# Something That Didn't Make The News



## Tgace (Sep 5, 2004)

*Something That Didn't Make The News*
May 7, 2004

Maybe you'd like to hear about something other than idiot Reservists and naked Iraqis. 

Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored the uniform he wears. 

Meet Brian Chontosh. 

Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. 

And a genuine hero. 

The secretary of the Navy said so yesterday. 

At 29 Palms in California Brian Chontosh was presented with the Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery the United States can bestow. 

That's a big deal. 

But you won't see it on the network news tonight, and all you read in Brian's hometown newspaper was two paragraphs of nothing. Instead, it was more blather about some mental defective MPs who acted like animals. 

The odd fact about the American media in this war is that it's not covering the American military. The most plugged-in nation in the world is receiving virtually no true information about what its warriors are doing. 

Oh, sure, there's a body count. We know how many Americans have fallen. And we see those same casket pictures day in and day out. And we're almost on a first-name basis with the pukes who abused the Iraqi prisoners. And we know all about improvised explosive devices and how we lost Fallujah and what Arab public-opinion polls say about us and how the world hates us. 

We get a non-stop feed of gloom and doom. 

But we don't hear about the heroes. 

The incredibly brave GIs who honorably do their duty. The ones our grandparents would have carried on their shoulders down Fifth Avenue. 

The ones we completely ignore. 

Like Brian Chontosh. 

It was a year ago on the march into Baghdad. Brian Chontosh was a platoon leader rolling up Highway 1 in a humvee. 

When all hell broke loose. 

Ambush city. 

The young Marines were being cut to ribbons. Mortars, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades. And the kid out of Churchville was in charge. It was do or die and it was up to him. 

So he moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his men to safety. As he tried to poke a hole through the Iraqi line his humvee came under direct enemy machine gun fire. 

It was fish in a barrel and the Marines were the fish. 

And Brian Chontosh gave the order to attack. He told his driver to floor the humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was firing at them. And he had the guy on top with the .50 cal unload on them. 

Within moments there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his Marines. Over into the battlement the humvee went and out the door Brian Chontosh bailed, carrying an M16 and a Beretta and 228 years of Marine Corps pride. 

And he ran down the trench. 

With its mortars and riflemen, machineguns and grenadiers. 

And he killed them all. 

He fought with the M16 until he was out of ammo. Then he fought with the Beretta until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up a dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up another dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. 

At one point he even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy cluster, sending attackers flying with its grenade explosion. 

When he was done Brian Chontosh had cleared 200 yards of entrenched Iraqis from his platoon's flank. He had killed more than 20 and wounded at least as many more. 

But that's probably not how he would tell it. 

He would probably merely say that his Marines were in trouble, and he got them out of trouble. Hoo-ah, and drive on. 

"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service." 

That's what the citation says. 

And that's what nobody will hear. 

That's what doesn't seem to be making the evening news. Accounts of American valor are dismissed by the press as propaganda, yet accounts of American difficulties are heralded as objectivity. It makes you wonder if the role of the media is to inform, or to depress - to report or to deride. To tell the truth, or to feed us lies. 

But I guess it doesn't matter. 

We're going to turn out all right. 

As long as men like Brian Chontosh wear our uniform. 

- by Bob Lonsberry C 2004 




Bob Lonsberry is the host of the increasingly popular morning show on KNRS radio in Salt Lake City, Utah -- the second-most popular AM radio station in Utah. A veteran, Lonsberry is a former Army "Journalist of the Year" and is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal.


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## Tgace (Sep 5, 2004)

Another Naval Cross You Didn't Hear About In the News



MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(May 6, 2004) -- Marine Pfc. Joseph B. Perez received the Navy Cross Medal from the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, during an awards ceremony Thursday at Marine Corps Air-Ground Training Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. 

Perez, 23, a Houston, Texas, native, received the naval service's second highest award for extraordinary heroism while serving as a rifleman with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom April 4, 2003. The Medal of Honor is the highest military award. 

1st Platoon came under intense enemy fire while clearing near Route 6 during the advance into Baghdad. Perez, the point man for the lead squad, and therefore the most exposed member of the platoon, came under the majority of these fires. 

Without hesitation, he continuously fired his M16A4 rifle to destroy the enemy while calmly directing accurate fires for his squad. He led the charge down a trench destroying the enemy and while closing and under tremendous enemy fire, threw a grenade into a trench that the enemy was occupying. While under a heavy volume of fire, Perez fired an AT-4 rocket into a machine gun bunker, completely destroying it and killing four enemy personnel. His actions enabled the squad to maneuver safely to the enemy position and seize it. 

In an effort to link up with 3rd Platoon on his platoon's left flank, Perez continued to destroy enemy combatants with precision rifle fire. As he worked his way to the left, he was hit by enemy fire, sustaining gunshot wounds to his torso and shoulder. Despite being seriously injured, Perez directed the squad to take cover and gave the squad accurate fire direction to the enemy that enabled the squad to reorganize and destroy the enemy. 

"It is unreal, it is not what I expected, it is unbelievable," Perez said. "This is real weird for me, because, I am not big on special events," said Perez. 

In effect since April 1917, and established by an Act of Congress on Feb. 4, 1919, the Navy Cross may be awarded to any person who, while serving with the Navy or Marine Corps, distinguishes himself/herself in action by extraordinary heroism not justifying an award of the Medal of Honor. 

The action must take place under one of three circumstances: while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or, while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party. To earn a Navy Cross the act to be commended must be performed in the presence of great danger or at great personal risk and must be performed in such a manner as to render the individual highly conspicuous among others of equal grade, rate, experience, or position of responsibility. 

More than 6,000 Navy Crosses have been awarded since World War I. 

Story by: CPL. Luis Agostini


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## GAB (Sep 5, 2004)

Hi Tgace,
Thanks for the informative articles, we have a very unusual climate in this country.

We are very lucky, to say the least to have young men and women who are still interested in doing something that is so dangerous and again getting the big kick in the pants, not only from the press, but others. 

Like taking away their benifits and not paying or holding up to a contract that the Government said they would.

I just hope we will be able to still hold our head up after this one?
Semper Fi.

Regards, Gary


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## Tgace (Sep 5, 2004)

Since "provide for the common defense" was the second issue mentioned in the Deceleration of Independence, you would think that caring for our people in uniform (lifelong if need be) would be high up on the priority list wouldnt you???


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## Tgace (Sep 5, 2004)

(Hey I was born at Ft.Campbell. Dad was with the 101st in 1968:ultracool )


FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 11, 2004 - A 101st Airborne Division soldier who, despite being critically wounded himself, repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to treat wounded comrades in Iraq received the Silver Star here Feb. 5.

Pvt. Dwayne Turner, a combat medic assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, provided life-saving medical care to 16 fellow soldiers April 13 when his unit came under a grenade and small-arms attack 30 miles south of Baghdad. 

Turner and two other medics from Company A of that battalion were part of a work detail that came under attack as they unloaded supplies in a makeshift operations center. 

"I moved to (my vehicle) just before the first grenade came over the wall," Turner said. "The blast threw me even further into the vehicle, and I took on some shrapnel." 

Ignoring his own injuries, Turner ran to the front of his vehicle and saw a soldier with eye injuries. 

"I checked him out, and tried to get him into a building," Turner said. The other two medics established a triage system under the cover of a building while Turner ran back outside to bring more soldiers into the makeshift clinic. 

"I just started assessing the situation, seeing who was hurt, giving them first aid and pulling them into safety," he said, downplaying his actions on that day. 

Turner, his legs wounded by shrapnel in the initial attack, was shot at least twice while giving first aid to the soldiers. 

"I didn't realize I was shot," he said. "A couple of times, I heard bullets going by, but I thought they were just kicking up rocks on me." 

At one point during the attack, one of Turner's fellow medics told him he was bleeding. "Someone told me, 'Doc Turner, Doc Turner, you're bleeding.'" he said. "I looked down at my leg and saw I was bleeding, and kind of said, 'Oh hell, if I'm not dead yet, I guess I'm not dying.'" 

"I don't think he realized how much blood he lost," said Sgt. Neil Mulvaney, from the same unit as Turner. 

