More MoH upgrades possible

The current defense budget, which is facing a veto threat from President Trump, includes a provision to waive the time limit for award of the Medal of Honor for four men. One of those is Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe, who we talked about yesterday. Trump already signed a separate bill authorizing Cashe to receive the award.

The other three men who would become eligible for an upgrade to the MoH are Specialist 5th Class Dwight Birdwell, Sergeant First Class Earl Plumlee, and Colonel Ralph Puckett.

Specialist Birdwell received two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star for his valor in Vietnam. His first Silver Star citation reads like a Medal of Honor or at least a Distinguished Service Cross;

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Specialist Fifth Class Dwight Wayne Birdwell (ASN: RA-15924860), United States Army, for gallantry in action. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell distinguished himself by heroic actions on 31 January 1968, while serving with C Troop, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam. When his unit moved to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, which was under an intense enemy attack, Specialist Birdwell’s tank commander was seriously wounded. Specialist Birdwell immediately took command of the vehicle and began placing effective suppressive fire on the enemy force until all of his ammunition was expended. He then retrieved an M-60 machine gun and continued to place devastating fire on the enemy until his weapon became inoperable. With complete disregard for his own safety, he then ran through the hail of enemy fire to get ammunition from other damaged vehicles and distributed it to his comrades. He then aided in the evacuation of wounded men. His valorous actions contributed immeasurably to the success of the mission. Specialist Birdwell’s personal bravery, aggressiveness, and devotion to 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.

Sergeant First Class Plumlee is a US Army Green Beret. He earned a Silver Star in Afghanistan. Here’s how the one-man war machine’s citation reads;

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant First Class Earl D. Plumlee, United States Army, for gallantry in action in August 2013, while serving with Operation Detachment Alpha 1434 (ODA-1434), 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Plumlee distinguished himself when a vehicle-borne IED initiated an attack on Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan, followed by the attack of nine insurgents armed with small arms, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and suicide vests. During the attack, Sergeant First Class Plumlee repeatedly engaged the enemy at close range, was wounded by a detonating suicide vest, risked his life to bring another Soldier to safety and provide first aid, all while continually putting himself in the line of fire in order to prevent the assault from penetrating the perimeter of the FOB. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

He’s credited with, despite being severely wounded, killing multiple enemy insurgents and saving hundreds of lives. The Senior Army Decorations Board, which reviewed a Medal of Honor recommendation packet, decided that he wasn’t the only hero that day, there were some conflicts in the information presented, and that he was a Special Forces senior NCO who was doing his job as he was supposed to.

As the Army Times called it “absolutely insane” reasoning, one board member is quoted in an IG report as saying, “when I looked at the circumstances and, although the battle was ferocious and unfortunately a couple members were killed, I just thought that it wasn’t a sufficient level for the Medal of Honor based off the individual and the circumstance and that, I just felt that there was an expectation of a leader who did a phenomenal job, that there was something more that [the nominee] needed to have done in order to, in my mind, to make the recommendation for a Medal of Honor.”

Lastly, Colonel Puckett is a legendary badass. Commissioned into the Army in 1949 he immediately joined the fledgling US Army Rangers. He’d lead a Ranger company in Korea, where he’d earn the Distinguished Service Cross. He’d later earn another in Vietnam as a lieutenant colonel and two Silver Stars. All three of the latter awards he’d earn by fighting at the front, in foxholes, and repeatedly exposed to enemy fire. He was a battalion commander at the time, so would have been able to command from the relative safety of a command post or helicopter.

It’s his first DSC award that’s garnering attention though. Here’s the citation;

The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Ralph Puckett, Jr. (ASN: 0-59165), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer of the 8th Ranger Company, 8213th Army Unit, 8th U.S. Army. First Lieutenant Puckett distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Unsan, Korea, on 25 and 26 November 1950. With complete disregard for his personal safety, First Lieutenant Puckett led his company across eight hundred yards of open terrain under heavy enemy small-arms fire and captured the company’s objective. During this operation he deliberately exposed himself to enemy machine-gun fire to enable his men to spot locations of the machine guns. After capturing the objective, he directed preparation of defensive positions against an expected enemy counterattack. At 2200 hours on 25 November 1950, while directing the defense of his position against a heavy counterattack, he was wounded in the fight shoulder. Refusing evacuation, he continued to direct his company through four more counterattacks by a numerically superior force who advanced to within grenade range before being driven back During these attacks, he left the safety of his foxhole in order to observe movements of the enemy and to direct artillery fire. In so doing, he repeatedly exposed himself to heavy small-arms and mortar fire. In the sixth counterattack, at 0300 hours on 26 November 1950, he was wounded again, so seriously that he was unable to move. Detecting that his company was about to be overrun and forced to withdraw, he ordered his men to leave him behind so as not to endanger their withdrawal. Despite his protests, he was dragged from the hill to a position of safety. First Lieutenant Puckett’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Sounds to me like all four men are more than deserving of the higher honors.

As always, we’ll post up any updates. Thanks to KoB for pointing out the update.

Source; WRBL

Category: Big Pentagon, Guest Link, Politics, Real Soldiers, Valor