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Congressional Medal Of Honor

Obama honoring troop who fought in Afghanistan


Army Ranger Sergeant 1st Class Leroy Petry

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is awarding the Medal of Honor to an Afghanistan war veteran, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry, for courageous actions during combat in Afghanistan in May, 2008.
The White House says Petry will be the second living, active-duty service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Petry, a native of Santa Fe, N.M., was shot in both legs and then lost a hand while throwing an enemy grenade away from himself and two fellow Army Rangers ? all the while continuing to call out orders so that his unit could fulfill its mission, according to soldiers who served with him.

Entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-honoring-troop-fought-afghanistan-174423051.html

Leroy Petry receives Medal of Honor

'This is the stuff of which heroes are made,' Obama says at White House ceremony


U.S. Army SFC Leroy Petry is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, July 12. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

What compels such courage? What leads a person to risk everything so that others might live?" Obama asked before awarding the medal.

Petry's selfless act alone was deserving of the honor, and given his wounds he could have retired from the Army with honor. Instead, Obama said, Petry re-enlisted indefinitely, and returned just this year from his eighth deployment.

"This is the stuff of which heroes are made. This is the strength, the devotion that makes our troops the pride of every American. And this is the reason that -- like a soldier named Leroy Petry -- America doesn't simply endure, we emerge from our trials stronger, more confident, with our eyes fixed on the future," Obama said.

Only nine Medals of Honor have been issued in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan -- seven posthumously -- compared with 248 in Vietnam, 136 in Korea and 465 during World War II. About 3,400 have been granted since the Civil War.

The other living Medal of Honor recipient from the current wars is Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who rushed into enemy fire and pulled three wounded soldiers to safety in Afghanistan in 2007.

Petry, now 31 and the father of four, is stationed at Ft. Benning, Ga.

His family, along with the families of members of his unit, were on hand for the East Room ceremony Tuesday.

During an earlier meeting in the Oval Office earlier, Obama said Petry showed him a small plaque bolted to his prosthetic arm, with the names of fallen Rangers from his 75th Regiment.

"They are, quite literally, part of him, just as they will always be part of America," Obama said.

Entire article: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-medal-of-honor-20110712,0,7367692.story
 
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A few years back I was at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, waiting for the beginning of the Veterans Day ceremony, when I felt a tap on the shoulder. I turned and came face to face with Steve Slattery, a retired armor officer. Steve grabbed me and said, "Help me here," and began to cry." I held him while he sobbed. Regaining control he began to tell me that he was wearing his medals and was there, at the monument, to honor Sergeant Donald Long.

Steve had been the CO of Charlie Troop, 1/4th Cav, 1st ID. He had been in his job less than a week and the whole battalion was heading out on a search and destroy mission. Long was scheduled to catch the "ash and trash" flight back to the Division's forward base at Lai Khe when he heard about the day's mission. He approached Slattery and told him he was going with the unit, "That's a bad sector, you're going to need all the experienced help you can get."

Slats kept insisting that Long go ahead to Lai Khe, but Long was adamant. Sure enough, a sister unit got ambushed and Charlie Troop was ordered to swing around and relieve them. Soon both troops were in contact and a heavy firefight broke out. Slats was outside his command vehicle, looking for a maneuver route, when a grenade bounced into his midst. Sergeant Donald Long, the man who should have been out-processing, dove on the grenade saving the lives of Slattery and several other soldiers.

Here's the text of Donald Long's commendation:
*LONG, DONALD RUSSELL

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Troop C, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division. place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 30 June 1966. Entered service at: Ashland, Ky. Born: 27 August 1939, Blackfork, Ohio. G.O. No.: 13, 4 April 1968. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Troops B and C, while conducting a reconnaissance mission along a road were suddenly attacked by a Viet Cong regiment, supported by mortars, recoilless rifles and machine guns, from concealed positions astride the road. Sgt. Long abandoned the relative safety of his armored personnel carrier and braved a withering hail of enemy fire to carry wounded men to evacuation helicopters. As the platoon fought its way forward to resupply advanced elements, Sgt. Long repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire at point blank range to provide the needed supplies. While assaulting the Viet Cong position, Sgt. Long inspired his comrades by fearlessly standing unprotected to repel the enemy with rifle fire and grenades as they attempted to mount his carrier. When the enemy threatened to overrun a disabled carrier nearby, Sgt. Long again disregarded his own safety to help the severely wounded crew to safety. As he was handing arms to the less seriously wounded and reorganizing them to press the attack, an enemy grenade was hurled onto the carrier deck. Immediately recognizing the imminent danger, he instinctively shouted a warning to the crew and pushed to safety one man who had not heard his warning over the roar of battle. Realizing that these actions would not fully protect the exposed crewmen from the deadly explosion, he threw himself over the grenade to absorb the blast and thereby saved the lives of 8 of his comrades at the expense of his life. Throughout the battle, Sgt. Long's extraordinary heroism, courage and supreme devotion to his men were in the finest tradition of the military service, and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