"After I got the first patient inside the building, I sort of slumped down in the corner," Turner said. "I didn't think there was any way we were going to get out of there, and it would have been really easy to just stay in that corner. 

"Then I heard (the wounded) calling for medics," he continued, "and I realized I could let them continue to get hurt -- and possibly die -- and not come home to their families, or I could do something about it." 
Turner chose to do something about it. He continued to give first aid and to bring soldiers in from the barrage of gunfire outside the compound until he finally collapsed against a wall from loss of blood. A bullet had broken his right arm. He had been shot in the left leg. Shrapnel had torn into both of his legs. 

The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in combat, but Turner does not see himself as a hero. 

"Nobody gets left behind," he said emphatically. "We were the medical personnel on hand. You're not relieved from your duty until someone comes. No one else was going to get the job done, so we did." 

Although Turner downplays his heroism, the Army believes that at least two of the 16 soldiers he treated would have died had he not been there. 

"He risked his life for 16 other men without noticing his own injuries - that's heroism in my book," Mulvaney said. 

"I was just doing my job," Turner insisted. "As far as the values of the Army, it's not to 'earn' a Silver Star; it's to uphold what you signed on for. Other people may see me as a hero; I see myself as doing my job. No one is going to die on my watch." Turner's Silver Star is the highest award given to any 101st soldier during Operation Iraqi Freedom thus far. He received the Purple Heart in July.


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## Tgace (Sep 5, 2004)

LEADERSHIP: Medal of Honor Awarded for Iraq Action 



October 23, 2003: In today's world, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that one man can make a difference. Paul Ray Smith is on the way to becoming the first serviceman to receive the Medal of Honor since MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randall Shughart fought their last battle in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993.  

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, SFC (Sergeant First Class) Smith was a platoon sergeant/acting platoon leader in the 1st Brigade's B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion attached to the 2-7 Task Force. Bravo Company was in contact with Saddam's forces nearly every day during the second phase of the campaign. After a pause below As Samawah and Karbala, the drive on Baghdad from the south carried the 2-7th into Saddam International Airport.  

On the morning of April 4, the Task Force was inside of the airport and several enemy soldiers had been captured, so a containment pen had be to quickly built. There was a wall 10 ft tall paralleling the north side of the highway, on the battalion's flank just behind the front lines. Smith (whose callsign was 'Sapper 7') decided to punch a hole in it, so that the inside walls would form two sides of a triangular enclosure and the open third side could be closed off with rolls of concertina wire.  

Smith used an armored combat earthmover to punch through the wall and, while wire was being laid across the corner, one of the squad's two M113s moved toward a gate on the far side of the courtyard. The driver pushed open the gate to open a field of fire, revealing between 50 and 100 enemy soldiers massed to attack. The only way out was the hole the engineers had put in the wall and the gate where the hardcore Iraqis were firing.  

What happened next was equal to Audie Murphy's legendary World War II heroism. Iraqi soldiers perched in trees and a nearby tower let loose with a barrage of RPGs and there were snipers on the roof. A mortar round hit the engineers' M-113, seriously wounding three soldiers inside. Smith helped evacuate them to an aid station, which was threatened by the attack as well.  

Smith promptly organized the engineers' defense, since the only thing that stood between the Iraqis and the Task Force's headquarters were about 15 to 20 engineers, mortarmen and medics. A second M113 was hit by an RPG, but was still operational. Dozens of Iraqi soldiers were charging from the gate or scaling a section of the wall, jumping into the courtyard.  

Smith took over the second APC's .50-caliber machine gun and got the vehicle into a position where he could stop the Iraqis. First Sergeant Tim Campbell realized that they had to knock out the Iraqi position in the tower and after consulting with Smith, led two soldiers to take the tower. Armed only with a light machine-gun, a rifle and a pistol with one magazine, the trio advanced behind the smoke of tall grass that had caught fire from exploding ammunition. 

Smith yelled for more ammunition three times during the fight, going through 400 rounds before he was hit in the head. Shortly before taking the tower and gunning down the Iraqis inside, Campbell noticed that the sound of Smith's .50-caliber had also stopped. Campbell figured Smith was just reloading again. 

The medics worked on SFC Smith for 30 minutes, but he was dead.  

According to the citation, his actions killed 20 to 50 Iraqis, allowing the American wounded to be evacuated, saving the aid station and headquarters (as well as possibly 100 American lives). Fellow soldiers credit Smith with thwarting the advance of well-trained, well-equipped soldiers from the Special Republican Guard, which was headed straight for the 2-7 Task Force's headquarters (Tactical Operations Center), less than a half-mile away. The battle captains, commanders and journalists huddled at the operations center were trying to protect themselves against tank fire and snipers in the nearby woods They had no idea about the possible onslaught of Republican Guard from the nearby complex. 

Smith, a veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, was a 33 year old from Tampa, Florida. He left behind a wife, a son and a daughter.  

Memorials to SFC Paul Ray Smith, online at: http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif/profiles/smithpaulr.html http://www.sfcpaulsmith.com/.


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## Tgace (Sep 9, 2004)

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- When Marine Maj. Neal F. Pugliese thinks about the events that led to him being awarded a Bronze Star Medal, it's not his personal accomplishments that come to mind. 

What he sees is a Bronze Star reflecting the actions of a team - the entire 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) and the Marine Corps as a whole. 

Pugliese, the anti-terrorism force protection officer for Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Eastern Recruiting Region, was presented with the Bronze Star with a combat "V" device here Feb. 4. The award was for actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as executive officer of Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines of the 15th MEU (SOC) . 

Pugliese served as executive officer of the BLT in March and April 2003, encountering many challenges and obstacles. 

"First and foremost, Marines don't take awards lightly," said Col. Michael Malachowsky, Depot chief of staff. "We don't hand them out to just anyone. For him to get the Bronze Star with combat 'V' is quite an accomplishment. Not many Marines are walking around with awards for combat valor." 

Pugliese felt the honor was a direct representation of the efforts of all involved. "I am humbled by this award," he said. "I think that there are others that are certainly more deserving than I am, and I hope that they get recognized." 

According to the Bronze Star Medal citation, "His coolness, demeanor, and aggressive spirit were inspirational and directly influenced the outcome of each action." 

One such action was on Mar. 21 after he led troops to seize the Iraqi police headquarters and United Nations compound. The Maritime Special Purpose Force came under 82mm mortar fire from elements of the Iraqi 45th Infantry Brigade. The intensity and duration required the forces to fall back, consolidate and return fire to silence the Iraqi threat. He then rallied his men and personally led the attack taking the assigned objective. 

Pugliese adamantly defers any credit bestowed on him as only a reflection of the team of which he was a member. 

"I am not great, the Marines around me are great," he said. "The Marines around me made me look good. I don't have any special qualities. I don't have any special formula. Don't look at me as an individual, look at me as part of a team, and the other part of that team is the Marines." 

That team effort was evenly distributed throughout the 15th MEU, from its leadership all the way down to its junior Marines. 

"We had fantastic leadership over there," he said. "We were led by an absolutely superb officer. Brigadier General Thomas D. Waldhauser provided us with superb common-sense leadership as the MEU commander. Lieutenant Colonel Alvah Ingersoll provided us with phenomenal leadership at the BLT level. All of the folks who supported us logistically, the MSSG, created the conditions that allowed us to continue with our operations." 

Pugliese is quick to place the credit on the shoulders of those he served with, as well as those who trained the Marines he served with. 

"It is a testament to our Marines and how we train them," he said. "The Marines did an absolutely fantastic job, despite the numbers. We don't train our people to become overwhelmed. In the Marines we have a saying, 'We don't get overwhelmed. We eat that elephant one bite at a time.'" 

Anyone can become overwhelmed when they are not trained properly. That is exactly what Pugliese believes is the key to troop welfare. 

"Years ago, I had several conversations with some absolutely outstanding sergeants major," said Pugliese. "We were talking about welfare of the troops. Welfare of the troops to some people is getting them food, water, sleep and pay. The sergeants major that I talked to said, 'Welfare for the troops is making sure that you train them hard so that when you get into these shooting situations you can bring everybody home.' That's the best thing you can do - train them hard. If you work them hard, you are preparing them." 

