1st Iraq War Medal of Honor Announced

[SHARPETOYS]

For those who don't get the Tampa/St Pete paper:

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/02/Tampabay/Iraq_hero_joins_hallo.shtml

It made tears come to my eyes, i wish he would lived.

At last count, there were 132 living Medal of Honor recipients.

 

[jamespowers]

Why do we not hear of such stories from the "news" at night? Gee, can it be what Bernie Goldberg calls BIAS? More than likely.
The guy deserved the medal that is for sure. However, I would like to get ahold of those fools who withdrew the Bradley and forced him to make such a heroic choice. :rage:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Panamabob]

Amazing that this kind of post gets less feedback than a new 10000000X Belly Beaver does.

Thanks for keeping it real Roger.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Quote

Quote!

Smith is the first soldier from the Iraq war to receive the medal, which had not previously been awarded since 1993. In that year, two Army Special Forces sergeants were killed in Somalia in an action described in "Black Hawk Down."






Those two Deta Force Snipers in the land of the skinnies were Randy Shughart & Gary Gordon who volunteered to protect the surrounded and wounded air crew of a Black Hawk which had been downed by hostile fire.

They were in the lead helicopter on an assault mission in Mogadishu in the middle of an intense firefight when the two Black Hawks were brought down. Shughart and Gordon were tasked to provide protective fire from their own Black Hawk at both crash sites. When Master Sergeant Gary Gordon learned that ground forces weren't available to protect the second crash site he unhesitatingly volunteered to leave his helicopter and protect the aircrew of the downed chopper. The mission commander refused his request because of the extreme threat but upon his third request he finally got the go ahead. He and Shughart fast roped from the Black Hawk to the crash site and engaged the hostile forces until they ran out of ammo and were killed. The pilot of the Black Hawk was captured but survived captivity and was repatriated.

Ooorah Sergeant 1st Class Smith.
Ooorah Sergeant 1st Class Shughart
Ooorah Master Sergeant Gordon

Ooorah to all the men and women of this nation under arms in the defense of America. :clap :clap :clap

 

[Panamabob]

Can you imagine the amount of fortitude it would take to do that stuff? And I can't even get some people to answer my emails!

 

[farnham54]

Thank you for posting that. It is a shame more coverage is not given to these stories. A hero in every sense of the word.

Cheers,

Craig

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Allegations that the media do not pay attention to "the troops" are false. Every night CBS celebrates a "fallen heroes" and Time Magazine has named the soldiers man of the year. It is poltically incorrect to criticize them despite the torture of prisoners and killing of tens of thousands of civilllians. It is sheer nonsense to assert that the media does anything but celebrate the soldiers.

Statements like this may upset the croud that parades around with yellow ribbons on their gass-guzzling SUVs or pick-ups, but the truth remains the truth.

 

[Panamabob]

Madhatter,

Are you 1) criticizing Powers for stating an opinion or 2) defaming Time and CBS for highlighting (briefly on CBS) soldiers that are killers and torturers of the innocent or 3) upset that people use yellow ribbons to support friends and family or 4) upset about gas guzzling SUVS when economically speaking it is better for our country to buy petroleum from the Mideast than to refine our own and use our own reserves, thusly making gas relatively cheap for those who want large automobiles?

Just curious,

Robert aka Panamabob

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Are you 1) criticizing Powers for stating an opinion or 2) defaming Time and CBS for highlighting (briefly on CBS) soldiers that are killers and torturers of the innocent or 3) upset that people use yellow ribbons to support friends and family or 4) upset about gas guzzling SUVS when economically speaking it is better for our country to buy petroleum from the Mideast than to refine our own and use our own reserves, thusly making gas relatively cheap for those who want large automobiles?

No, I just think that yellow ribbons, gas guzzlers, and celebration of mercenaries who are an occupation force torturing prisoners and brutalizing civilians pretty much speaks for itself.

 

[Panamabob]

That doesn't answer anything. Gas guzzling is relative. Yellow ribbons to each his own.

Do you live in this country? You really don't have to? It isn't hard to go somewhere else to live.

 

[jamespowers]

Allegations that the media do not pay attention to "the troops" are false. Every night CBS celebrates a "fallen heroes" and Time Magazine has named the soldiers man of the year. It is poltically incorrect to criticize them despite the torture of prisoners and killing of tens of thousands of civilllians. It is sheer nonsense to assert that the media does anything but celebrate the soldiers.

Statements like this may upset the croud that parades around with yellow ribbons on their gass-guzzling SUVs or pick-ups, but the truth remains the truth.

