Honor Marks 11th for Feats in Afghanistan's Wild East
Nov 12, 2015 | "It's a kinetic place," Army Capt. Florent Groberg said Wednesday of Afghanistan's Kunar province, where his instinctive tackling of a suicide bomber in 2012 earned him the Medal of Honor.

Of the 13 Medals of Honor awarded during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 11 have come from actions in either Kunar or neighboring Nuristan province, collectively dubbed the "Wild East" by the troops. Seven were awarded for combat in Kunar, and four came in Nuristan. The other two were awarded to Marine Lance Corp. William Kyle Carpenter for his actions in southwestern Helmand province and Army Staff Sgt. Leroy A. Petry for combat in southeastern Paktia province. "It's just kinetic, they fight as we fight" along the rugged ridges and slot canyons of Kunar, Groberg said. "Kunar's a tough place, if not the most kinetic place in the world," he said. "There's no specific explanation for it. It's kinetic."

Before President Obama began the troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and the combat mission was ended, successive U.S. and NATO commanders had wavered over the years on whether to maintain combat outposts that came under constant attack from a hostile population in Kunar and Nuristan, or simply to abandon the area. On Thursday, the 32-year-old Groberg, who grew up in a Paris suburb and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, will become the 10th living American to receive the nation's highest award for valor since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks when President Obama makes the formal presentation at a White House ceremony. At a roundtable session with reporters Wednesday, Groberg was joined by three members of his unit who witnessed his sprint to get at the suicide bomber near a bridge in the Kunar village of Assadabad on Aug. 8, 2012 -- Staff Sgt. Brian Brink, the platoon Sergeant; Sgt. Andrew Mahoney, the communications specialist; and Spc. Daniel Balderrama, the medic.

Former Army Captain Florent Groberg poses for a portrait at the Pentagon.

All said they felt uneasy as they approached on foot along a paved road to a bridge as the personal security detail for then-Col. James Mingus, now a brigadier general assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado. Mingus was headed to a meeting with an Afghan provincial governor. "That day, it just felt a little different when we got on the ground," Groberg said. Brink echoed him: "Everything felt a little different that day. It was a gut feeling. We all felt it. Nobody had to say it. Things just didn't set right with us." In the rear, they heard a car revving its engine. Brink radioed back -- "Get him off us, get him off us." They later concluded that the revving engine was the signal for two men on motorcycles to approach from the front. Brink and others raised their weapons. The men dismounted and backed off. The road narrowed near the bridge. To the right was a stone wall, to the left a drainage culvert.

Two other men appeared, walking backwards in parallel to the unit. Brink said the man closest to the unit had a bulge on his hip, with his right hand resting on the bulge. Brink raised his weapon again and just as he readied to pull the trigger, Groberg ran at the man, followed by Mahoney. "You face a threat, you go towards the threat," Groberg said. For an instant, the man made eye contact. "He had a blank stare," Groberg said. "He did a 180 and cut directly toward the patrol. I hit him, then we grabbed him and threw him to the ground. He detonated at our feet." The second man also set off his explosive device but the force of the blast mainly went into the stone wall. Groberg was knocked unconscious. About half of his left calf had been torn away. He also suffered a blown eardrum and a mild traumatic brain injury.

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Smitty42 · Nov 28, 2015

First it is NOT the Congressional Medal Of Honor it is the Medal Of Honor.

waltky · Jun 25, 2016

The heroic story of Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha...

MOH recipient recalls unit taking back outpost in Afghanistan
Jun 25, 2016 | Clint Romesha became a legend in 2009 after he led the charge against a monstrous Taliban attack in Afghanistan, rallying his fellow soldiers to regain control of their camp after it had been overrun by more than 300 insurgents. In 2013, President Obama presented him with the Medal of Honor for his actions in that battle. In an interview with Fox News, the 34-year-old veteran vividly recalled his comrades' battle cry: "We're going to take this (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) back!"

Romesha was a green 18-year-old who had grown up in Lake City, Calif. -- "a quiet little town [where] life was always easy" -- when he enlisted in the Army in 1999. But he became an experienced warrior, serving in Kosovo and Iraq before volunteering to serve in Afghanistan in his fourth tour of duty. He said he went from "growing up in one of the greatest countries that has ever existed, to see what tyranny and poverty and real challenges are like firsthand." On Oct. 3, 2009, Romesha was a staff sergeant and section leader when the Taliban attacked Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan. The camp, he recalled, was strategically flawed, "set at the bottom of a valley surrounded by mountains on every side. Very isolated, very remote, just a spot that you shake your head when you see it, but you also accept the mission that's given and understand that you're there doing a job and you got your great guys around you."

