This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Real Soldiers

  • Medal of Honor stamps

    MOH stamps Navy-Army

    The Postal Service sent us some of their press stuff for the release of their newest stamp issued to honor Medal of Honor recipients;

    More than 16 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II; 464 were singled out to receive the Medal of Honor. Of that, nearly half died as a result of their heroic actions to receive the honor posthumously. Only nine are alive today. The Postal Service is issuing the stamps depicting the Medals of Honor and including photographs of the living recipients on the stamp sheet as an appropriate way to recognize the living while still paying respect to all 464 recipients whose names are included in the Medal of Honor World War II Forever stamp prestige folio.

    MOH Stamp

    Pictured (clockwise from top left) are Charles H. Coolidge of Chattanooga, TN (video); Francis S. Currey of Selkirk, NY; Walter D. Ehlers of Buena Park, CA (video); John D. Hawk of Bremerton, WA (video); Daniel K. Inouye of Honolulu, HI; Robert D. Maxwell of Bend, OR (video); Vernon McGarity of Memphis, TN; Nicholas Oresko of Creskill, NJ (video); Wilburn K. Ross of Dupont, WA; and George T. Sakato of Denver, CO (video), all of whom served with the U.S. Army. Arthur J. Jackson of Boise, ID (video); and Hershel W. Williams of Ona, WV (video); served with the U.S. Marine Corps.

  • Recognition Well Deserved

    One of the primary reasons our military exists is to provide security.  That’s true whether you’re talking about the nation in general, or to specific individuals or facilities in a combat zone.

    Sometimes people die doing that job.  And while that hurts – especially for the family and friends of those lost – it’s something that can’t always be prevented.  It’s a risk inherent to the profession.

    Over time, memories of such sacrifices fade.  The fact of such sacrifices, while not forgotten, dims in or is lost to society’s collective memory.

    In November 2004, two Kansas ARNG soldiers – SFC Clayton Wisdom and SGT Don Clary – were KIA in Iraq.   They died when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy transporting a group of staff members from the Iraq Survey Group and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

    SFC Wisdom and SGT Clary were among those providing security for the convoy.  During convoy operations they’d placed their vehicle between the convoy and another vehicle, preventing it from approaching the rest of the convoy.  They were killed when the suicide bomber in that other vehicle detonated his bomb.

    Their remains were repatriated.  Their funerals were held.  The matter, while not forgotten, faded from our memory.

    That’s simply the norm.  And that’s normally where the story would end.

    Except this time, someone they were protecting thought their sacrifice should be publicly recognized – and the memory of that sacrifice preserved for posterity.

    The Defense Intelligence Agency maintains a memorial for those Agency personnel who died in line of duty at their Headquarters on Joint Base Anacosta-Bolling.  DIA has announced it will add SFC Wisdom’s and SGT Clary’s name to that memorial to honor their sacrifice, as they were killed while defending DIA personnel.

    Thanks for remembering, DIA.  Many thanks.

     

    Note:  the first two links show SFC Wisdom and SGT Clary as SSG Wisdom and SPC Clary; the last linked article indicates their ranks as SFC and SGT, respectively.  Apparently both received posthumous promotions.

  • Airmen saving the world

    Air Force heroes

    Eggs sends us a link to the story of eight Airmen who came up on a 19 vehicle accident in Arizona and set to work pulling victims from the massive wreckage;

    Unlike in battle, where the airmen are prepared with proper equipment, these men had to make do with scraps and rubble.

    “Cardboard boxes on the side of the road to make splints,” another airmen, David said. “Rolls of tape, you know. Whatever we could get.”

    They went from vehicle to vehicle trioging victims at least 30 minutes before any advanced medical teams arrived, trying desperately to calm the injured down.

    Airman Wes remembered talking to a driver who felt guilty about the crash.

    He said while he was focusing on making sure the victim was okay, he also wanted to distract the man from his distress.

    “[I asked] him about himself…get his name and reassure him that we’re going to get him out of there.”

    After Dave rescued another man from his car, he recalled how happy the man was to see all of the airmen by his side.

    “When he was able to see that there was actually people there to help, he was really…the look on his face was really grateful.”