I always love this. You can get hit over the head every night about how our troops are killers and torturers while conversely saying that their general is wrong for telling them that it is good to eliminate people who rape and torture people. Hmmm.... Down is up and up is down.
It is politically incorrect to support our soldiers, drive "gas guzzling" vehicles (that make us the most productive and imigrated to country in the world) and hang yellow ribbons. Again down is up and up is down.
Now lets be serious and think. I guess you would think that we are still an occupying force in Germany too then? Great, lets get all of those troops out of Germany and put them in Iraq where they are nneded. I wonder if the Iraqis who voted last Sunday would think that we are occupying forces that are building schools, roads, fixing the water supply and providing services. I think not. If you want to sympathize with the terrorists that do then just say so. For now just count yourself lucky, as I do, that I live here and not in Iran where speaking out against the government could result in you missing limbs or other things.

Regards to all,

J

 

[The Mad Hatter]

I wonder if the Iraqis who voted last Sunday would think that we are occupying forces that are building schools, roads, fixing the water supply and providing services. I think not.

Unfortunately, according to opinion polls of Iraqis, they regard Americans as occupiers and are want them to leave. So far as all the reconstruction is concerned, Halliburton, etc., is very well known.

Sorry, but facts and the truth are stubborn things.

 

[jamespowers]

Unfortunately, according to opinion polls of Iraqis, they regard Americans as occupiers and are want them to leave. So far as all the reconstruction is concerned, Halliburton, etc., is very well known.

Sorry, but facts and the truth are stubborn things.

I think you are misrepresenting what the poll stated. The poll simply stated that they want us there only as long as necessary. How long that is depends on the terrorists not what the people want. I wonder how many terrorists participated in that poll and---who did that poll by the way?
So the reconstruction is being done in part by Halliburton. So what? They and Bechtel are probably the only two American companies who have the resources to actually do that kind of work so far away in another country. You are going to denigrate the work because they just happen to be American companies or because one had ties to the Vice President---not the president?
This thread started out praising a medal of honor winner and has degenerated into a blame America first rally. I am sure the terrorists would be energized by such tomfoolery. Just say that the men who got the medal of honor earned it and leave it be. Second guessing them and calling them baby killers and "civilian killers" is just not to be mixed in this conversation. No matter what you think, the people there are grateful for what we did for them. Eventually we will have a minimal force there but not now. Your assertions are those of the New York Times about Germany in 1946. They were wrong then and now. A funny thing about how history tends to repeat itself.

Regards to all,

J

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Here's the opinion poll in question, according to Reuters:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28226574.htm

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Seventy-six percent of Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs plan to boycott Sunday's election, according to a new poll by Zogby International for Abu Dhabi Television released on Friday.

The poll of 805 Iraqi adults living in Iraq also showed that 69 percent of Iraq's Shi'ite population and 82 percent of Sunni Arabs favored a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces either immediately, or after an elected government is in place.

"There are deep divisions that exist, divisions that are so deep and pronounced that this election, instead of bringing people together, may very well tear them apart," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute and the host of Abu Dhabi TV's "Viewpoint" program.

The poll, with a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points, showed that just nine percent of Sunni Arabs were likely to vote in the Jan. 30 election, while about 80 percent of Shi'ites were likely to or definitely planned to vote.

The survey was conducted in Baghdad, Hilla, Kerbala and Kirkuk, as well as the provinces of Diala and Anbar from Jan. 19 through Jan. 23.

Half the Shi'ites polled and 64 percent of the Sunnis believed the United States would "hurt" Iraq over the next five years, while the Kurds say they believed the United States would help the country.

Zogby, also an analyst for the polling company run by his brother, John Zogby, said he was particularly troubled by the survey's finding that 53 percent of Sunni Arabs believed that ongoing attacks in Iraq were a legitimate form of resistance.

"With this group already boycotting the election, this makes for a very violent combination," James Zogby said.

Three in five Iraqis, or 59 percent, said they favored a governmental system that allowed citizens to practice their own religion, while 34 percent favored an Islamic government.

All ethnic groups overwhelmingly rejected improving relations with Israel, but a majority favored improving ties with Kuwait, Turkey and Iran, according to a news release on the survey.

Washington hopes the ballot will help transform Iraq from dictatorship to democracy, but it risks worsening the insurgency by further alienating minority Sunni Arabs.

Shi'ites are expected to cement their new political dominance through the polls, but several leading Sunni Arab parties are boycotting the polls.

The Zogby poll showed that 62 percent of Sunnis favored postponing the election, while 84 percent of Shi'ites said the election should proceed as planned.

The election is for a 275-member National Assembly that will oversee the drafting of a permanent constitution.

Some 280,000 overseas Iraqis have registered to vote, while 13 million Iraqis at home are eligible to cast their ballots.

As for various comments about leaving the country, supporting the terrorists, yada, yada, yada, -- as I previously stated, this topic has become politically correct, as these comments demonstrate.

All I can do is to encourage others likewise to challenge this - or indeed any other - orthodoxy.