And here's a pic of LTC Slattery and moi that day and the official photo of Sergeant Donald Russell Long:
 

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Memorials set as Marine gets Medal of Honor

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The White House announced the 23-year-old Marine scout sniper from Columbia, Ky., who has since left the Marine Corps, will become the first living Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor in decades for his actions in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/U.S. Marines)

Dakota Meyer saved 36 lives from an ambush in Afghanistan and the former Marine will collect the nation's highest military honor at the White House on Thursday. While he is receiving the Medal of Honor, Meyer's slain comrades will be memorialized in hometown ceremonies at his request.
His hero's moment was his darkest day. Meyer lost some of his best friends the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, in far-off Kunar Province.
"It's hard, it's ... you know ... getting recognized for the worst day of your life, so it's... it's a really tough thing," Meyer said, struggling for words.
Meyer charged through heavy insurgent gunfire on five death-defying trips in an armored Humvee to save 13 Marines and Army soldiers and another 23 Afghan troops pinned down by withering enemy fire. Meyer personally killed at least eight insurgents despite taking a shrapnel wound to one arm as he manned the gun turret of the Humvee and provided covering fire for the soldiers, according to the military.
President Barack Obama will bestow the medal at a White House ceremony. The two have also met privately, having a beer on a patio outside the Oval Office on Wednesday.
"Over the weekend, the President's staff called Meyer in preparation for Thursday's Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. Meyer asked the staffer if he could have a beer with the President. POTUS invited Dakota to come by the White House this afternoon," spokesman Jay Carney tweeted.
In Afghanistan, Meyer was part of a security team supporting a patrol moving into a village in the Ganjgal Valley on the day of the ambush.
Meyer and the other Americans had gone to the area to train Afghan military members when, suddenly, the village lights went out and gunfire erupted. About 50 Taliban insurgents on mountainsides and in the village had ambushed the patrol.
As the forward team took fire and called for air support that wasn't coming, Meyer, a corporal at the time, begged his command to let him head into the incoming fire to help.
Four times he was denied his request before Meyer and another Marine, Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, jumped into the Humvee and headed into the fray. For his valor, Rodriguez-Chavez, a 34-year-old who hailed originally from Acuna, Mexico, would be awarded the Navy Cross.
"They told him he couldn't go in," said Dwight Meyer, Dakota Meyer's 81-year-old grandfather, a former Marine who served in the 1950s. "He told them, 'The hell I'm not,' and he went in. It's a one-in-a-million thing" that he survived.
With Meyer manning the Humvee's gun turret, the two drew heavy fire. But they began evacuating wounded Marines and American and Afghan soldiers to a safe point. Meyer made five trips into the kill zone, each time searching for the forward patrol with his Marine friends ? including 1st Lt. Michael Johnson ? whom Meyer had heard yelling on the radio for air support.
With Meyer and Rodriguez-Chavez ready to test fate a fifth time in the kill zone, a UH-60 helicopter arrived at last to provide overhead support. Troops aboard the chopper told Meyer they had spotted what appeared to be four bodies. Meyer knew those were his friends and he had to bring them out.
"It might sound crazy, but it was just, you don't really think about it, you don't comprehend it, you don't really comprehend what you did until looking back on it," Meyer said.
Wounded and tired, Meyer left the relative safety of the Humvee and ran out on foot.
"He just really took a chance," Dwight Meyer said.

Entire article: http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/memorials-set-as-marine-1181184.html
 
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Vietnam War hero receives posthumous Medal of Honor

Forty-two years after his selfless act of heroism during the Vietnam war saved the lives of his fellow soldiers, Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. posthumously received the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony on May 16.

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Medal of Honor to Rose Mary Sabo-Brown (L), widow of Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., during an East Room ceremony May 16, 2012 at the White House in Washington, DC. Specialist Sabo was presented with the highest military decoration posthumously for his heroic actions on May 10, 1970 while serving as a rifleman in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

Entire article: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/vi...lideshow/medal-of-honor-photo-1337200905.html
 
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Long overdue!

