Pentagon Nominates Medal of Honor for Living Veteran, First Since Vietnam

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For the first time since the Vietnam War, the Pentagon has recommended a living soldier receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor, The Washington Post reported.

The soldier, whose name has not been released, saved the lives of six comrades when he ran through a hail of enemy bullets in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley as Taliban fighters moved in on his squad three years ago, military officials said.

The nomination now heads to the White House for review.

Recommendations, which often include eyewitness accounts of heroic acts, can run into the thousands of pages. The process of nominating a Medal of Honor winner is so secretive that even the intended recipients' families don't know their relative is being considered.

President Obama last awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in September to the family of Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, who was killed in Iraq while trying to save a fellow soldier.

The recommendation comes after years of complaints from within Congress and the military that the Pentagon had become so cautious that only soldiers who were killed in action were being considered for the medal. Defense Secretary Robert Gates "finds it impossible to believe that there is no one who has performed a valorous act deserving of the Medal of Honor who has lived to tell about it," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told the Post.

Filed Under: Obama Administration, Afghanistan

Tagged: Afghanistan war, dailyguidance, medal of honor, military, pentagon, war

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Fraginals5@aol.c

There have to be many, many soldiers that had put their lives at risk to save one of their comrades. When they are in a fight they are like brothers. Recognizing only one of them is cheating the rest. They all are deserving of more recognizing by the government and the people. God Bless them all.

July 04 2010 at 5:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply