Free Republic

Mike Colalillo, the last Medal of Honor recipient in Minnesota, has died. He was 86. Colalillo died Friday at a Duluth nursing home, the Dougherty Funeral Home confirmed Monday. He received the nation's highest military honor for bravery in combat for killing or wounding 25 Germans and helping a seriously wounded comrade to safety during a fierce firefight near Untergriesheim, Germany, on April 7, 1945, toward the end of World War II. Forty-six Minnesotans, including Colalillo, have received the Medal of Honor, according to the Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley in Little Falls. According to the Medal of Honor...

In September, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's most prestigious military award, to Sgt. Dakota Meyer, the marine who saved 36 of his comrades during an ambush in Afghanistan. Obama called Meyer one of the most "down-to-earth guys that you will ever meet." But today Meyer, 23, is having trouble getting a job because of allegations by defense contractor BAE Systems that he has a drinking problem and is mentally unstable. Meyer filed legal papers Monday claiming the allegations were in retaliation for objections he raised about BAE's alleged decision to sell high-tech sniper scopes to the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is awarding the military's highest honor to a Marine credited with saving 36 lives during an intense fire-fight in Afghanistan.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dakota Meyer saved 36 lives from an ambush in Afghanistan and the former Marine will collect the nation's highest military honor at the White House on Thursday. While he is receiving the Medal of Honor, Meyer's fallen comrades will be memorialized in hometown ceremonies at his request. His hero's moment was his darkest day. Meyer lost some of his best friends the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, in far-off Kunar Province. "It's hard, it's ... you know ... getting recognized for the worst day of your life, so it's... it's a really tough thing," Meyer said, struggling...

President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration for valor, to a former active duty Marine Corps corporal, the White House said on Friday.

... He will be honored during a White House ceremony September 15. Meyer will be the third living Medal of Honor recipient from service in the current war theaters. No longer on active duty, Meyer returned to Columbia, Kentucky. "The award honors the men who gave their lives that day, and the men who were in that fight," Meyer said, according to a Marine newsletter. "I didn't do anything more than any other Marine would. I was put in an extraordinary circumstance, and I just did my job." Meyer, who serves in the Inactive Ready Reserve of the U.S. Marine...

  WASHINGTON — Few of us ever will meet a Medal of Honor recipient. Fewer still ever will have the opportunity to be of assistance to one. In part, that's because "The Medal" — our nation's highest military decoration, awarded for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty" — is worn by just 85 living Americans.Since we were attacked on 9/11, the Medal of Honor has been awarded only nine times to the more than 2 million Americans who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul...

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2011 – President Barack Obama today awarded the country’s highest military honor to Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry, an Army Ranger who was shot in both legs and had his hand blown off while saving his fellow soldiers during a firefight in Afghanistan. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry received the Medal of Honor at a July 12, 2011, White House ceremony for conspicuous gallantry in combat. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Petry became only the second living veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the award,...

President Obama made an embarrassing blunder during an address to U.S. soldiers. Speaking at Fort Drum in upstate New York yesterday, the President mixed up two Medal of Honor recipients, referring to dead hero soldier Jared Monti as alive. For the members of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division who listened to the President's speech, the remark no doubt came as a shock. The President said: 'Throughout my service, first as a senator and then as a presidential candidate and then as a President, I’ve always run into you guys. And for some reason it’s always in some rough spots....

This was absolutely awful. Barack Obama made another horrible mistake today. The president visited the 10th Mountain Division today and congratulated them on their service. Then he told the soldiers that he had given the Medal of Honor to Jared Monti who came back from Iraq alive. Jared Monti was actually killed in Iraq in 2006. How sad. “First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours,...

When Army Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Petry receives the Medal of Honor from President Obama next month, the Santa Fe resident will have to make sure the batteries are recharged for the prosthetic right hand he extends to friends and strangers alike. Although custom prohibits medal winners from speaking publicly in advance of their receipt of the honor, three of Petry’s Army Ranger comrades held a news conference in Seattle Thursday to recount his extraordinary heroism and selfless sacrifice in the line of duty.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) - The soldiers who served with the Army sergeant set to receive the Medal of Honor next month because of his actions in Afghanistan say he's a hero who's maintained his sharp wit and plans to "keep rangering.'" After he had been shot in both legs, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry didn't just lose his hand while throwing an enemy grenade away from himself and two fellow Army Rangers. As they continued to fight a small armed group, Petry kept calling out orders and helping his unit fulfill its mission and get the injured...

WASHINGTON — An Army sergeant who lost his right hand throwing an armed grenade away from other wounded soldiers will become only the second living service member from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The White House said Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry will receive the nation's highest military decoration from President Barack Obama in a ceremony July 12. ... The Army News Service said Petry and another soldier came under fire as they searched a courtyard. Petry was shot through both legs and the other soldier also was wounded, the news service...