What is best for Marines in Pugliese's eyes is the continuation of time-tested methods. 

"We need to continue to train our Marines to have initiative, aggressiveness and be bold. If we can instill that, that's 90 percent of the fight right there," he said. 

Pugliese left Iraq with more than a medal. He came out of the experience with an admiration for the job that Marines do. 

"What was most rewarding was seeing the Marines be able to conduct what we call a three-block war," he said. "We had the Marines who would be involved in some action, and the next block over, they are doing work to rebuild schools." 

"The next block over, they are handing out humanitarian aid, and then, the next block over, they are conducting a patrol," he said. 

"These Marines were able to shift back and forth between hostilities and humanitarian work, which showed an incredible amount of flexibility and agility," added Pugliese. 

Although Pugliese gives credit to the Marines of the 15th MEU, he felt a need to give attention to those Marines who are now going to Iraq in support of OIF II. 

"The folks who really need our support right now are those Marines who are heading out for a second time to Iraq," he said. "I have no doubt that they are going to do absolutely fantastic work."


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## Tgace (Oct 14, 2004)

OK this one did make the news...



http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/971CBB051DC237A885256EA000698DEB?opendocument


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## rmcrobertson (Oct 14, 2004)

Question: how exactly is it that a story taken from "The Wall Street Journal," didn't make the news?


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## Sapper6 (Oct 14, 2004)

rmcrobertson said:
			
		

> Question: how exactly is it that a story taken from "The Wall Street Journal," didn't make the news?



perhaps he was talking about loud, national, on all networks kind of news.  i saw his point and he is right.  it's rather easy these days for the retards running the liberal media outlet to bash and belittle what the men and women are doing over there and how we "shouldnt" be there or whatever.  all that crap is overshadowing the more important things that are happening like the actions of the soldiers behind the above mentioned articles; not to mention the hundreds of thousands of folks who now have electricity, running water, school books, etc.  you wont hear about all the good stuff happening over there or elsewhere, only the bad.  that is what tgrace is referring to. :asian:


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## Tgace (Oct 14, 2004)

:asian:


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## Tgace (Oct 14, 2004)

http://www.dcmilitary.com/airforce/beam/9_02/national_news/27092-1.html

January 16, 2004 
Roche unveils memorial for Air Force hero
Air Force technical sergeant honored for valor in combat 

The secretary of the Air Force unveiled a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Jan. 8 to honor the service's highest-decorated combat controller. 

Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, was killed March 4, 2002, while fighting against the Taliban during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. He was posthumously decorated with the nation's second-highest award for valor, the Air Force Cross. 

The memorial, a glass-enclosed life-size model of a combat controller in full combat gear, features Chapman's award citation and photos of him on duty in Afghanistan. It will remain on display in the cemetery's visitor center until March 15, after which it will move to Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters at Hurlburt Field, Fla., for two weeks. The display then will travel to the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Museum at the Gunter Annex of Maxwell AFB, Ala., where it will be permanently displayed beginning March 31. 

A duplicate memorial will be on permanent display at Lackland AFB, Texas. 

"This display exemplifies all we value in the Air Force," Air Force Secretary Dr. James G. Roche told Chapman's relatives and representatives of the combat control career field. "John's personal bravery in the face of the enemy was emblematic of the warrior ethos." 

According to his award citation, Chapman was attached to a Navy SEAL team when their helicopter was hit by enemy machinegun fire. A rocket-propelled grenade then hit the helicopter, causing a SEAL team member to fall from the aircraft into enemy-held territory. 

Chapman called in an AC-130 gunship to protect the stranded team after the helicopter made an emergency landing more than four miles from the fallen SEAL. 

After calling in another helicopter to evacuate his stranded team, Chapman volunteered to rescue his missing team member from the enemy stronghold. He engaged and killed two of the enemy before advancing and engaging a second enemy position -- a dug-in machinegun nest. 

From close range, the citation reads, Chapman exchanged fire with the enemy from minimum personal cover until he succumbed to multiple wounds. His engagement and destruction of the first enemy position, and advancement on the second enemy position, enabled his team to move to cover and break enemy contact. 

The Navy SEAL leader praised Chapman unequivocally with saving the lives of the entire team. 

"It takes a particular breed of warrior to accomplish these missions," said Senior Master Sgt. James Lyons, commandant of the Air Force Combat Control School. "[It takes] an exceptional brand of courage, as well as confidence and patriotism, not to mention just a little bit of daring." 

The memorial's unveiling comes nearly a year to the day after Roche and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper presented the Air Force Cross to Chapman's widow, Valerie. 

"John died fighting terrorism, and we continue to live free today because of his sacrifice and the sacrifices of others," the secretary said. 

Chapman's aunt and uncle, Sallie and Dale Chapman, helped Roche unveil the memorial, pulling off the olive drab parachute that had covered it. 

"It's wonderful; what a tribute," Sallie Chapman said, her voice breaking with emotion. "My favorite part is the photo of him holding the [Afghan] child. I think they captured, in just this small display, every part of him."


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## Tgace (Oct 14, 2004)

Knew this man personally. A very good person...

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/256861.html


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## rmcrobertson (Oct 15, 2004)

How in the hell is "The Wall Street Journal," not "loud, national, on all networks," news? They have the biggest business paper in the world, a Sunday talk show, they're cited endlessly...

I love this, "the poor, picked upon Pentagon." Alas for beleaguered corporations!! The immensely wealthy need YOUR help! sort of stuff.

Oh, and just incidentally, I don't find it surprising in the least that members of our armed services behaved heroically, in the best traditions of their country and their service. 

I find it shocking that a Frank Burns type like our current Prez--who, let us not forget, ducked out (like his VP, his Sec. of Defense) on service himself--acts like a parasite on their service and their heroism and their decency.


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## Sapper6 (Oct 15, 2004)

hey Robert, take a chill pill man.  no need for you coming in the thread yelling and trying to prove your point about the WSJ.  the fact is no, just because these articles "might have" made it to page 7 in that paper doenst mean it necessarily made the news.  and no, it's still not loud, across the country, on all networks news coverage!  this is a thread to honor the actions of our servicemen and women, and what GOOD they are doing over there.  regardless of how you feel about the war, our president, or whatever twisted views you have, don't pollute the thread with your biased opinions!  stay on topic or stay the hell out of it :asian:


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## Sapper6 (Oct 15, 2004)

Did you see the big headline or watch the top-of-the-newscast story about the success of our sons and daughters in Samarra, Iraq?

Of course, you didn't.

I found mention deep in stories from The Christian Science Monitor and The Associated Press. But it took e-mails from Marine officers in Iraq to relay the importance of this positive news  so I could tell you.

It shouldn't be this way. Yet journalism in America is broken. It has no foundation of values by which many Americans can relate and depend. The moral of this column is not about one side prevailing in news coverage on the war on terror. It's simply about fairness  about Americans getting both sides with the same prominence.

They're not. And media emphasis on Iraq being in chaos has coincided with John Kerry making the same pitch to voters. It makes you wonder, just as we did on the authenticity of Dan Rather's reporting. And now America knows about Rather's ruse.

''Samarra is a beaming success story over here,'' writes Lt. Col Jim Rose, a Tennessee Marine whose parents live in Old Hickory. ''We were getting ready for a take-down there right after Najaf. We told the locals, 'Hey, see what happened in Najaf? Is that what you want? Cause we're coming.' It took the locals about two days to get the bad guys out.''

Rose is based in the Sunni Triangle. That's where most U.S. casualties occur, where the Sunnis are supportive of terrorists coming in. Fallujah is there, along with Samarra and Najaf, where Marines drove terrorists out of one of Islam's holiest shrines.

Rose verified a message I received from another Marine officer in Iraq. He provided perspective missing in the media: ''Those achievements, more than anything else  account for the surge in violence in recent days  especially the violence directed at Iraqis by the insurgents. Both in Najaf and Samarra, ordinary people stepped out and took sides with the Iraqi government against the insurgents, and the bad guys are hopping mad. They are trying to instill fear once again.''

Rose asked: ''Why isn't the media covering Samarra?''

