On the passing of a warrior, Gen. George Patton once said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” This week, however, we do mourn the loss of a Patriot — the father of one of our Senior Editors, Jonah Walton. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in the 41st Division in South Pacific combat zones from New Guinea to the Philippines. He was a Patriot who honored his oath and served his country well. To Jonah and other family members he leaves behind, we offer our condolences and prayers.
Archive for the ‘Profiles in Valor’ Category
Jonah Walton 41st Division
October 25, 2009AIRBORNE! Profiles in Valor
September 3, 2009Hat tip to the pesky one for finding this. Over the years I have been privileged by meeting many Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines that fought in World War Two. Most often while working as a Paramedic, and shuttling them to this or that clinic. To a man, including or even especially those that earned the Medal of Honor, were unassuming and not the least bit pretentious.
Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, or Spades, the 101st led the way!
We have seen a lot of big splashy memorial services.
I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell “Shifty” Powers.
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy
Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st
Airborne Infantry. If you’ve seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the
History Channel , you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10
episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn’t
know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having
trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was
at the right gate, and noticed the “Screaming Eagle,” the symbol of
the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he’d been in the 101st Airborne
or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the
101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served,
and how many jumps he made.
Quietly and humbly, he said “Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so,
and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . ” at which point my heart
skipped.
At that point, again, very humbly, he said “I made the 5 training
jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know
where Normandy is?” At this point my heart stopped.
I told him “yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what
D-Day was.” At that point he said “I also made a second jump into
Holland , into Arnhem .” I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . .
and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of
D-Day..
I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said
“Yes. And it’s real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are
left, and those that are, lots of them can’t make the trip.” My heart
was in my throat and I didn’t know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in
Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to
get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came
forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have
it, that I’d take his in coach.
He said “No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are
still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to
make an old man very happy.” His eyes were filling up as he said it.
And mine are brimming up now as I write this.
Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer.
There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center .
No wall to wall back to back 24×7 news coverage.
No weeping fans on television.
And that’s not right.
Let’s give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet
way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the
veterans.
Rest in peace, Shifty.
Chuck Yeager, MajGen. [ret.]
Profiles of Valor: U.S. Navy HM2 Simson
August 15, 2009On July 27, 2007, U.S. Navy HM2 Joshua Simson was patrolling Saret Kholet, Afghanistan, with a joint U.S. and Afghan National Army unit. Simson later recounted that as the unit moved to establish an observation post for a river crossing, “A squad of Afghan National Army had pushed across the river to clear two houses and spotted bad guys. The Afghans fired at them, causing the anti-Afghan forces to initiate their ambush prematurely.” While the Americans and Afghans were in the “kill zone,” they hadn’t progressed so far as to be surrounded. But they still took heavy casualties in the ensuing seven-hour battle. Simson was serving as an advisor on being a medical first responder, and he put his training into action. Soon after the battle began, he pulled a wounded Afghan soldier into a bunker to administer first aid. The bunker took a direct hit, but he kept going. Throughout the battle, Simson said he repeated a sequence of tasks: “See or hear somebody need help, put out suppressive fire, move the man to cover if possible, and render lifesaving aid.” Finally, the unit was able to evacuate the wounded. Simson was awarded the Silver Star for his willingness to expose himself repeatedly to potential injury or death to save wounded soldiers on the battlefield.
Profiles of Valor: U.S. Army Pfc. Moss
July 10, 2009Profiles of Valor: U.S. Army Pfc. Moss
Pfc. Channing Moss of the United States Army was serving in Afghanistan in March 2006 when disaster struck. His convoy was attacked by Taliban fighters with small arms and rocket propelled grenades. Moss, manning an MK 19 machine gun in the turret of his Humvee, was struck by an RPG — and survived. Though Moss was impaled through the abdomen with live ordnance, his comrades didn’t leave him to die. Army regulations dictate that MEDEVAC choppers should never carry a wounded soldier with a live round in him, yet the flight crew did just that. “[A]t the time, I really didn’t think about it,” said flight medic Sgt. John Collier, then a specialist. “I knew [the RPG] was there but I thought, if we didn’t do it, if we didn’t get him out of there, he was going to die.” Protocol also dictates that soldiers in Moss’s condition be placed in a sandbagged bunker and considered “expectant” — expected to die. But Maj. John Oh, 759th Forward Surgical Team general surgeon and a naturalized Korean immigrant, performed the life-saving surgery while wearing body armor and a helmet and assisted by a member of the explosive ordnance disposal team and other brave volunteers.
The Military Times has more on this incredible story here and a moving video here (warning: graphic content).
Three months after surviving the attack, Moss witnessed the birth of his second daughter, Ariana. That would not have been possible without the heroic efforts of Maj. Oh, Sgt. Collier and the crew of the 159th Medical Company. “They saved my life,” said Moss. “I hope God watches over them if they get deployed.” Indeed.
SOURCE: Patriot Post
My comment: Every single person involved in this deserves a “Brass Balls” award; signed, Patrick Sperry
N.R.E.M.T.-Paramedic retired.
