Marine’s family to receive his Navy Cross

According to the Associated Press, the family of Lance Corporal Donald J. Hogan will receive the fallen Marine’s Navy Cross today. Hogan was killed in a roadside bomb attack in 2009;

The Marine Corps said in a statement that Hogan alerted his squad to the bomb while on patrol in 2009.

It says he pushed one Marine out of the blast zone before he was killed.

According to the LA Times, Hogan’s adopted family said he always wanted to be in the military;

I think he loved the camaraderie, liked shooting guns, liked blowing things up. He just liked being in the military. He liked identifying himself as a Marine. I don’t think there was much about it he didn’t like.
— Carla Hogan, mother

From another link;

In an account posted online at marineparents.com, a Marine mom who said that her son was in the same foot patrol as Donald, said his actions on the day of his death were heroic.

The mother wrote: “Dear Hogan Family, my son was one of the Marines with your dear son that fateful day. My son was walking directly behind LCpl Hogan and watched him save the life of a fellow Marine that was directly in front of him and in the path of the IED (improvised explosive device). Your son was a hero to many Marines that day, including my own and there are no words to describe the emotions I am going through and I cannot begin to fathom the unmeasureable grief that you are struggling to deal with now.

Semper Fi, Marine.

Category: Blue Skies