Desmond T. Doss was 23 years old when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. The lanky Lynchburg, Va., native was much like other young men of the Greatest Generation, but one thing set Desmond apart from the other new troops. He was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and refused to touch a weapon. Some of the men in his training unit made jokes about him, others threatened him, but Desmond held firm to his beliefs. The Army considered discharging him, but Desmond objected. “I’d be a very poor Christian if I accepted a discharge implying that I...

CHICAGO — It was years in the making, so Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta had time to talk with his wife about the "what if" question. He'd been recommended for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration. If chosen, his name would be in headlines. His face in the spotlight. He'd be a celebrity. And again and again, he'd have to tell strangers the harrowing story of a deadly ambush in Afghanistan. "He was worried," says Giunta's wife, Jenny. "He didn't know how he was going able to talk to people about it. He couldn't even talk to me....

In a White House ceremony last Tuesday, Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was given the Medal of Honor. He was the first living Medal of Honor recipient since Vietnam. The event was televised, as it should have been, but hardly anyone noticed. Much of the world, including a disappointingly large portion of America, was consumed with other news: A prince had gotten engaged. The dashing Prince William, son of the Prince of Wales, announced his engagement on the same day Sal Giunta received the Medal of Honor for valor in Afghanistan. So much for Giunta's glory. Incidentally, two days later,...

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007. While conducting a patrol as team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, Specialist Giunta and his team were navigating through harsh terrain when they were ambushed by a well-armed and well-coordinated insurgent force. While under heavy enemy fire, Specialist...

Saturday, November 13th, 2010Under blue skies and the Florida sun, the Navy's newest Arleigh Burke Class Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer the USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) was commissioned today in Port Everglades, entering full status as a ship of the United States Navy. Deb Dunham, ship sponsor and mother of Marine Corps Corporal Jason Dunham, stood on deck as she gave the command to “Man the Ship and Bring Her to Life!” Dan Dunham, father of Corporal Dunham, set the first watch and passed the long glass to LTJG Andrew Gray. The watch, which will now continue for the...

A final tribute to a selfless war hero. Dozens saluted and waved flags on Saturday as a lengthy funeral procession of an American hero rolled across an edge of Crosby and the city's north side to Houston National Cemetery. Hundreds honored 1st Sgt. David H. McNerney during a service at his Crosby church and later at a Medal of Honor ceremony at the graveyard. The 79-year-old died earlier this month at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center after a battle with lung cancer. The tributes brought some men to tears. A few had to excuse themselves as veterans and...

Modern wars often are described euphemistically with expressions like "overseas contingency operations" and "low-intensity conflict." They sometimes are fought from air-conditioned cubicles whence missiles are fired remotely from pilotless drones on unsuspecting targets. At the tip of the spear, however, war remains what it always has been: a punishing, violent, life-or-death struggle - the ultimate test of character of anyone who faces it.Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller met this challenge on a daily basis in Afghanistan. In 2008, he was serving with Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, conducting combined operations with Afghan National Army troops...

Thursday, President Obama spoke with Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta to inform him that he will be awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry at the risk of his life that went above and beyond the call of duty. Giunta will be the first living servicemember to be awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. The President thanked Sergeant Giunta for his service and extraordinary bravery in battle. Further information about the date and time of the ceremony will be released at a later date. ACTION FROM WHICH THE MEDAL OF HONOR WAS EARNED: Then-Spc....

DES MOINES, Iowa – A 25-year-old soldier from Iowa who exposed himself to enemy gunfire to try to save two fellow soldiers will become the first living service member from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced Friday. President Barack Obama phoned Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, on Thursday at the base in Italy where he's stationed to tell him he'd be receiving the nation's highest military honor, Giunta's father told The Associated Press. He will become the eighth service member to receive the Medal of Honor during operations in Iraq...

On October 6, President Barack Obama will award Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Staff Sergeant Miller will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in Afghanistan on January 25, 2008. He displayed immeasurable courage and uncommon valor - eventually sacrificing his own life to save the lives of his teammates and 15 Afghanistan National Army soldiers. Staff Sergeant Miller’s parents, Phil and Maureen Miller will join the President at the White House to commemorate their son’s selfless service and sacrifice. PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Robert Miller was born on October...

Army & Air Force Exchange Service's Commander Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella, told Kotaku, "Out of respect to those we serve, we will not be stocking [Medal of Honor].We regret any inconvenience this may cause authorized shoppers, but are optimistic that they will understand the sensitivity to the life and death scenarios this product presents as entertainment. As a military command with a retail mission, we serve a very unique customer base that has, or possibly will, witness combat in real life."