Purple Heart for Private Long
June 13, 2009Purple Heart for Private Long
All Americans must contact their local representatives and demand that the two men shot for being in uniform in Arkansas be awarded the Purple Heart as is always given for injury or death in battle.
http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
June 6th: A day that no American should ever forget
June 6, 2009June 6th, a day that no American should ever forget. All to often I hear people from various nations decry the United States for being some sort of global policeman, or worse. Those same people all too often owe their ability to criticize, if not their very lives to the people that served in the armed forces of the United States.
Those people, are often called “The Greatest Generation,” and for good reason. Collectively, they turned back the Axis of authoritarianism and totalitarianism responsible for the deaths of millions of people across the globe. Being a Marine Corps brat I grew up much more familiar with the war in the Pacific. Later, I learned about Patton in Africa and Sicily. Then how through ruse and counterintelligence German forces were spread thin, and one of modern history’s greatest battles was fought on the French coast at a place called Normandy.
Over the years I was privilidged to have met many men that took part in that fateful day that set the stage for the end of the war in Europe. Most often taking someone from this or that nursing home out to the old Fitzsimmons Hospital. Working as a Paramedic in Denver did have it’s perks at times, and meeting people that made history was one of them. I don’t remember their names, but I will never forget the deeds done by many of them. One had been a Higgins Boat Coxswain, another was a Ranger that scaled a cliff, and yet another that was with the 101st Airborne that dropped miles from where he was supposed to have landed.
We must never forget what the people of the Greatest Generation did for us, and, as a matter of honor, never allow the modern forces that seek the destruction of the United States of America to achieve their goals.
Some good news for a change..?
May 30, 2009Yes, most folks are all taken up with the news of the day. Arlen Specter involved in a murder investigation. A sexist racist being installed in the Supreme Court. An ugly as hell woman with the voice of an angel losing a damned popularity contest. We have people that are standing up for the ethical use of firearms catching some hell. Not to mention, that this past weekend I won the Chili Cook Off! Ok, there were only three entrants… But, I won! No, that is not the good news that I refer to in the title of this post.
Seems that the Pakistani Army is solidly kicking some terrorist butt! That’s something that few organized Army’s have ever accomplished. Rangers did it to the Lefts Godhead, and it’s happened a few times before. I will address the things that factor into such victories at a later time.
In the mean time?
ARMY SPEC. ROSS MCGINNIS, Medal of Honor
June 3, 2008http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/McGinnis/
Citation
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to
Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis
United States Army
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.
That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner’s hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled “grenade,” allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade’s blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner’s hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.
Private McGinnis’ gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis’ extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest medal for valor in combat that can be awarded to members of the armed forces. It sometimes is referred to as the “Congressional Medal of Honor” because the president awards it on behalf of the Congress.
The medal was first authorized in 1861 for Sailors and Marines, and the following year for Soldiers as well. Since then, more than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been awarded to members of all DOD services and the Coast Guard, as well as to a few civilians who distinguished themselves with valor.
Medals of Honor are awarded sparingly and are bestowed only to the bravest of the brave; and that courage must be well documented. So few Medals of Honor are awarded, in fact, that there have only been five bestowed posthumously for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most recent recipients are Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, Navy SEAL Master-at-Arms Michael A. Monsoor for valor in Iraq, and Army Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, and Navy Lt. Michael P. Murphy for valor in Afghanistan.
However, since 1998, 15 other Medals of Honor have been awarded to correct past administrative errors, oversights and follow-up on lost recommendations or as a result of new evidence.
Here are just a few examples of Soldiers who were awarded the Medal of Honor from three wars. Their actions, like the other recipients of the medal, were far and above the call of duty.
During the Civil War, the job of color bearer was one of the most hazardous as well as important duties in the Army. Soldiers looked to the flag for direction and inspiration in battle and the bearer was usually out in front, drawing heavy enemy fire while holding the flag high. On Nov. 16, 1863, regimental color bearer Pvt. Joseph E. Brandle, from the 17th Michigan Infantry, participated in a battle near Lenoire, Tenn. “…[H]aving been twice wounded and the sight of one eye destroyed, [he] still held to the colors until ordered to the rear by his regimental commander.”
Cpl. Alvin C. York, from the 82nd Division, fearlessly engaged the numerically superior German force at Chatel-Chehery, France, on Oct. 8, 1918–just a month before the armistice was signed. His citation reads: “…After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and three other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading seven men, he charged with great daring toward a machine gun nest, which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with four officers and 128 men and several guns.”
Valor is found across the times as well as across the ranks, as World War II 2nd Lt. Robert Craig, from the 3rd Infantry Division, demonstrated. According to his citation, 2nd Lt. Robert Craig volunteered to defeat an enemy machine gun that three other officers before him could not. He quickly located the gun outside of Favoratta, Sicily, but without cover, he and his men found themselves vulnerable to approximately100 enemies. “Electing to sacrifice himself so that his platoon might carry on the battle, he ordered his men to withdraw … while he drew the enemy fire to himself. With no hope of survival, he charged toward the enemy until he was within 25 yards of them. Assuming a kneeling position, he killed five and wounded three enemy soldiers. While the hostile force concentrated fire on him, his platoon reached the cover of the crest. 2nd Lt. Craig was killed by enemy fire, but his intrepid action so inspired his men that they drove the enemy from the area, inflicting heavy casualties on the hostile force.”
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