And I’ll second the thought I saw on another blog, there’s guys out there today, alive, who deserve it but won’t get it. Why is it seemingly only given posthumously now?

There are many instances of people receiving the Medal of Honor for throwing themselves onto a grenade to save comrades. That is a sacrifice not to be denigrated, but it is largely instinctive.

Ed Freeman, on the other hand, flew into a hot LZ time after time. An LZ so hot that it was clearly life threatening to even approach. But he knew that his brothers on the ground were depending on him for ammunition, and to evacuate the critically wounded. And, in the face of almost certain death, he returned time after time. That is a level of courage and commitment that rises to heights beyond the grasp of most mere mortals.

We have, indeed, lost a great warrior.

Marching past, straight through to Hell,
The Infantry are seen,
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marine,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddler’s Green.

Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene,
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he’s emptied his canteen,
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddler’s Green.

And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen,
Or in a roaring charge or fierce melee
You stop the bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And put your pistol to your head
And go to Fiddler’s Green.