ScriptOhio;2155707; said:
Vietnam War hero receives posthumous Medal of Honor

Forty-two years after his selfless act of heroism during the Vietnam war saved the lives of his fellow soldiers, Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. posthumously received the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony on May 16.

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Medal of Honor to Rose Mary Sabo-Brown (L), widow of Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., during an East Room ceremony May 16, 2012 at the White House in Washington, DC. Specialist Sabo was presented with the highest military decoration posthumously for his heroic actions on May 10, 1970 while serving as a rifleman in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

Entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/four-decades-later-vietnam-war-hero-spec-leslie-125616866.html
 
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ScriptOhio;1781118; said:
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I love this?.and this man certainly doesn?t look 90 years old!
Great soldier?s story?
Head east from Carthage on Mississippi 16 toward Philadelphia. After a few miles a sign says you?re in Edinburg. It?s a good thing the sign?s there, because there?s no other way to tell.
On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg ? probably didn?t make much news back then. Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano, Italy, Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in the Army in 1940, set out to flank German machine gun positions from which fire was coming down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through a minefield, took out three enemy machine gun positions and returned with 17 prisoners of war. If that wasn?t enough for a day?s work, he later took on and destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.
That probably didn?t make much news either, given the scope of the war, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a colonel after also serving in Korea and Vietnam, a Congressional Medal of Honor.
What did make news last week was a neighborhood association?s quibble with how the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the American flag outside his suburban Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be flown on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such as Barfoot?s 21-foot flagpole were unsuitable.
He had been denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was facing court action if he didn?t take it down. Since the story made national TV, the
neighborhood association has rethought its position and agreed to indulge this old hero who dwells among them.
?In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without interference,? Barfoot told The Associated Press. As well he should.
And if any of his neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, they might want to read his Medal of Honor citation. It indicates he?s not real good at backing down.
Van T. Barfoot?s Medal of Honor citation:
This 1944 Medal of Honor citation, listed with the National Medal of Honor Society, is for Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry:
?For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety.
Sgt. Barfoot?s extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of point blank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.?

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!
IN GOD WE TRUST!

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http://www.4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=5230

Remember the guy who wouldn't take the flag pole down on his Virginia property a while back?

You might remember the news story about a crotchety old man in Virginia who defied his local Homeowners Association, and refused to take down the flag pole on his property along with the large American flag he flew on it.

Van T. Barfoot died at the age of 92 on 2 March 2013.
 
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"Staff Sgt. Carter's gallant actions were those of a man, a Soldier, who was physically and mentally strong and well prepared for combat. He elevated the needs of his team and nation above his own safety. His great humility and love for his fellow Soldiers are the hallmark of a true hero."

Read more: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/carter/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...tation-medal-honor-staff-sergeant-ty-m-carter

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/26/ty-carter-medal-of-honor_n_3817623.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

 
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Obama Giving Medal of Honor to 24 Vets From 3 Wars

President Barack Obama is moving to right old wrongs by belatedly awarding the Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, including a Santa Clara man who served in the Army and died nearly 60 years ago.

Living veterans honored at today's ceremony:
  • Specialist Four Santiago J. Erevia
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  • Staff Sergeant Melvin Morris
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  • Sergeant First Class Jose Rodela
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Veterans honored posthumously at today's ceremony:
  • World War II veterans
    • Private Pedro Cano
    • Private Joe Gandara
    • Private First Class Salvador J. Lara
    • Sergeant William F. Leonard
    • Staff Sergeant Manuel V. Mendoza
    • Sergeant Alfred B. Nietzel
    • First Lieutenant Donald K. Schwab
  • Korean War veterans
    • Corporal Joe R. Baldonado
    • Corporal Victor H. Espinoza
    • Sergeant Eduardo C. Gomez
    • Private First Class Leonard M. Kravitz
    • Master Sergeant Juan E. Negron
    • Master Sergeant Mike C. Pena
    • Private Demensio Rivera
    • Private Miguel A. Vera
    • Sergeant Jack Weinstein
  • Vietnam War veterans
    • Sergeant Candelario Garcia
    • Specialist Four Leonard L. Alvarado
    • Staff Sergeant Felix M. Conde-Falcon
    • Specialist Four Ardie R. Copas
    • Specialist Four Jesus S. Duran

Entire article: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/03/18/president-obama-awards-medal-honor-24-army-veterans
 
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Amazing stories of courage and devotion.
My father was the lone survivor of a very close quarters, fox hole grenade exchange during WWII. Left for dead with massive shrapnel wounds his life was saved by some unknown corpsman passing by. He was stripped of his shoes and Movado watch by some other American soldier before the corpsman arrived.
 
