Awards ceremony at Fort Bragg
There were a couple of little awards ceremony at Fort Bragg yesterday. One was at the 3rd Special Forces Group, not too big, compared to the size of Fort Bragg, but according to the Stars & Stripes, it may have taken awhile;
Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, [presented] eight Silver Stars, 28 Bronze Stars for valor, 36 Army Commendation Medals for valor and 27 Purple Hearts to soldiers…. The eight soldiers receiving Silver Stars are Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brown, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason W. Myers, Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan B. Drew, Sgt. 1st Class David A. Blish, Warrant Officer Robert A. Hinsley, Staff Sgt. Nicholas C. Lavery, Staff Sgt. Robert B. Ashwell and Master Sgt. Charles P. Ritter.
Myers and Ritter also will receive Purple Heart medals for being injured in Afghanistan, officials said. Brown will also receive an Army Commendation Medal for valor and two Purple Hearts and Lavery will also receive a Bronze Star for valor and three Purple Hearts.
The Silver Stars will recognize seven different actions spread from November 2011 to May 2013, according to award documents.
The Fayetteville Observer tells about another award ceremony for the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion;
Staff Sgt. Michael P. Pate, a former paramedic, received a Silver Star Medal…Sgt. 1st Class Kevin L. Hargrove, 31, of Mount Holly, N.J., and Sgt. 1st Class Kevin W. Oakes, 36, of Bad Hersfeld, Germany, received an Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device…
The three other soldiers honored were Staff Sgt. Philip A. Aubrey, Sgt. 1st Class Donovan S. Johnson and 1st Sgt. Jamie T. Mullinax.
Aubrey, 32, of Santa Fe, N.M., received the Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device.
[…]
Mullinax and Johnson, also members of Team 611, received the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device for actions during separate patrols, according to their citations.
You can read excerpts from the citations at the links.
Category: Politics
All true heroes! Somehow missed by the news of today. Thanks for posting!
“Somehow missed by the news of today.”
That’s because most of the MSM wouldn’t know a hero if they fell over one.
God Bless them all.
All are indeed heroes, and are being recognized as such.
But the one that floored me was SSG Lavery. Per the article, he received the SS, the BSM w/V, and 3 PHs – at the same freaking awards ceremony.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brown
“Entering one room, an insurgent immediately threw a grenade over Brown’s shoulder. Brown shouted “grenade!” and caught the explosive with his hands before hurling it to an unoccupied corner of the building.”
Catches a grenade? Catches a grenade? Catches a grenade? And then pitches it? There is nothing I can say. I just keep murmuring aloud, “Catches a grenade?”
Catches a grenade?
On account of he’s a badass and all.
Just read about a baseball player who catches baseballs for a salary of $292 million for ten years.
I wonder what SSG Brown’s salary was for choosing to join the military and heroically choosing to catch a grenade and save fellow soldiers?
I will say one more thing (well, maybe I’ll say more later!) and that is this: Imagine yourself or nearly anyone else in this situation. You see a grenade that’s just been tossed near you. It’s still in the air. What do you do? I can’t speak for you but I imagine that, instinctively, I’d be prone, face down, and covered before you got the first syllable in Jackie Robinson out.
Ao when Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brown faced that situation, he dopes what? He snatches the grenade while it’s in flight. Holy Hannah.
Apologies. That shouild have been,
“So, when Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brown faced that situation, he does what? He snatches the grenade while it’s in flight. Holy Hannah.”
Cojones, size XXL, stainless, pair.
Instead of worrying about whether or not young Bieber is wasting his young life, it would be very refreshing to see this story on CNN and have everyone see what real heroes look like….
I always liked Taco Bell – predictable and OK, if not inspiring. But now I REALLY like them!
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/03/28/taco-bell-president-tells-canada-it-will-get-breakfast-when-take-justin-bieber/
That’s funny stuff right there sir…and it means I have to stop by and get some Taco Bell on the way home from the shop today…
On CNN? Yeah, right. Nice joke, VOV!
Hey I can dream from time to time my friend…although I admit the network that thought Piers Morgan was a journalist is probably not the go to channel for this type of news story.,…
BZ US Army!
God Bless these troops!
Caught the grenade. Then threw it. Awesome.
Catch a grenade! Damn!
Round Ranger would do that if he thought it was a Krispy Kreme. LtCol-Doc would if he thought it was a block of cheese.
Well, they’d catch it. But “throw” wouldn’t enter their mind.
“Eat” maybe – but not “throw”. (smile)
Thank you for posting this Jonn. These are the kinds of stories I love to read on TAH. The REAL valor of REAL heroes. I offer my deepest respect, honor and thanks to each of these men for their service to our country and their heroic actions.
“KACH GN8” ought to be on his license plate!
Regarding the ARCOM-V … I would see them once in a while on Vietnam Vets — has the army recently returned to this practice since Vietnam?
–ghp