Instead, we get what reader Jim League of Smyrna complains about. He cited a picture and story featured at the top of Page 13A in Saturday's Tennessean:

''The perhaps 100 protesters get front-and-center billing, and the impression is that all of Iraq is unhappy. What is missing is perspective. Imagine a foreigner perusing the front page of The Tennessean. He reads about a 15-year-old-boy being chained to his bed for six weeks. Would he be justified in believing that all parents in America constrain their children? If he had no perspective and if his impression was selectively reinforced by subtle media or political pundits, this could be possible.''

Exactly. And what we get on TV is also just one side. Consider this story Rose saw reported: ''I was going through the battle damage assessment at my desk with NBC's Today on the TV. The attack occurred in the middle of the night. I had the footage of the attack on my computer, and here's Katie Couric (or whoever hosts it) showing the same bomb location.

''I had pictures of the bombed vehicles, which is how I knew she was talking about the same location. The next shot is kids being carried into a hospital. We had eyes on this for a long time. If there were kids in there, they were toting weapons or the terrorists used them as human shields. 

''I went to our Combat Operations Center and walked into them watching the same thing. I verified what I thought and spoke with our intelligence guys. They said the whole thing was staged and probably old footage. They track the footage and have seen repeat footage shown in the past. They also said to look at the footage and see if it makes sense. More often than not, it doesn't  pulling a child from rubble with relatively clean clothes. ''

Is NBC wrong and the Marines right? Americans deserve both sides to make up their minds.

''The Najaf shrine  HUNDREDS of dead women and children were brought out after Sadr left,'' Rose wrote. ''They (Sadr's supporters) rounded them up during the battle and brought them in to be executed. Why? Because they anticipated the Americans would eventually enter the shrine and walk into a media ambush. We never went in. The people of Najaf love us right now because of that. They hate Sadr and want him dead.

''Have you heard that one yet (in the media)?''

No we haven't. We just get one side. That's bad journalism  by a news media acting in concert with Kerry. 

Tim Chavez is a columnist with The Tennessean. Contact him at tchavez@Tennessean.com or (615) 771-5428.


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## Sapper6 (Oct 15, 2004)

hey Robert,

here are just a few things the "terrible Bush" has done for the people of Iraq.  

According to a UNICEF report at the end of 2003, more than 3 1/2 million children had been immunized.

Again, according to an April, 2004 report from UNICEF, school attendance in Iraq increased by 60 percent shortly after the war to more than 95 percent during the recent national exam week.

UNICEF says that as of April, 2004, more than 2,500 schools have been renovated with the goal of 4,000 being completed by the end of the year, but 10,000 more need repair.

In a November, 2003 interview on National Public Radio, Andrew Natsios of the U.S. Agency for International Development said that the port at Umm Qasar, Iraq's largest, is modern and functioning for the first time in 20 years.

Because of disrepair and looting, it took a lot of work to get hospitals back up to speed but according to James Haverman, the Coalition Provisional Authority Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, all 240 hospitals in Iraq as well as 2400 primary health care clinics were operating as of December, 2003.

On March 8, 2004, an interim constitution that defines Iraq as being "federal, democratic and pluralist" was signed by members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

According to Human Rights Watch, Iraqi girls and women have enjoyed comparatively more rights than in some of the other countries of the Middle East.
The Iraqi Constitution of 1970 included women's rights for voting, attending school, owning property, and running for office.
Still, the status of women in Iraq has not always been the best because of other cultural and economic factors such as the aftermath of the 1991 war and economic sanctions.
School attendance for girls has not been prohibited although more boys than girls have been enrolled, especially in rural areas.

Not only are U.S. soldiers demonstrating field sanitation and hand washing, but UNICEF is conducting an active health education program to improve personal hygiene and promote more hand washing.

According to published reports, a team of U.S. appointed Iraqi educators combed through more than 500 Iraqi textbooks and removed every mention of Saddam Hussein and the Baath
party including pictures.
The texts will probably be revised by the Iraqis at some point in the future, but the pre-war texts were dominated with Saddam Hussein.


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## oldnewbie (Oct 15, 2004)

Thanks for bringing these great stories to light.

Wish we could hear these on the major networks as much as we hear the "news"


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## rmcrobertson (Oct 15, 2004)

"Yes, it's just TEN ration POINTS for a Big, BIG, Half-ounce bar!"

Robert A. Heinlein, invented government propaganda.

Lemme see here...you're taking your stuff from WSJ, "Christian Science Monitor," and National Public Radio (wait!! I thought NPR was a group of Bush-bashing commies!!!), but there's a suppression of the Good News From Iraq. 

And...uh...lemme check....yes....the guy who calls himself "Sapper 6," uses a death-shead avatar, writes, "it's rather easy these days for the retards running the liberal media outlet to bash and belittle," offers long, long quotes, and responds with comments like, "regardless of how you feel about the war, our president, or whatever twisted views you have, don't pollute the thread with your biased opinions! stay on topic or stay the hell out," is offended by the way I write....

OK, on topic: simply because "the media," isn't reprinting every single piece of government and military propaganda on page 1, it hardly means that they're the Red Menace. And also on topic, and returning to the ration points quote: I used to read the same bright, chirpy articles about How Much They Love Us during the Vietnam War. At the time, I believed them.

Buck up, dude. It's only words.


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## Brother John (Oct 15, 2004)

Sapper6 said:
			
		

> perhaps he was talking about loud, national, on all networks kind of news.  i saw his point and he is right.  it's rather easy these days for the retards running the liberal media outlet to bash and belittle what the men and women are doing over there and how we "shouldnt" be there or whatever.  all that crap is overshadowing the more important things that are happening like the actions of the soldiers behind the above mentioned articles; not to mention the hundreds of thousands of folks who now have electricity, running water, school books, etc.  you wont hear about all the good stuff happening over there or elsewhere, only the bad.  that is what tgrace is referring to. :asian:


Yes, these things do not make it to the Larger Mass media that most people pay attention to like drones...
Aka: CBS, NBC, ABC....NPR....
etc.

agreed.
Thank you for sharing these with us.

Your Brother
John


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

The Soldiers You Never Hear About

Theyre not all prisoner-abusers, you know.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article appears in the June 14, 2004, issue of National Review.

Ask Americans to name some of our soldiers in Iraq and chances are they'll readily identify Lynndie England, Charles Graner Jr., Jeremy Sivits, and Ivan "Chip" Frederick II. The three major networks have run over 200 stories on the detainee-abuse scandal, making the seven disgraced soldiers assigned to Abu Ghraib the most recognizable faces of American service in Iraq. The media's line of attack against the war is revealed in its selective coverage of our soldiers: All villains and victims, no valor. Not one of the heroes decorated for bravery in Iraq has received a minute of coverage from ABC, CBS, or NBC. National newspapers have run hundreds of stories on the scandalous service of the Abu Ghraib seven, but have made no mention of another seven whose stories of service could be recounted with Steven Seagal cast in the lead.


In early May, Marine Captain Brian Chontosh, Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Perez, and Marine Sergeant Marco Martinez were awarded Navy Crosses for extraordinary heroism, an award second only to the Medal of Honor. Army Sergeant Gerald Wolford, Army Sergeant Major Michael Stack, Marine Staff Sergeant Adam Sikes, and Marine Corporal Armand McCormick  and 123 others  have been awarded Silver Stars for outstanding valor in combat. The stories of these courageous men represent the dedication of the tens of thousands of soldiers serving bravely and honorably in Iraq far better than the actions of a derelict nightshift in two isolated cell blocks. 

On March 25, 2003, then-Lieutenant Brian R. Chontosh, 29, of Rochester, N.Y., was leading his platoon on Highway 1 south of Baghdad when his troops came under a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic-weapons fire. With the road ahead blocked, Chontosh realized his men were caught in a kill zone. He ordered his driver to advance directly into the enemy trench. Chontosh leapt from his vehicle and began firing with his rifle and pistol. But his ammunition ran out. "With complete disregard for his safety," according to the citation, "he twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack.... When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others." 

