Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Bronze Star?????
This kid should have received the Navy Cross!!!
Paper pushers in Kuwait get Bronze Stars.
What were they thinking?
Dave
Richard Jadick (the Doc on the cover of Newsweek a couple of weeks back) got a Bronze Star – I think this kid deserves more. Not to take away from Jadick’s actions, but the kid was seriously wounded and kept at it until dragged away.
Navy Cross, definitely.
His fellow corpsman had to LIE to him to get him to leave? That goes beyond dedication, loyalty or anything else I can think of.
We need to find a new word to replace “hero” in the lexicon – it somehow seems inadequate to describe what this young man did.
I’m thinking the Bronze Star is way undervaluing the situation (as above). Major traumatic amputation (with all that arterial blood spewing for some time) and he still stayed in his fight to save others. Yep..Navy Cross.
Is it any wonder that every Sailor and Marine respects their “Doc”? These young men are really magnificent!
I concur, Navy Cross.
The award of decorations is one of the more subjective exercises the military engages in; and it very much depends on who writes the citation and who endorses it. There was a time during my tour in Southeast Asia that the Bronze Star became the officers’ Good Conduct Medal; and the Air Medal was given for perfect attendance. A good review of the system followed by standardization is way overdue.
Bravo Zulu to the “Doc”! If he’s like most HC’s I’ve known, he’d accept the Purple Heart and, as for the rest, he’d say that he was just doing his job. To quote a line from The Bridges of Toko-Ri, “Where do we get such men/”
This young man’s story ought to be reposted everywhere (I already added to my blog).
In keeping with the finest traditions….
Agreed Eagle1. Great idea.