TN National Guardsmen saving the world
Chief Tango sends us a link from the Associated Press which announces the award of four Soldiers Medal to Tennessee National Guardsmen, all from the TNNG Recruiting and Retention Command, for various acts of heroism not involving an armed enemy;
Tennessee’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Max Haston, presented the medal to Lt. Col. Hunter L. Belcher, a Lebanon native; Maj. William J. Crawford, a Henderson native; and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher T. Crawford, a Lawrenceburg native, were given the medal for their actions when an assailant entered the Millington Armory last October.
Sgt. 1st Class Fred C. Mize III, a Strawberry Plains native, was awarded the medal after crawling into a burning vehicle and aiding three injured occupants in February 2013.
Category: Real Soldiers
Well done, all. Kudos.
Well done soldiers. Making me proud.
And yet when I put one of my joes in for the same award for actions at the World Trade Center on 9-12-01 I was told no way all the way up the chain of command. He saved 3 people directly and in another incident kept a driverless vehicle broken free of a tow truck from running into a medical tent by throwing himself in the way and physically restraining it. He received a face full of glass and ashes.
Outstanding job gentleman!!
Award of the Soldiers Medal is so rare, that I would consider it equivalent to being awarded a peacetime Medal of Honor.
The Soldiers Medal only goes to those with documented exceptional valor.
And my drill sergeant told all of us guys that “NG” on the dog tags stood for, “No Good”!
(Back in those days, United States Army serial numbers began with a prefix, “RA”, “US”, or “NG”)
Well done gents!
Well, I know SGM Crawford, so I will shake his hand the next time I see him. The first three awards are all related to an incident that TAH wrote about when it happened. Anyone can search the archives if they want to know more.