After being awarded the Navy Cross, Captain Chontosh said, "I was just doing my job, I did the same thing every other Marine would have done, it was just a passion and love for my Marines." Two of those Marines  Corporals Armand E. McCormick, 22, and Robert P. Kerman, 21  received Silver Stars, the service's third-highest award, for their "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in pressing the assault forward in that trench. Two days after the award ceremony at Camp Pendleton, McCormick redeployed to Iraq. 

During the First Marine Expeditionary Force's advance to Baghdad, Lance Corporal Joseph B. Perez's platoon came under intense fire. As point man for the lead squad he was its most exposed member. Perez, 23, returned fire continuously while also directing accurate fire from his squad. He led a charge into a trench, killed the enemy combatants there, and, under "tremendous" fire, threw a grenade into another trench. Perez continued shooting with "precision rifle fire" and despite serious gunshot wounds directed his squad to take cover and reorganize, enabling them to defeat the enemy. 

Then-Corporal Marco A. Martinez, 22, was coming to the aid of an ambushed platoon during the battle of Al Tarmiya on April 12, 2003, when his squad leader was wounded and he took command of the assault along the Tigris River. With his squad under fire from a nearby building, and "enduring intense enemy fire and without regard for his own personal safety," he launched a captured rocket-propelled grenade into the building, allowing a wounded Marine to be evacuated. Martinez then single-handedly assaulted the building and killed four enemy soldiers with a grenade and his rifle. "I just wanted to take care of my squad. I didn't want to quit on them," he later explained.

In the same battle, Staff Sergeant Adam R. Sikes, 27  who had cancelled plans to attend Georgetown University "so he wouldn't miss the war in Iraq"  was pinned down when the ambush struck but rallied two of his squads to counterattack. "With the squads in position, Staff Sergeant Sikes charged alone across 70 meters of fire-swept ground to close on the first enemy strongpoint, which he cleared with a grenade and rifle fire." Sikes then moved to the top of a three-story building and, exposed to enemy fire, directed mortar rounds onto enemy positions. Finally, he moved to a squad that had taken casualties and managed their evacuation  again under fire. "So many people are pouring their hearts out over there, trying to make things right," Sikes said at the award ceremony.

Staff Sergeant Gerald A. Wolford of the 82nd Airborne Division received the Silver Star for his actions during a four-hour battle to secure three river crossings in As Samawah. Wolford placed his heavy-machine-gun vehicle between the enemy and the dismounted infantrymen accompanying him. When the vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, he ordered his crew to pull out while he remained to direct fire on the enemy position. "For the remainder of the fight, SSG Wolford continually exposed himself to enemy fire as he made efforts to aid others to withdraw." 

Sergeant Major Michael B. Stack's Special Forces team came under fire on April 11 when they were traveling from Baghdad to Al Hillah. Providing rear security for the convoy, Stack, 48, immediately began to fire so others could escape from the kill zone. He led a security force to eliminate the remaining threat and allow for the evacuation of casualties, and then prepared for a counterattack. But the enemy concentrated fire on his vehicle and an explosion killed him instantly. The South Carolina father of six  and grandfather of three  was awarded the Silver Star posthumously. "We're doing the right thing," Stack had told his older brother, retired from the Army. 

The death of Corporal Pat Tillman (who had left the National Football League) received plenty of press coverage, but the courage and self-sacrifice that merited his posthumous Silver Star was little reported. Tillman was a team leader in an Army Ranger platoon that was ambushed in southeastern Afghanistan. He and his team members were safely out of the area of attack when the tail section of their convoy became pinned down in rough terrain. Tillman ordered his team to dismount and take the fight up a hill toward enemy forces; it was there that he was killed. Once his team had engaged the enemy, fire directed at the convoy's tail section diminished and those soldiers escaped the ambush with no casualties. 

Tillman's unit commander, Lieutenant David Uthlaut, was seriously wounded in that attack. Uthlaut was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets for his West Point class of 2001; Rhodes Scholarship material, he chose to serve in Iraq. Twelve West Point graduates have been killed to date in Iraq.

More than 3,700 Purple Hearts have been awarded to our troops in Iraq. Private First Class Quintin D. Graves, 19, joined the Marine Corps last July, and now wears two Purple Hearts. Calling his mother for the second time in less than a month, "I tried to explain it wasn't that bad," he said. "I couldn't lie and say I'm not around the fighting. That lie doesn't work anymore." Marine Corporal Thomas W. Kuster, a 28-year-old from California, has three Purple Hearts. Last year he was wounded in Baghdad. "They got me once," he explained. "I figured they weren't getting me again." But they did  during street fighting in April, and then at a checkpoint outside Fallujah. A bullet was removed from the back of his knee and he walks with a limp, but he's back on duty. "My parents begged me to come home," Kuster said. "But, I felt like if I was to go, I'd be turning my back on my Marines."

The only American name most people recognize from the fierce three-day battle at Mazar-e-Sharif is that of John Walker Lindh, the Taliban kid from Marin County. While Lindh was disgracing himself, Army Special Forces Major Mark Mitchell was earning the first Distinguished Service Cross awarded since the Vietnam War. Vastly outnumbered, Mitchell led 15 Special Forces troops and allied fighters to rescue a CIA agent, recover Johnny "Mike" Spann's body, and prevent a Taliban takeover of the fortress. During the fighting, Mitchell used the unwound turban of an allied soldier to scale a 35-foot-high wall of the compound and then directed air strikes from his exposed position. CIA director George Tenet attended the ceremony last November recognizing Mitchell for "extraordinary heroism in action." 

The Ranger Creed that inspired the bravery of Pat Tillman reads, in part: "Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country." It's too bad the media will under no circumstances tell the remarkable stories of these and other soldiers and Marines, who bring great credit to themselves, their services, and their country.


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

Special Forces soldier awarded Silver Star for heroism in Afghanistan
By Sgt. Kyle J. Cosner
U.S. Army Special Operations Command

