I know that most of you don't go around asking yourself this, but I have been in a quandary over what I would do, at this time, about a question that truly vexes me. And here it is, would you accept the nation highest honor from this man? We have all heard by now of Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who was assigned to 2/503 PIR, will become the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And to refresh your memory, this is what he did to earn this honor. Intense enemy fire from insurgents split Giunta's team from the rest of his squad. Giunta was knocked down when a bullet hit him in his armored chest plate. He immediately charged straight into enemy fire in order to pull a comrade back to cover. As he attempted to link his team with the rest of the squad, he saw insurgents drag a badly wounded colleague off the battlefield. Tossing hand grenades, Giunta charged the enemy, killing one insurgent and wounding another. He recovered the colleague and immediately began providing first aid. The soldier later died from his wounds. I have spent a good deal of time here ranting about the dearth of medals for acts of heroism that would be deserving of the MoH. I know that have previously written about the disrespect and loserism of the current party in power who have spent the better part of this decade disrespecting our military and linking themselves openly through press appearances and acceptance of campaign contributions from the likes of anti-American organizations such as Code Pink, who would prefer our soldiers to shoot their officers, instead of the Taliban, who wouldn't give two poops in a champagne glass what these lefturds thought, should they be found without a burk-ha in Kabul. What a conundrum? I can't even possibly imagine what SSG Giunta is thinking. I know I would be thinking of what a high honor it would be, and I would be thinking of the men that didn't come back on that fateful day. I know that if it was me in his boots, and I could make the trade of trades with the Man upstairs, I would trade that medal for the two men that he tried valiantly to save. If he refused to accept it, would his command punish him for the inevitable media storm? Has there ever been anyone who was awarded this medal that has thought of refusing it as well? If you did refuse to accept it from this president, could it be presented by another president. Would he be ordered to accept it? Would that be a lawful order? But all of this brings me back to a few strangely unrelated things that relate directly to this problem I am having. The first is in an article that I read in Vanity Fair about state dinners at the White House, and this quote literally reached out and smacked me right upside my sense of duty. If you are invited to a state dinner, you are only supposed to reject that honor for four reasons: a death in the family, a serious illness, a wedding, or an unavoidable absence from Washington. Other than that, you are supposed to do the president the honor of attending his dinner, no matter who the president is. It isn't about the person—it's about the institution. —Mary Mel French, chief of protocol under President Clinton, 1997–2001. And then, as if on cue, I happened onto Band of Brothers, and *** Winters helped me out on this one. "Captain Sobel, we salute the rank, not the man..." My sense of duty tells me that I would go, regardless of the who the president is, because it is Congress who awarded medal, and the president is the presenter. And then there is the Paratrooper's Creed, and the stanzas that make it what it is: I shall never fail my fellow comrades by shirking any duty or training, but will always keep myself mentally and physically fit and shoulder my full share of the task, whatever it may be. I shall always accord my superiors fullest loyalty, and I will always bear in mind the sacred trust I have in the lives of the men I will lead into battle. I shall show other soldiers by my military courtesy to my superior officers and noncommissioned officers, by my neatness of dress, by my care of my weapons and equipment, that I am a picked and well-trained soldier. I belong to the finest fighting unit in the Army. By my appearance, actions, and battlefield deeds alone, I speak for my fighting ability. I will strive to uphold the honor and prestige of my outfit, making my country proud of me and the unit to which I belong. I am as proud of SSG Giunta as I could possibly be and he is a model for other soldiers to emulate, he is my vote for SMA. I am however, glad that I am not in his shoes. I have an idea of what I would do, but I don't know how I would reconcile it.
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/dvgEmAOcblQ/what-would-deebow-do.html
Posted
Sep 18 2010, 03:56 AM
by
BLACKFIVE