    The men helped medical helicopters land, and when they knew the paramedics had the scene under control, they quietly slipped away.

    Firefighters on scene told Nine On Your Side that night, that they wish they could have said thank you, and they weren’t sure what they would have done without them.

    According to DVIDS they were PJs of the 48th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
    The video of the interview with the eight heroes autostarts below the jump;

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  • Shinwari: Wheels Down on US Soil

    Jonn’s written multiple times (here, here, and here) about Janis Shinwari, the Afghan interpreter who saved the life of a US soldier and later applied for a US visa under a special program.  Shinwari initially got a visa, sold most of his belongings and prepared to move his family to the US – then was notified that his visa had been “frozen” without explanation.

    Turns out the story has a happy ending.  A few hours after the US government shutdown ended, his visa was reinstated.   He and his family landed in the DC area earlier today.

    Kudos to Matt Zellar – the former MI officer whose life Shinwari saved – for bulldogging this one on Change.org.  I’m guessing Shinwari would still be in limbo (or worse) if not for Zellar’s efforts.

    The Army Times has more details.  IMO it’s worth taking the 5 min to read their article.

  • Audie Murphy awarded another medal

    Texas_Legislative_Medal_of_Honor..svg

    Audie Murphy, arguably the most famous American soldier in history, was awarded yet another medal yesterday. Texas governor, Rick Perry posthumously awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Murphy who had earned 28 medals for his service in the 3rd Infantry Division as it battered the German war machine during World War II. From the Associated Press;

    Perry was in the small town of Farmersville on Tuesday and bestowed the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on Murphy posthumously.

    He said Murphy “lives on in the hearts and memories of a generation of Americans.”

    Murphy was one of the most decorated soldiers in U.S. history. His portrait hangs in the Texas House chamber.

    Born in Hunt County, Murphy joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and served with the 3rd Infantry Division in Europe and Mediterranean.

    Audie Murphy Oil Painting

  • Ty Carter; The Outpost

    Parachutecutie hooked me up again. This is from Medal of Honor recipient, Army Sergeant Ty Carter;

    Ty Carter

    I can’t wait to get his book “The Outpost” in my grubby little paws.

  • Sgt. Mike Black, Sgt. Todd Richter and Specialist Joshua April; saving the world

    Soldier heroes

    BinhTuy66 sends us a link to the story of Sgt. Mike Black, Sgt. Todd Richter and Specialist Joshua April who were driving home after a night of guard duty at White Sands when they came across an automobile accident. Black grabbed his medic bag as they went to see if they could help. With gasoline pouring from the vehicle, Black got to work on Linda Hartman. From Yahoo Shine;

    Upon seeing Hartman, Black recalls, “I saw how serious her condition was.” He saw a “fair amount of blood” and realized that her bone had pierced her femoral artery—an injury that could cause death in a matter of minutes. He immediately began applying a tourniquet, as Richter sat behind Hartman and held her hand, he says. “The gravity of the situation really hit home at that point.”

    Hartman somehow managed to remain lucid. “I asked Sgt. Black if I was dying and he said, ‘I have to get this tourniquet on.’ I remember him talking to me, asking me all kinds of questions—do I have kids, do I have animals, anything to keep me awake. And then he said, ‘This is going to hurt.’”

    Black has been recommended for the Soldier’s Medal for his heroic actions which saved not only Ms. Hartman’s life, but also her legs.

  • AF veteran Alex Mitchell; saving the world one person at a time

    Chief Tango sends us this short story about former airman Alex Mitchell who was out driving his fuel truck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday night when he saw a drunk driver careen off of the roadway in his Chevy truck. Mitchell saw the truck burst into flames and the driver trapped under the vehicle.

    Smoke and flames were consuming the wrecked auto when Mitchell spotted the driver trapped underneath it, and pulled him with one hand to safety.

    After giving a quick statement to cops, Mitchell hopped back into his rig and finished his overnight shift — not arriving home until 3 p.m. “Business as usual,” a grinning Mitchell told the Daily News, noting that he saw the accident not long after his shift began. “I still had another 12 hours.”

    The video below the jump autostarts.
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