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.  A 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldier here received the Armys third highest valor award during a ceremony here Thursday for his actions in a January 2002 raid on a suspected al Qaeda stronghold in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Master Sgt. Anthony S. Pryor, a team sergeant with Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th SFG (Abn.), received the Silver Star Medal for his gallantry in combat during the raid when he single-handedly eliminated four enemy soldiers, including one in unarmed combat, all while under intense automatic weapons fire and with a crippling injury.
Receiving this award is overwhelming, but  this isnt a story about one guy, Pryor said of the events that led to his Silver Star. Its a story about the whole company instead of an award on the chest. If the guys hadnt done what they were supposed to do, (the mission) wouldve been a huge failure. 
I just did what I had to do, he said, recalling his hand-to-hand struggle against the suspected terrorists. It wasnt a heroic act  it was second-nature. I won, and I moved forward.
During the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey C. Lambert, commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Abn.) said that Pryor was a perfect example of the Special Forces mentality.
About a year ago  I said to Tony, what did you think when that fellow knocked your night-vision goggles off, pulled your arm out of its socket and was twisting it, all while you were fighting with your other hand? Lambert said. And (Pryor) said, its show time. He must have meant what he said, because he earned that Silver Star. Think about a cold, black night; think about fighting four guys at the same time, and somebody jumps on your back and starts beating you with a board. Think about the problems youd have to solve  and he did.
This is the singular hand-to-hand combat story that I have heard from this war, Lambert added. When it came time to play, he played, and he did it right.
On Jan. 23, 2002, Pryors company received an order from the U.S. Central Command to conduct their fourth combat mission of the war - a sensitive site exploitation of two compounds suspected of harboring Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists in the mountains of Afghanistan. 
Because of the presence of women and children within the compounds, Pryor said aerial bombardment was not considered an option. Once on the ground there, the company was to search for key leadership, communications equipment, maps and other intelligence. 
Sgt. 1st Class Scott Neil was one of the team members there with Pryor that night at the second compound. A Special Forces weapons sergeant, he fought on Pryors team as a cell leader and found himself momentarily pinned down by the sudden hail of bullets after the teams position was compromised.
After the initial burst of automatic weapons fire, we returned fire in the breezeway, Neil said. It was a mental spur  after we heard the words lets go, everything just kind of kicked in.
Moments later, though, the team became separated in the confusion, but with the situation desperate for the Special Forces soldiers against a determined and larger-than-expected enemy, Pryor and one of his teammates kept moving forward, room to room. They began to enter a room together, but another enemy soldier outside the room distracted the team member, so he stayed outside to return fire.
Pryor first encountered an enemy that was charging out of the room and assisted in eliminating him. Then, without hesitation, Pryor moved ahead into the room and found himself alone with three more enemy soldiers.
According to Pryor, the next two enemies he saw were firing their weapons out of the back of the room at his men that were still outside the compound.
I went in, and there were some windows that they were trying to get their guns out of to shoot at our guys that hadnt caught up yet, he said. So I went from left to right, indexed down and shot those guys up. I realized that I was well into halfway through my magazine, so I started to change magazines. Then I felt something behind me, and thought it was (one of my teammates)  thats when things started going downhill.
Pryor said it was an enemy soldier, a larger-than-normal Afghan, who had snuck up on him.
There was a guy back behind me, and he whopped me on the shoulder with something, and crumpled me down.
Pryor would later learn that he had sustained a broken clavicle and a dislocated shoulder during the attack.
Then he jumped up on my back, broke my night-vision goggles off and starting getting his fingers in my eyeballs. I pulled him over, and when I hit down on the ground, it popped my shoulder back in.
Pryor said that after he stood up, he was face to face with his attacker. Pryor eliminated the man during their hand-to-hand struggle.
Pryor had now put down all four enemies, but the fight wasnt over yet.
I was trying to feel around in the dark for my night-vision goggles, and thats when the guys Id already killed decided that they werent dead yet.
Pryor said that it was then a race to see who could get their weapons up first, and the enemy soldiers lost. He then left the room and rejoined the firefight outside. When the battle ended, 21 enemy soldiers had been killed. There were no American causalities, and Pryor had been the only soldier injured. 
The announcement of the award and the circumstances around it has shifted an intense public focus onto Pryor, who has used every opportunity to shift that focus away from himself and onto the soldiers of his team for their own efforts in the successful raid.
Tony is getting a Silver Star because he entered a room by himself, and he engaged the enemy by himself, said Sgt. 1st Class James Hogg, a Special Forces medical sergeant on Pryors team. He elevated his pure soldier instinct and went to the next level, and thats what this award is recognizing. He didnt stop after his initial battle, and continued to lead.
Leading his soldiers, despite his injuries, is something Neil said that Pryor couldnt seem to stop doing.
As soon as he left that room, he came running up to me and wanted to know if everybody was okay, Neil said, describing Pryor after he had emerged from his four-on-one fight. He never mentioned anything about what went on  and during the whole objective and as the firefight continued, he never stopped. He was always mission-first, and thats what his Silver Star is all about. 
Pryor is the third Special Forces soldier to receive the Silver Star Medal for actions during Operation Enduring Freedom. The other two, Master Sgt. Jefferson Davis and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, also of the 5th SFG (Abn.), received theirs posthumously.
- 30 -
[Sgt. Kyle J. Cosner is assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office at Fort Bragg, N.C.]


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

And some knucklehead (and if you listened to that knucklehead you knew he was a knucklehead) who abuses prisoners gets HIS face on all the major networks...
:idunno:


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## PeachMonkey (Jan 19, 2005)

Tgace said:
			
		

> And some knucklehead (and if you listened to that knucklehead you knew he was a knucklehead) who abuses prisoners gets HIS face on all the major networks...



As much as we may all want the media to simply become echoing mouthpieces for the administration and the military (more so than they were during the runup and invasion of Iraq, even), common sense tells us that it's not really groundbreaking news that the United States has a long tradition of valor and courage in its armed forces running all the way back to the colonial period.

Abuse and torture of prisoners, however, is very much a violation of everything that we've always claimed to hold dear, and as such, qualifies as news that people need to be informed of, desperately -- particularly since such abuse was clearly developed as policy at the highest levels.


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

Lets see those photos from Abu Graib one more time...I dont think everybody in the country has seen them at least 10 times yet. We can just forget stories like this, nobody is interested in them.

Two Receive Soldiers Medal for Lifesaving Heroism
By Coalition Press Information Center, Baghdad, Iraq
American Forces Press Service

ASAD, Iraq, Dec. 23, 2004 -- Instant decisions and decisive action led to two soldiers receiving the Soldiers Medal here Dec. 18 for heroism in a fight to save the lives of four Cobra AH-1 attack helicopter pilots March 29.

Staff Sgt. Spencer A. Howell and crew chief Spc. Eric S. Burns of the 507th Air Ambulance Company each received the Soldiers Medal from Marine Maj. Gen. Keith J. Stalder, commander of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The Soldiers Medal is the highest award given for noncombat heroism.

The events leading to the soldiers' receiving the medals would have tested the strength and reaction times of any well rested soldier, but the two had just returned from Al Taqaddum Air Base on an urgent medical evacuation mission.

After hearing a loud noise and seeing a flash of light, the duo realized two helicopters had collided. Without hesitation, Burns reported the collision and raced along with Howell to the crash site.

Howell explained the scene as he saw it. "While the rescue was taking place from first sight, both aircraft looked completely destroyed and pieces of the airframe were scattered everywhere," he said. Quinn's report described one helicopter on its side, and said the pilots could be seen trying to exit.

The other helicopter was situated upside down with the pilots still trapped inside, and the engines of the second helicopter were still running, on fire, and with electrical power still applied to the armed missiles, rockets and 20 mm onboard ammunitions. Both men began to extract the pilots from the second helicopter after Burns had quickly helped the two pilots escape from the first.

The canopy was still intact and restricting access to the cockpit, Quinn said. Both pilots were trapped as the flames continued to build. If the scene was not chaotic enough, a C-130 Hercules transport plane landed on the runway just feet from the scene, and the wingtip passed within feet of the burning wreckage, causing huge vortices that fanned the fire.

Firefighters arrived within moments of the collision and began spraying down the wreckage, which tended to push the flames toward the pilots. The flames were channeled up and over the aircraft, singeing the rescuers' hair, but the two remained steadfast.

This wasn't the final challenge Howell and Burns had to face. The pilot in the rear station was a large man, and all his weight was directly against the shoulder harnesses, making the release mechanism unusable. Howell, knowing time was precious, broke open the canopy and cut the jammed harnesses off the pilot with a survival knife.

Howell carried the pilot from the burning wreckage, then returned to help Burns, who was working to release an unconscious front-seat pilot as water, foam and flames encroached on them.

Burns removed all harnesses, but couldn't remove the pilot, whose foot was stuck in the wreckage. When Howell returned to help Burns, he lifted the pilot's weight and Burns reached into the twisted wreckage of the cockpit. With surgical skill, he cut the pilot's boot off.

After both pilots were released and carried to safety, Howell rendered medical aid to all four pilots and accompanied them to the battalion aid station. News of the soldiers' heroic efforts and successful rescue spread worldwide.

Burns was named the Dustoff Association's crew chief of the year. The Dustoff Association is a nonprofit organization for Army Medical Department personnel involved in aviation evacuation programs in war or peace.

Although Burns has had training in medical evacuation, he attributes knowing what to do in emergencies such as the one which saved the pilots' lives as "70 percent learned on the job."

"I was totally focused on saving the pilots, because they would have done the same if the roles were reversed," Burns said. He said he was just doing his job, and that anyone else in the 507th would have done the same.

Burns is from Arnold, Mo., and graduated from Fox High School there. Howell is originally from the Island of St. Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean. His family relocated to Pontiac, Mich., where he graduated from Pontiac Central High School. Both are active duty soldiers in the 507th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), Fort Hood, Texas.


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

Oh yes its "common sense tells us that it's not really groundbreaking news that the United States has a long tradition of valor and courage in its armed forces running all the way back to the colonial period." Nobody is trying to paint a picture of our servicemen as blood thirsty abusers who shoot unarmed injured Iraqis, or systamtic torturers, Invaders etc. etc. etc. Those are "isolated incidents" and most of our troops are brave and honorable people right?


