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  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.