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Obama Giving Medal of Honor to 24 Vets From 3 Wars

President Barack Obama is moving to right old wrongs by belatedly awarding the Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, including a Santa Clara man who served in the Army and died nearly 60 years ago.
Just three of those being honored during Tuesday's ceremony at the White House are still alive, all of them combat veterans of Vietnam. Joe Baldonado, who lived in Santa Clara and died in 1950, is one of the vets who will be awarded with the honor posthumously. He was a light weapons infantryman/parachutist during the Korean War, according to the U.S. Army.


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Entire article: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loca...f-Honor-to-24-Vets-From-3-Wars-250786631.html

Photos with brief story of all 24 recipients: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/politics/gallery/medal-of-honor-2014/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
 
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Specialist Donald P. Sloat’s squad was conducting a patrol through the dense jungles of Vietnam in January 1970 when a soldier triggered a booby trap rigged with a live hand grenade, which Specialist Sloat quickly picked up.
With no time to toss it away, Specialist Sloat of the Army, 20 at the time, closed his body around the grenade as it exploded, his sacrifice shielding his fellow soldiers from harm and ending his life.

Nearly a half-century later, Specialist Sloat’s spontaneous act of valor has earned him the nation’s highest honor. In a White House ceremony on Monday, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Dr. William Sloat, Specialist Sloat’s brother, and recounted the moment when the grenade, without its pin, rolled along the grassy path to the feet of Specialist Sloat.

“At that moment, he could have run; at that moment, he could have ducked for cover,” Mr. Obama said Monday, recounting the moments before Specialist Sloat’s death. “He turned to throw it. But there were Americans in front of him and behind him. So Don held onto that grenade, and he pulled it close to his body, and he bent over it.”

“Everyone else survived,” Mr. Obama told a hushed audience. “He saved the lives of those next to him.”

In addition to Specialist Sloat, the president on Monday also awarded the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins, who deployed to Vietnam three times from 1963 to 1971. During a four-day assault on Camp A Shau by the North Vietnamese in 1966, Sergeant Major Adkins repeatedly fought off waves of attacking soldiers in defense of the American position and his fellow soldiers.

Sergeant Major Adkins, now 80, sat quietly in a chair next to Mr. Obama’s podium as the president extolled episodes of valor so numerous that “we don’t have time to talk about all of them.”

He noted that Sergeant Major Adkins ran through enemy fire to retrieve supplies, and to save his fellow soldiers. He described how Sergeant Major Adkins repeatedly ran into the mortar pit to help repel the enemy.

“On the first day, Bennie was helping load a wounded American onto a helicopter,” Mr. Obama said. “A Vietnamese soldier jumped onto the helo trying to escape the battle and aimed his weapon directly at the wounded soldier, ready to shoot. Bennie stepped in, shielded his comrade, placing himself directly in the line of fire, helping to save his wounded comrade.”

In the citation for Sergeant Major Adkins that accompanies the Medal of Honor, it notes that the young soldier killed an estimated 135 to 175 enemies during the four-day battle, while sustaining 18 different wounds.

“You served with valor and you made us proud,” Mr. Obama said to Sergeant Major Adkins and the other Vietnam veterans in the audience. “Your service is with us for eternity.”

Entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/us/medal-of-honor-awarded-to-vietnam-war-soldiers.html

Medal of Honor awarded to two soldiers from Vietnam War

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Entire article: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-nn-na-adkins-sloat-medal-of-honor-20140915-story.html
 
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Heroic Huey pilot to receive Medal of Honor five decades later

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The details of the heroism that will see Charles Kettles awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House come back clearly and quickly even five decades later.

The White House announced Tuesday afternoon that Kettles would receive the award from President Obama on July 18.

Kettles, 86, recalls the events of May 15, 1967: flying his UH-1 helicopter time after time after time into dizzying, withering fire to save the lives of dozens of soldiers ambushed by North Vietnamese troops in the Song Tau Cau river valley; nursing the shot-up, overloaded bird out of harm’s way with the final eight soldiers who’d been mistakenly left behind.

“With complete disregard for his own safety …” the official narrative of that day reads. “Without gunship, artillery, or tactical aircraft support, the enemy concentrated all firepower on his lone aircraft … Without his courageous actions and superior flying skills, the last group of soldiers and his crew would never have made it off the battlefield.”

Entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...nor-president-obama-charles-kettles/85858232/

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