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## PeachMonkey (Jan 19, 2005)

Tgace said:
			
		

> Nobody is trying to paint a picture of our servicemen as blood thirsty abusers who shoot unarmed injured Iraqis, or systamtic torturers, Invaders etc. etc. etc. Those are "isolated incidents" and most of our troops are brave and honorable people right?



Yep, most of our troops are brave and honorable.  On the news, I see stories every day about soldiers that have nothing to do with Abu Ghraib.  The only people I see trying to paint US servicemen as "blood thirsty abusers" are insurgents.

There are incidents where US soldiers commit atrocities, and it's important that those events are documented clearly and punished, and that if responsibility for these acts leads up the chain of command, it be taken.  Would you disagree?  Perhaps we should try to hide the acts of these people?


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

Every car bomb that goes off is "news" but did anybody hear about this guy....just "routine" heroism I guess....

From contemporary press reports: 
September 13, 2002: 

There have been times in this country when the armed services dead numbered in the hundreds and sometimes thousands each week. 

But the death of one man can still move thousands to tears, and at Kirtland Air Force Base on Friday, the tears flowed freely in memory of Senior Airman Jason Cunningham. 

In awarding the Air Force Cross to Cunningham on Friday, Air Force Secretary James G. Roche, his voice breaking, said, "On behalf of a grateful service and a grateful nation, we present this award representing extraordinary heroism as a symbol of our deep gratitude for his service," Roche said. 

The medal was presented to Cunningham's widow, Theresa, who pressed a handkerchief to her face and was comforted by Technical Sergeant Keary Miller, who served as a fellow pararescuer with Cunningham in Afghanistan. 

Cunningham was killed by enemy fire during a rescue mission March 4, 2002, and was buried March 11, 2002, in Arlington National Cemetery. 

Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Gerald Murray said that only 22 airmen have been awarded the Air Force Cross, the service's highest award, and only two, including Cunningham, had received the award since the end of the Vietnam War. 

The ceremony began with a film montage of Cunningham's youth, including his years growing up in Carlsbad, and his later years and marriage before going to Afghanistan in February. 

In March, Cunningham was among 13 troops in a 52-foot-long Chinook helicopter headed for Takurghar Mountain near the village of Marzak, in the Paktia province. 

The al-Qaida forces opened fire, and rocket-propelled grenades ripped into the helicopter. A group of combat troops jumped out of the helicopter and started shooting back, Miller said. 

Two American soldiers were initially killed. Miller pulled one to the rear, while Cunningham attended other casualties under sniper and mortar fire. 

The Air Force said Cunningham continued treating 10 wounded servicemen, moving them three times, once through a direct line of fire, after he had been shot. He probably saved all their lives. He died seven hours after being hit. 

Air strikes were called against the al-Qaida forces, which Miller described as extremely effective. 

The Battle of Takurghar was the deadliest day of combat for an American unit since 18 rangers and special operation soldiers died in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. 

The Air Force Cross is awarded for extraordinary heroism displayed by U.S. and foreign military personnel and civilians. The only higher award is the Medal of Honor. 

The Air Force Cross awarded to Cunningham was only the second awarded since the close of the Vietnam war. The other one was given to Technical Sergeant Timothy A. Wilkinson in 1993 who, like Cunningham, was a pararescuer. Wilkinson repeatedly braved enemy fire while wounded to rescue and treat servicemen who were involved in the Mogadishu battle. 

The award ceremony for Cunningham was held in the hangar at Kirtland normally used by 58th Special Operations Wing to train pararescuers, including Cunningham. Many of the people in attendance were fellow pararescuers, here for a reunion. Many civilian spectators, former pararescuers, wore the red beret of PJ, as the pararescuers are called. 

The base closed down for the hour-long event that drew thousands of people. 

"Thank you for the lives he saved and the service he gave," Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Gerald Murray said to the Cunningham family in his speech. 

Most of the men and women crowded inside the hangar were dressed in green camouflage or pressed blue uniforms, many wore the distinctive maroon berets of pararescuers, and many wiped away tears throughout the service. 

A 30-foot high U.S. flag draped behind the stage, where four Air Force officials, Cunningham's parents and wife sat quietly. 

Theresa Cunningham, dressed in a black dress, took deep breaths and used a white handkerchief to wipe her tears. 

Air Force Chief of Staff General John Jumper said Cunningham was an American hero with "supreme dedication" to his job and family. 

"Jason did not get a second chance," he said, "But he gave a second chance to others." 

Cunningham's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Savino said he wouldn't expect anything less from the New Mexico airman. 

 "Not everyone would do what he did that day," said Savino in an interview. "He went above and beyond. He gave the ultimate sacrifice - his life." 

"He had the world in front of him," said Savino, who attended the ceremony from his base in Georgia. "He knew he was going to go places." 

Jumper presented Theresa Cunningham and Cunningham's parents, Larry "Red" and Jackie Cunningham of Gallup, each with a jewlery box carrying the gold metal cross topped with a blue ribbon. 

Servicemen playing "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes ended the event. 

Technical Sergeant Brandon Casteel said afterward the ceremony was an honorable recognition for his best friend, his hero. 

"We're all proud of him," said Casteel, who spoke at an earlier memorial service for Cunningham in Georgia. 

Casteel said its still hard to accept that Cunningham's not coming back. 

When asked what he would do with just one more day to hang out with Cunningham, who loved karate and shooting for sport, Casteel said: "Just talk to him." 

"I miss him" said Casteel holding back tears. "I miss my friend."


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## Tgace (Jan 19, 2005)

PeachMonkey said:
			
		

> Yep, most of our troops are brave and honorable. On the news, I see stories every day about soldiers that have nothing to do with Abu Ghraib. The only people I see trying to paint US servicemen as "blood thirsty abusers" are insurgents.
> 
> There are incidents where US soldiers commit atrocities, and it's important that those events are documented clearly and punished, and that if responsibility for these acts leads up the chain of command, it be taken. Would you disagree? Perhaps we should try to hide the acts of these people?


Whos talking about "hiding" anything?? Unless Im more tired than I think I dont believed I ever implied that the news should replace the "bad" with the "good". I find it interesting that that assumption is being made.


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## Tgace (Jan 20, 2005)

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/197093p-170141c.html

Hero gave own life 
to save others 

Puch congressional Medal of Honor for fallen N.Y. Marine

By CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 


A New Yorker who died saving two other Marines by covering an Iraqi grenade with his helmet and blunting the blast with his body has been nominated for a Congressional Medal of Honor.
Cpl. Jason Dunham was commanding a checkpoint near Karbala on April 14 when a black-clad Iraqi leaped out of a car and grabbed him around the neck, according to the Marines.

A strapping 6-foot-1 ex-jock, Dunham kneed the Iraqi in the chest and then both fell to the ground. 

It was then that he spotted the grenade in his attacker's hand and called out a warning to the Marines rushing to his aid.

His cry was cut short by the blast.

When the smoke cleared, Dunham was laying facedown in his own blood and his Kevlar helmet was shattered. The Marines who tried to help him also were wounded, but they were alive.

"He is a genuine American hero," said a Marine officer at Camp Pendleton in Twentynine Palms, Calif., where Dunham's unit, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, is based. Dunham is the first U.S. soldier to be nominated for the nation's highest honor for valor in the Iraq war. 

If President Bush approves the award, Dunham's heroism would be the first act of bravery recognized with the medal since Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart, two Army Delta Force soldiers, died fighting in Somalia. They were posthumously honored with the award 11 years ago.

Mortally wounded when grenade fragments pierced his skull, Dunham lingered for six more days before he died at a military hospital in Bethesda, Md. His parents, Deb and Dan Dunham of Scio, N.Y., were at his side.

He was just 22.

Since then, Dunham's legend has grown and the drive to award him the medal is being spearheaded by his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Lopez.

Deb Dunham said she did not want to jinx her slain son's chances by talking about the medal. "I'm aware of the nomination, and if Jason gets this honor, please call me back," she said. "But right now we'd like to close the door a bit and have a little privacy. We're still mourning."

Among those who have testified about Dunham's bravery are the soldiers he helped save. 

More than 1,000 people packed Scio's high school gym for Dunham's funeral.