Although a Southern California water board member convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act made "deliberate and despicable" claims that he had received the Medal of Honor, the Constitution prohibits the government from prosecuting someone for merely lying, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a 2-1 ruling. "The right to speak and write whatever one chooses - including, to some degree, worthless, offensive and demonstrable untruths - without cowering in fear of a powerful government is, in our view, an essential component of the protection afforded by the First Amendment," Judge Milan Smith said...

ST. MARIES, Idaho -- Strangers are stepping up to help the widow of a north Idaho veteran who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Vernon Baker died at his St. Maries home in July and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941, served and was wounded in World War II. Vernon was 90 years old.

Medal of Honor recipient Dolby dies Published: Sunday, August 08, 2010By JIM CALLAHAN, Staff Writer David C. Dolby, a Medal of Honor recipient and a fixture at local veteran events in recent years, died Friday morning in Spirit Lake, Idaho. He was 64. Dolby, who lived in Royersford, was in Idaho for a veterans' gathering, according to friends. The announcement of his death was made by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The cause was not announced. Services are pending. Burial in Arlington National Cemetery is planned.

Vernon Baker, who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for his role in World War II, died at his home near St. Maries, Idaho. He was 90. Baker died Tuesday of complications of brain cancer, Benewah County coroner and funeral home owner Ron Hodge said. Then-President Bill Clinton presented the nation's highest award for battlefield valor to Baker in 1997. He was one of just seven black soldiers to receive it and the only living recipient. Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/07/14/1266740/medal-of-honor-hero-vernon-baker.html#ixzz0tgOa1s70

Calumet Park, Illinois Mayor Joseph DuPar is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Army who served for 11 months and 26 days in Vietnam with the 664th Ordnance Company out of Fort Hood, Texas. Last year, in his Election for Mayor against challenger Abe Wilson, DuPar’s campaign issued a flyer touting his candidacy under the “Continued Progress Party,” which included a short biography, some professional affiliations, and the obligatory promises should he be elected. But it is one sentence on that flyer that has the mayor and his opponent heading to court, and perhaps not for what you might...

SSG Sal Giunta, a paratrooper w/ the 173rd Airborne, will be awarded the first Medal of Honor given to a living recipient since the Vietnam War. He earned this by charging a group of Taliban who were trying to make off with a wounded comrade in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. His actions broke the Taliban’s attack and allowed him to regain control of SGT Josh Brennan. He also saved the lives of the many other members of his unit who had been caught in a fixed ambush by the Taliban. Giunta didn’t hesitate one second before advancing on his...

Our nation's greatest heroes - Medal of Honor recipients - speak out to save lives by encouraging America's military to seek help when adjusting to life after combat, particularly for post-traumatic stress (PTS).

  Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~ John Basilone (Info found here here)             John Basilone (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. He was the only enlisted Marine in...

Sgt Rafael Peralta's story of sacrifice is one that was closely followed by Curt. Curt writes of this fellow Marine in 2004: I heard about this incident this morning on the way to work and got choked up. This Marine, a Mexican Immigrant who loved his new country so much he signed up to fight for it, placed his body on top of a grenade to save his buddies. Curt went on to do a series of posts on Rafael Peralta. This morning, I came across this heartbreaking NYTimes article chronicling the additional pain and circus ride Sgt. Peralta's mom...

This weekend’s New York Times Sunday Magazine contains a fascinating article that hits quite close to home for me. Centered around the story of a 25-year-old Marine who — despite horrific wounds — had the presence of mind and courage to scoop a live grenade under his body to save the lives of his comrades, the article asks a simple question: Why is the military awarding so few medals of honor? Are we less courageous now? Or is the military stifling valor awards in a labyrinthine bureaucracy dominated by rear echelon second-guessers? The numbers are stunning: Despite its symbolic...

Retired Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died Thursday at his San Diego-area home at age 100. Finn died early this morning on his ranch near Live Oak Springs, where he had lived for more than 50 years. “We lost a national treasure and a national hero today,” Navy Capt. David Lepard told NBC 7/39. “It’s really touching his death occurred on Memorial Day weekend and he’ll never be forgotten.” Finn received the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 1942, from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for heroism during the Japanese attack on...

John Finn, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, died Thursday morning at the age of 100 at the Chula Vista Veterans Home. He was stationed at Keneohe Bay Naval Air Station on Dec. 7, 1941 when he found himself firing at Japanese planes from an exposed position at Pearl Harbor for more than two hours despite being hit 21 times by bomb and bullet fragments. The longtime East County resident was credited by some with single-handedly shooting down a Japanese aircraft but he would later say “I can’t honestly say I hit any, but I shot at every...

SAN DIEGO – Retired Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died Thursday at his Southern California ranch. He was 100. Finn enlisted in the Navy just before his 17th birthday and went on to become the first man to receive the nation's highest military award for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, according to a Navy statement. He was the oldest of 97 Medal of Honor recipients still living. Despite head wounds and other injuries, Finn, the chief of ordnance for an air squadron, continuously fired...

Lt. Comdr. John McCloy, recipient of two Medals of Honor, was born 30 January 1876 at Brewster, N.Y. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy 7 March 1903, was warranted boatswain 30 July 1903 and commissioned ensign 1 July 1917. He received his first Medal of Honor “for distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy in battles of the 13th, 20th, 21st, and 22d of June 1900, while with the relief expedition of the Allied Forces in China.” His second Medal of Honor was awarded to him “for distinguished conduct in battle and extraordinary heroism; engagement of Vera Cruz, April...

VIRGINIA BEACH By the fall of 1972, the Vietnam War had started to wind down for most U.S. troops. But for Petty Officer Michael Thornton, a 23-year-old Navy SEAL from the hills of South Carolina, it was just starting to heat up. Launched at dusk in a rubber boat by a Vietnamese junk, Thornton was part of a five-man SEAL patrol assigned to gather intelligence near the North Vietnam border. When day broke and they could find no identifiable landmarks, Thornton turned to the patrol leader, Lt. Tom Norris, and said: "I think we're in the wrong place." They had...

Watching TCM this morning - One of the 31 days of Oscar promos talks about the Oscar being like the Medal of Honor.

The Museum of Appalachia has acquired a machine gun believed to have been seized by World War I hero Sgt. Alvin C. York, the backwoods soldier who killed more than manufacturer), a serial number of 3364, a date of 1918 — which museum officials cite as evidence the gun is the one York captured. Other library documents recount a parade in Massachusetts during which the weapon was displayed after World War I ended. There also is a July 1919 account from the Daily Evening newspaper detailing Lewis' donation of the weapon to the library.

You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , on 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray , Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to...

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Robert L. Howard, the only American soldier ever nominated for the award three times for three separate actions, died today in Waco, Texas, at the age of 70.

In a priority mail five-paragraph letter, the Coates & Davenport law firm in Richmond has ordered Colonel Van Barfoot to remove the pole by 5 p.m. Friday or face legal action. According to the letter, Barfoot would have to pay all legal fees and costs if the legal proceeding pursued by Sussex Square Homeowners Association is successful. Family members say Barfoot is the most decorated American combat veteran alive. He has been awarded more than 20 medals, including the Medal of Honor, The Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, The Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. This fall, his native...

Col. Van T. Barfoot, one of the country's last-surviving Medal of Honor winners, is under the gun from his Henrico County community's homeowner association. In a five-paragraph letter to Barfoot that he received yesterday, Barfoot is being ordered to remove a flagpole from his yard.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2009 – Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millett, who earned the Medal of Honor during the Korean War for leading what reportedly was the last major American bayonet charge, died Nov 14. Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millet wears his Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and other medals earned in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He served as honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association, and was active in veterans events almost to his death Nov. 14, 2009. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Millett, 88, died in Loma...

In 1940, Lewis L. "Red" Millett, a 17 year old native of Mechanic Falls, Maine, dropped out of high school and joined the Army Air Corps in order to fight the increasing fascist threat in Europe. But when President Roosevelt stated that the U.S. would not be entering the war, Millett decided to become a deserter and head to Canada - not to avoid combat, but to seek it out as part of the Canadian army. He was sent to London where he served as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Nazi's "Blitz" bombing campaign. "I deeply believe that if you're...

On Dec. 4, 2009, the radical Hollywood left is poised to release its latest tribute to the men and women of the armed services, entitled "Brothers." The film stars Tobey Maguire as a military man serving in Afghanistan. When he is presumed killed in action, his wife, played by Natalie Portman, has an affair with his brother, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Naturally, Maguire shows up at home with a tremendous case of post-traumatic disorder -- which, if we are to judge from the trailer, causes him to fire weapons at random and physically abuse his wife. "Brothers" follows hot on...

In observance of Veterans Day, the University of Washington will dedicate a new memorial to eight UW alumni who have received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor for valor in battle.Earning a medal, of any sort, was the furthest thing from Bruce Crandall's mind on the morning of Nov. 14, 1965, as he repeatedly flew his Huey helicopter through a hail of enemy fire in Vietnam. Only this mattered: His comrades needed him. Likewise, John "Bud" Hawk wasn't looking for glory on Aug. 20, 1944, when he stayed exposed in a French orchard, taking a shot in the...

It's hard to envision -- or, for the dwindling few, to remember -- what the world looked like on Oct. 26, 1942, when a few thousand U.S. Marines stood essentially stranded on the God-forsaken jungle island of Guadalcanal, placed like a speed bump at the end of the long blue-water slot between New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, the most likely route for the Japanese Navy to take if they hoped to reach Australia. On Guadalcanal, the Marines struggled to complete an airfield. Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto knew what that meant. No effort would be spared to dislodge these upstart...