Medal Of Honor To Be Awarded Monday

From Eric Schmitt of the NY Times:

Sgt. First Class Paul R. Smith, killed nearly two years ago defending his vastly outnumbered Army unit in a fierce battle with elite Iraqi troops for control of Baghdad's airport, will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, administration officials said Tuesday.

No soldier who served in Afghanistan or Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks has yet received the medal. The last conflict to produce a Medal of Honor recipient was in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993; two soldiers were awarded the medal posthumously for actions there, later depicted in the movie "Black Hawk Down."

...Sergeant Smith's "extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor without regard to his own life in order to save others are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service," a draft of the medal citation says.

President Bush will present the award to Sergeant Smith's widow and children at a White House ceremony on Monday, the second anniversary of the airport battle and the soldier's death.

This honor has been wending its way through the system for a while. Here is a Winds of Change post providing background on the incident; an old NY Times story provides personal and family background.

UPDATE:  Excellent round-up of salutes to this great American by Don Singleton.  We single this out for special comment:

 James Joyner blogged The Medal is so revered in the service that anyone wearing it, regardless of rank, is entitled to a salute from any non-recipient, regardless of their rank.

C'mon, buddy, we learned that watching Heartbreak Ridge!  (And I think Don's link to James Joyner needs fixing, but I have the correct link here).

I will also append Abe Linclon's letter to Mrs. Bixby.

Comments

[Harry Arthur]

It makes me proud to know that fine young women and men like SFC Paul Smith are standing on the wall doing the tough work while we pretty much go about our daily routines without worry.

SFC Paul Smith is a sterling example of the young people leading our wonderful troops in our volunteer military.

I only hope that we as a nation understand and appreciate the sacrifice of these outstanding patriots and their families who also pay a dear price for their loved ones' duty and service.

May God bless SFC Smith's family.

[Cecil Turner]

"C'mon, buddy, we learned that watching Heartbreak Ridge!"

One of the few accurate parts of the movie. I was stationed in Hawaii when it came out, on a joint tour, when the USMC decided to withdraw support for the flick on the basis of the foul language. During a coffee break bull session, one of the Navy (female) officers present suggested that was hypocritical: "the only resemblance between that movie and the actual Marine Corps was the frequency with which the "f-word" was used." I doubled up laughing--one of the most difficult transitions for me was cleaning up my potty mouth when transferring to the job (use of the vernacular was not encouraged).

A few months later I was seconded to protocol duties for the 50th Anniversary of Victory in the Pacific festivities. I had the privilege to salute several gentlemen wearing the little blue ribbon (with white stars)--and considered it an honor.

Probably unrelated, but some are not so respectful.

[Chris L.]

I learned about the Medal of Honor salute from Twelve O'Clock High, the best war movie ever made, imo.

If anyone deserves the honor, it's Sgt. Smith.

[Tom_with_a_Dream]

Thanks for the post.

And the broken-Don-link is in the html... it is to Inter-Dump.com. Check it out, good stuff there.

[TM]

"the only resemblance between that movie and the actual Marine Corps was the frequency with which the "f-word" was used."

LOL. Watching that movie on cable is a hoot - every third sentences uses "clusterflop". Hmm.

And in Heartbreak Ridge, Clint led a fairly lacklustre Marine Recon unit. In The Rock, we learned that the men of Marine Recon eat nails and crap tacks.

I am going to go with The Rock on this one.

[GaijinBiker]

A look at Sgt. Smith and Fred Korematsu, each an American hero in his own way:

http://ridingsun.blogspot.com/2005/04/two-heroes.html

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