"I hope one day I could be half the hero he is," childhood friend Dean Phillips wrote in an online tribute. "I hear there is a special place for heroes in heaven."


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## Tgace (Jan 20, 2005)

http://www.pbase.com/kburch/the_picture_from_iraq_you_wont_see_in_the_news

http://www.blackfive.net/main/someone_you_should_know/index.html


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## Tgace (Jan 20, 2005)

Not exactly on the same level as all the other stories of heroism Ive found, but this is a good story too. 

Who says women cant be warriors? Hoooah!!



*



*

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Conrad College



_This is to certify that the Secretary of the Army has awarded the Army Commendation Medal to Private First Class Jessica L. Nicholson, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Engineer Battalion, for valor and courage in the face of enemy actions while assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion. Her decisive actions at a security checkpoint prevented the enemy from endangering the lives of her fellow soldiers._ - Army Commendation Medal (with Valor device) awarded to Private First Class Nicholson

This is one of my favorites. Jim B. sent this to me. Jess's story has been around for about six months(those of you in Germany certainly have heard this one) and it's worth sharing so everyone knows her name - *PFC Jessica Nicholson*. Oh yeah, she named her machine gun "_Camille_" - I freakin' _LOVE_ that! In the 82nd, my hog (M60) was called "Bonnie". PFC Nicholson should be headed back to Germany (or in Germany by now)

Training, Instincts and Wrestling Experience Pay Off for 1st Armored Division Soldier When quick action is required in an emergency situation, a soldier often doesnt have time to think. The soldiers training and instincts take over.

Pfc. Jessica Lynn Nicholson, 21, a 1st Armored Division soldier with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade, Division Engineers, found out how true that adage is recently when she was working at a security checkpoint in Baghdad. The reason she, a tracked-vehicle mechanic, was assigned to the checkpoint was to search women. 

But, that day (about 9 a.m. on June 7) there were a lot of people gathering at this checkpoint and it was very busy. So, I was asked to search some men, too, said Nicholson. 

While other soldiers were searching a car, the driver had stepped out of the car and I was searching the driver. He didnt have any weapons on his person, she said.

The other soldiers checking the vehicle at first thought it was clear. Then one of the soldiers thought that something didnt seem right. So, he searched the car again, she added. 

During the second search, the soldier spotted a grenade hidden behind the visor on the drivers side. The soldier shouted, Grenade! 

I immediately got man down on the ground, face down, and I remember pressing his face into a sandbag, Nicholson said. 

She continued to hold him down until other soldiers came over and zip-cuffed the man.

The man then claimed he had the grenade because he was going to turn it in to the U.S. soldiers. But they did not believe that story, because he had not mentioned it, or indicated anything like that, until after the soldiers had found the grenade and after he had been subdued and was handcuffed with the plastic zip-strips. 

I really dont remember exactly how I got him on the ground, but it was practically instantaneous, she said, blushing. I dont remember the details of putting him down. I just remember, suddenly, I had him down on the ground with his face pressed into a sandbag and I kept holding him there.

She said the man then started crying and someone said he might have been embarrassed because it was a shame for a man in Iraq to get beat up by a woman.
​That's right. She made him cry like a baby. _Poor_ jihadi. I'm sure the NY Times thought about publishing this story of physical abuse. 



Asked if she had grown up as a tomboy, Nicholson said, No, I was even a cheerleader for a little while. I guess I kind of grew up out in the middle of nowhere, she said, and I just always had to do whatever needed to be done. She grew up in Silverton, Idaho, and, when she was 15, her family moved to Winnemucca, Nev. She said she has also boxed with some of the men in her company. 

Asked if she wore boxing gloves, she replied, Oh yes, of course, we had boxing gloves. I wouldnt want to hurt them. 

She is the daughter of Jim and Kris Nicholson of Winnemucca, Nev. She has been in the Army for a year and a half. Nicholsons weapon is an M-249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), which she carries with her everywhere she goes. She has nicknamed her SAW, Camille. Its my baby, she said.
​Hopefully, PFC Nicholson will consider going to the Academy Prep school (then West Point) or ROTC and get a commission. The Army needs Soldiers like her...


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## Ceicei (Jan 20, 2005)

Definitely a heroine!!! A regular, all-around, everyday gal. What's not to like?  At least she understood clearly what needed to be done.

  - Ceicei


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## Tgace (Jan 20, 2005)

I named my "pig" Lucille....had to have a "Rock n' Roll" reference.


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## Phoenix44 (Jan 21, 2005)

> i saw his point and he is right. it's rather easy these days for the retards running the liberal media outlet to bash and belittle what the men and women are doing over there and how we "shouldnt" be there or whatever.


It is very true that many important stories don't make the front pages, and that's disgraceful.  But please don't start the "liberal media" garbage.  

By and large, the media is *corporate,* and *right *wing.  ClearChannel, owns more TV and radio outlets than anyone else.  Rupert Murdoch is a multinational conglomerate.

How many conservative pundits were actually in the military?  Rush Limbaugh?  Bill O'Reilly?  Hannity?   Randi Rhodes of AirAmerica Radio, the *only *liberal national media outlet, served in the Air Force.  And she advocates every day for benefits for the troops and their families, armor, and other necessities.  She is against this war, but a big supporter of the troops. 

How many conservative pundits have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan to entertain the troops?  How about ZERO?  On the other hand, Al Franken, an unabashed liberal, also on AirAmerica, spent his Christmas vacation in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan with the USO entertaining the troops.  This was his fifth trip with the USO.

Who recently interviewed the Iraq veteran director of Operation Truth?  Limbaugh?  I don't think so.  It was Outrage Radio--liberal.

I also don't see any links to TruthOut, OpTruth, WoundedWarriorProject, or USO on Limbaugh's website.

And I don't know where you're seeing all those photos of flag covered caskets.  Bush made those photos illegal, remember?  But you can frequently find them on my liberal website, www.mandatethis.org


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## Tgace (Feb 8, 2005)

A little clip of some combat....

http://www.compfused.com/directlink/451/


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## RandomPhantom700 (Feb 8, 2005)

Throughout that whole clip, I just kept wondering what the hell they were shooting at.


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## Tgace (Feb 9, 2005)

Many times thats exactly how it is....


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## Tidy_Sammy (Feb 9, 2005)

I don't believe the corporate owned media's of today, nor do I have any liking for Bush.

Let me just point out a little something though, many of the high cats and people that shout 'lets go to war' - don't and won't have their children getting packed off.

The irony in it is rather bitter.


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## MisterMike (Feb 9, 2005)

RandomPhantom700 said:
			
		

> Throughout that whole clip, I just kept wondering what the hell they were shooting at.



Hopefully anything that moved and wasn't American.

Good clip Tgace


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## RandomPhantom700 (Feb 9, 2005)

MisterMike said:
			
		

> Hopefully anything that moved and wasn't American.


It's people like you that make me reconsider my position on gun control.


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## ghostdog2 (Feb 9, 2005)

```
It's people like you that make me reconsider my position on gun control.
posted by RandomPhantom700
```
 
Gun control? Isn't gun control when you hit what you're aiming at?

You tell 'em, Mr. Mike.


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## rmcrobertson (Feb 9, 2005)

Ah, free fire zones. The good ol' days. Zapping the six-year-old terrorists. Is it time to go read Michael Herr's, "Dispatches," again?


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## Tgace (Feb 9, 2005)

Welcome to the world of urban combat. Countless places for people to shoot at you from...and when they are and your comrade says "theres a guy with an RPG in that window!!" you dont have the luxury of sending a squad 3 blocks to the location check it personally. There are no "free fire zones" anymore, but when you are getting shot at and your buddies are yelling that they see BG's, you shoot. Unfortunately, sometimes, in the heat of battle civillians can be confused with BG's..welcome to the ugly reality of combat.


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## Cryozombie (Feb 9, 2005)

Perhaps the best solution is to hire a bunch of unarmed, non-combatant people to go check out every firefight before hand and make sure we are shooting the correct people?

Any Vollunteers?

No, Didnt think so.


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## Tgace (Feb 11, 2005)

This is why the AC130 is called "spooky"....

http://static.hugi.is/misc/movies/AC130_GunshipMed.wmv


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