He said the attack, known today as the Battle of Kamdesh, began at around 6 a.m., and he realized quickly that it wasn't the typical gunfire he'd come to expect from the Taliban. "I remember getting out of my bed.... got up and clicked on the radio, and you could just hear the intensity of fire coming.... This was something different, and very clearly thereafter, you could tell that there's more fire coming into the outpost than going out of it." The enemy fighters had "done the research," Romesha said. "They instantly started suppressing our gun trucks on the perimeter.... They had us surrounded 360 degrees, and very quickly it was getting out of control." To their horror, the penned-in American troops learned they wouldn't get helicopter support for some time, "and unfortunately, within that first hour, we'd finally gotten the word that the enemy was inside the wire."

Former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha on duty in Afghanistan. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan

The attackers set the camp on fire, burning down most of the barracks, but Romesha and some troops were able to pull back in "the Alamo position" into buildings at the center of the outpost. He said he realized they had to "do something drastic" -- counterattack and reclaim the depot. "We need to take this (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) back," he told Lt. Andrew Bundermann, the officer in charge. Five soldiers volunteered to follow Romesha into a furious battle with the insurgents. They pushed them back and regained control of the base when air support finally arrived. There were many heroes that day, Romesha said, including Bundermann, who called for dropping bombs just a hundred yards away, instead of waiting for precision bombs. "Eight men never got to come home," Romesha said. "I did.... They gave up way more than anything that was ever required of me. If it wasn't for their sacrifice, I wouldn't be here."

Referring to his Medal of Honor, he said, "It's great to be the one that got selected to wear it, but the medal's not mine. It's those eight great men, it's those men and women that are still serving today, men and women that have put on the uniform from previous conflicts to keep this country free." Romesha has written "Red Platoon," a book about his experiences, because he feels veterans should teach civilians to "appreciate the freedoms they wake up to every day, understand where that came from and what it cost to get that way, so that these guys are never forgotten." "We use the word hero quite a bit in this country," he said. "We call people that throw footballs heroes. We call people that sang songs heroes. We call people that have reality TV shows heroes. "My definition of a hero [is] those that don't come home, that give up everything to make sure we're free and safe. That's what a true hero is right there. I appreciate the acknowledgements of it, but I was just a warrior doing a job."

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waltky · Jun 27, 2016

Slain Navy Sea had already earned Silver Star...

SEAL Killed Fighting ISIS Had Earned Prestigious Combat Medal
Jun 27, 2016 | A Navy SEAL killed in May in a gunfight with Islamic State militants in northern Iraq had already distinguished himself on the battlefield during that deployment, earning the Silver Star -- the nation's third-highest combat award -- two months before.

Petty Officer First Class Charles H. Keating IV, 31, of San Diego, was killed May 3 in Tall Usquf, Iraq, after his team answered a call to support Peshmerga forces engaged with enemy fighters. The Peshmerga are the military forces of Iraqi Kurdistan and have been fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, since 2014. Keating, who would be posthumously promoted to chief petty officer eight days after his death, was the senior enlisted adviser for a SEAL Team One advise-and-assist team supporting these local troops. According to documents obtained by Military.com and first reported by CNN, Keating had played a key role in a March 4 operation that repelled more than 100 enemy fighters as they assaulted the Peshmerga front lines. According to his Silver Star citation, Keating took the lead as the friendly position came under attack, demonstrating "courageous leadership, tactical acumen, and physical courage."

After directing the Peshmerga troops as they pushed back against the enemy assault, Keating coordinated with the U.S. quick-reaction force and himself engaged the militants, according to his citation. "[Keating] continually exposed himself to enemy automatic weapon, mortar, and rocket propelled grenade fire as he diligently maneuvered between the front and flanks of the defensive fighting position to stop enemy advances and keep friendly forces accurately informed of the unfolding situation," the document reads. At one point, ISIS fighters attempted to send a vehicle carrying an improvised explosive device alongside Keating's position, according to the citation. The SEAL prevented them from succeeding by directing a team to intercept the vehicle with snipers and accurate rocket fire. "His personal bravery inspired his comrades to vigorously defend their position and repel the enemy assault," the citation reads, adding that Keating continued to train partner forces until he was killed in combat.

Keating would be awarded the Silver Star on May 10, seven days after his death. On the same day, he received a Purple Heart in recognition of the fatal combat wounds he received on May 3. That day, ISIS forces breached Peshmerga forward lines at about 7:30 a.m., and the American quick-reaction force responded some 20 minutes later, Pentagon spokesman Army. Col. Steve Warren told reporters in May. Keating, he said, was wounded nearly two hours into the fighting by direct fire. "There were bullets everywhere," Warren said of the firefight. While the enemy assaulted with dozens of vehicles, mortar systems, and even bulldozers, the Peshmerga were able to regain control of Tall Usquf. Although U.S. troops are not formally in a combat role in the coalition fight against ISIS, Keating was the third American service member to die in combat in support of the fight against the militant group.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...isis-had-earned-prestigious-combat-medal.html
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Selivan · Jun 28, 2016

Max Rockatansky said: ↑

This website has the details of those awarded our nation's highest medal for valor. Most of these were awarded posthumously.
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In the USSR and Russia has never discusses about receiving military decorations ...