 

[jamespowers]

I can see that I am going to engage in an exercise in futility here because certain individuals will only draw from a story that which props up their side.
Now let me think. They polled people in BAGDAD and other places by John Zogby? The guy who could not predict our own election and in a place where terrorists and members of Sadam's party still congregate?
Let's see the Shi'ites are for us and the Sunnis are against us. Gee, I wonder why? Because the Sunnis were ruling the country against the majority will of the Shi'ites and Kurds!? Gee you think the Sunnis might not like us for ruining their medievil fifedoms they had? What a surprise.
I also do not see any evidence in the poll that supports your previous statement that "Unfortunately, according to opinion polls of Iraqis, they regard Americans as occupiers and are want them to leave." Point to the sentence that states that. Well, of course you can't. What you should get from that article is simple. Here it is from the story: "The poll of 805" (a poll of less than 1/10th of one percent of their registered voters) "Iraqi adults living in Iraq also showed that 69 percent of Iraq's Shi'ite population and 82 percent of Sunni Arabs favored a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces either immediately, or after an elected government is in place."
Knowing what we do about the Sunnis, we know they want us to leave no matter what. The Shi'ites (translated the majority) want us to stay until their duly elected government is up and running. Is their government up and running? NO! Are we staying? YES! Simple no problems.
Reading further down, we see that "Half the Shi'ites polled and 64 percent of the Sunnis believed the United States would "hurt" Iraq over the next five years, while the Kurds say they believed the United States would help the country." That means that a majority think that the United States will HELP Iraq. As usual Reuters screws up the story to make it look like something it is not. Don't forget that the Kurds make up a good portion of northern Iraq and that the Shi'ites are the majority. Think about it and read the story again. Do the numbers and find that this story says nothing like what you present it as saying! :kick:
To believe that we are not needed there is to surrender to the terrorists and the Sunnis who may be one in the same. If you think this is "politically correct" then try floating any of what I said in certain areas of the country where people do not think for themselves and read such articles from reuters without a critical eye for logic or add the numbers correctly.
Let's let the country put together its own government and constitution before you start saying what you think that the "whole country thinks" this way or that. Then their own government can speak for the country and not some polls done in terrorist friendly territories please.
Yes indeed. We definitely do need to CHECK orthodoxies and "mainstream" sources for biases and those who use them as "facts."

Regards to all,

J

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Courtesies and Privileges Afforded Medal of Honor Recipients

A bit more:

Courtesies and Privileges Afforded Medal of Honor Recipients

1. Enlisted personnel who are awarded the Medal of Honor are authorized one automatic promotion if not already serving in the highest enlisted grade.

2. Each recipient receives a monthly [$600.00] pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

3. Enlisted recipients who retire with 20 or more years of service receive a 10 percent increase in retired pay, not to exceed the 75 percent maximum [that a retiree with 30 or more years of service can receive].

4. Recipients are issued a special Medal of Honor Travel and Identification Card signed by the Service Secretary. This entitles recipients who are not on active duty and not military retirees to use space-available military air transportation.

5. Unlike [active duty and reserve] military personnel and retirees, Medal of Honor recipients may wear their uniforms at any time or place they choose. They receive a special uniform issue in conjunction with this privilege.

6. Recipients who are not on active duty and not military retirees are issued a DoD Identification Card, as are their dependents. It authorizes them military commissary, post exchange, and theater privileges. All of the Services, consistent with DoD policy, authorize use of morale, welfare and recreation activities, including honorary club membership without dues.

7. Children of Medal of Honor recipients are not subject to quotas if they are qualified and desire to attend one of the U.S. military academies.

8. All Medal of Honor recipients, as members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, receive invitations to attend Presidential inaugurations and accompanying festivities. Military recipients and those who are civil servants have traditionally been authorized administrative absence in lieu of chargeable leave to attend.

9. Some States have special license plates for Medal of Honor recipients.

10. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a special engraved headstone for deceased recipients of the Medal of Honor.

11. Many installation commanders memorialize deceased Medal of Honor recipients by naming streets, buildings, or halls in their honor.

12. Medal of Honor recipients should be accorded on-base billeting commensurate with the prestige associated with the Medal of Honor.

 

[Gershomite]

No matter what opinion of the US involvement in Iraq an individual may hold, it is the epitome of bad taste to put down the men and women who serve there. Criticize the administration that sends troops if you will, but leave off calling our service personnel mercenaries and murderers.

Ooorah Sergeant 1st Class Smith.

As a former Marine, I heartily second that sentiment, "Ooorah!"

I am amazed and appalled by the number of people who actually cry out with hue and hope of failure in Iraq. Do you dislike Iraqis? The war has happened, get over it and look to the future. What cause have any to resist self-determination of the Iraqi people in choosing representatives for their new government? While the many in America and the EU call the recent election in Iraq a shame and a sham, the Iraqis risked participating in the election process at the risk of their lives in some cases. How many in the US or EU would do so if similar circumstances prevailed here?

Instead of praying for Bush to lose, how about praying for the peaceful masses of the Iraqi citizens to win. To the hypocrites who opine that Iraq should be left to the mercy of AK toting thugs who seek to impose a religious dictatorship on them, I will give ear to your arguments when I see you voicing support for Pat Robertson for President here...and I do not like Robertson at all.

Gersh