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- Man fought ...
- A lot of things happen in a war ...

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Therefore...
Civilians should not talk about military awards ...

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In America...
According to reports in the forum, any moron can anonymously bark ..
That's why I do not like modern America ...
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Previously, it was not

Shame and disgrace

waltky · May 9, 2018

Navy SEAL to Receive Medal of Honor for Heroism in Afghanistan...

Navy SEAL to Receive Medal of Honor for Heroism in Afghanistan
7 May 2018 - A Navy SEAL who led a risky assault on a mountain peak to rescue a stranded teammate in Afghanistan in 2002 will receive the Medal of Honor later this week, according to a White House announcement.

Retired Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt K. Slabinski will receive the military's highest honor May 24, according to the announcement. According to the White House release, Slabinski is credited with leading a team back to rescue another SEAL, Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, after he was ejected from an MH-47 Chinook crippled by enemy rocket-propelled grenade fire March 4, 2002 in eastern Afghanistan. The operation would ultimately be known as "The Battle of Roberts Ridge" in honor of Roberts. The team had originally begun the mission the day before, tasked with establishing an outpost on the top of Takur Ghar mountain as part of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan's Shah-i-Kot Valley. "Then-Senior Chief Slabinski boldly rallied his remaining team and organized supporting assets for a daring assault back to the mountain peak in an attempt to rescue their stranded teammate," the White House announcement reads. "Later, after a second enemy-opposed insertion, then-Senior Chief Slabinski led his six-man joint team up a snow-covered hill, in a frontal assault against two bunkers under withering enemy fire from three directions."

Slabinski "repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire" as he took on al-Qaida forces in the rescue attempt, according to the release. "Proximity made air support impossible, and after several teammates became casualties, the situation became untenable," the release said. Moving his team into a safer position, Slabinski directed air strikes through the night and, as daylight approached, led "an arduous trek" through waist-deep snow while still under fire from the enemy. He treated casualties and continued to call in fire on the enemy for 14 hours until an extract finally came. Slabinski previously received the Navy Cross for leading the rescue and directing continued fire on the enemy throughout the lengthy and brutal fight. "During this entire sustained engagement, Senior Chief Petty Officer Slabinski exhibited classic grace under fire in steadfastly leading the intrepid rescue operation, saving the lives of his wounded men and setting the conditions for the ultimate vanquishing of the enemy and the seizing of Takur Ghar," his medal citation reads. "By his heroic display of decisive and tenacious leadership, unyielding courage in the face of constant enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, Senior Chief Petty Officer Slabinski reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

Retired Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt K. Slabinski will receive the military’s highest honor May 24, 2018.

Slabinski's actions were highlighted in a moving 2016 New York Times account that emphasized the role of Air Force Tech Sgt. John Chapman, who was attached to the SEAL team and ultimately died on the mountain. Task and Purpose reported in late April that Chapman, credited with saving the entire SEAL team he was attached to during the operation, will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor. The White House has not confirmed that. Chapman reportedly directed air strikes from AC-130 gunships after Roberts was ejected from the MH-47. During follow-on attempts to rescue Roberts, Chapman would ultimately be wounded by enemy fire from close range. Reporting surrounding the role of Slabinski and the SEALs in recovering Chapman paints a complex picture. According to the New York Times report, Slabinski believed, and told his men, that Chapman was dead. Air Force officials, however, reportedly contest that Chapman was still alive and fought by himself for more than an hour after the SEALs moved back to a safer position. Predator drone footage reportedly supports this belief.

Slabinski himself told the publication doubt persisted in his mind. "I'm trying to direct what everybody's got going on, trying to see what's going on with John; I'm already 95 percent certain in my mind that he's been killed," he said in an interview with the Times. "That's why I was like, 'O.K., we've got to move.'" Slabinski would be just the second living SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism in Afghanistan. The first, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers, received the award in February 2016 for his role in rescuing an American doctor who had been captured by the Taliban. Slabinski will also be the 12th living service member overall to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan. According to a biography provided by the White House, Slabinski enlisted in the Navy in 1988 and graduated Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in 1990. He completed nine overseas deployments and 15 combat deployments over the course of his career, including multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He retired as director of the Naval Special Warfare Safety Assurance and Analysis Program after more than 25 years of service, according to releases. In addition to the Navy Cross, Slabinski's previous awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, five Bronze Stars with combat "V" device, and two Combat Action Ribbons.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...-receive-medal-honor-heroism-afghanistan.html
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fmw · May 22, 2018

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