The Navy Cross:
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is set to present the medal Jan. 17 to the family of Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan in a ceremony at Camp Pendleton. The Navy Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor for combat bravery by Marines or sailors.
Hogan, 20, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, was killed Aug. 26, 2009, by a buried explosive device after pushing a Marine to safety and yelling warnings to other Marines. Hogan was on a walking patrol in Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold.
According to the Navy Cross citation, Hogan spotted a trigger wire for a buried bomb and hurled himself into the body of the nearest Marine to push him away from the imminent blast.
Hogan then ”turned in the direction of the Improvised Explosive Device and placed himself in the road so that he could effectively yell verbal warnings to the rest of his squad-mates. This desperate effort to warn the rest of the patrol bought the remaining Marines valuable seconds to begin moving away,” the citation reads.
You only think you want one.
The ones that earn them aren’t thinking that way at all.
As so many have said before: How do we get such fine young people? I am saddened only because there is so little that we can do to say thank you for such service. What little I can do, I shall.
Paul
Roger, that Paul. I too, am humbled by such..
Multas per gentes et multa per aequora vectus
advenio has miseras, frater, ad inferias,
ut te postremo donarem munere mortis
et mutam nequiquam alloquerer cinerem.
Quandoquidem fortuna mihi tete abstulit ipsum.
Heu miser indigne frater adempte mihi,
nunc tamen interea haec, prisco quae more parentum
tradita sunt tristi munere ad inferias,
accipe fraterno multum manantia fletu,
atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale.
On consideration, this is likely closer to him:
THE SAME CANTEEN by Private Miles O’Reilly
There are bonds of all sorts in this world of ours,
Fetters of friendship and ties of flowers,
And true lover’s knots, I ween;
The girl and the boy are bound by a kiss,
But there’s never a bond, old friend, like this,
We have drank from the same Canteen!
It was sometimes water, and sometimes milk,
And sometimes apple-jack “fine as silk;”
But whatever the tipple has been
We shared it together in bane or bliss,
And I warm to you, friend, when I think of this,
We drank from the same Canteen!
The rich and great sit down to dine,
They quaff to each other in sparkling wine,
From glasses of crystal and green;
But I guess in their golden potations they miss
The warmth of regard to be found in this,
We drank from the same Canteen!
We have shared our blankets and tents together,
And have marched and fought in all kinds of weather,
And hungry and full we have been;
Had days of battle and days of rest,
But this memory I cling to and love the best,
We drank from the same Canteen!
For when wounded I lay on the center slope,
With my blood flowing fast and so little hope
Upon which my faint spirit could lean;
Oh! then I remember you crawled to my side,
And bleeding so fast it seemed both must have died,
We drank from the same Canteen!
A better man than I am.
Our Lord’s divine experiment in freedom, honor and self-government continues to produce amazing results. Donald Hogan is one such result. Godspeed, Lcpl Hogan!
I believe that some people have gotten well-earned Medals of Honor for doing lesser deeds than that. Let us hope that the Powers that Be will see sense and upgrade the award.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
but may we always be worthy of their sacrifice.
USS LCpl DONALD HOGAN.
It’s got a ring to it.
Oh, hell, yeah!
I am so tired of seeing our ships named after politicians who are still alive. They still do it mostly right with the destroyers, at least.
No greater love indeed. A remarkable man amongst many others, some of whom we may never know but are just grateful that they are out there –
and so it goes on……
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/11/us-iran-idUSTRE8090ZL20120111
Stud.
I wish that I had known the man.
Yes, darn it, at least name a destroyer after him.
Real hero.
No, not a Destroyer, but a fine gator of some sort would be a fitting heir to the name of this courageous Marine and inspire those who sail in her.
I think naming the gators after valorous Marines killed in combat is an excellent idea. Kinda like Heinlein naming a Mobile Infantry troop ship after Roger Young. Quite appropos.
I can think of a certain amphib named after of PA congressman that should be renamed. Just saying!
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” -John 15:9-13
I just want them all to come home hale, hearty, and healthy… mission accomplished, with Victory in their kits…..
How long ago it seems when we stood a fighting chance of that without tremendous bloodshed on their part. They have bought us so much with their unwavering dedication and tremendous courage…..
The Victory we seek is thrown away, cheapening their sacrifice, and leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of patriots. One question yet to be answered is “How much longer can we count on Men such as these to be willing to fight for us after the betrayal we are pursuing in leaving the field to our enemies?” God Bless them all.
Subsunk
Why isn’t this a MOH?
Celebrate USS LCpl DONALD HOGAN. I hope those who know and love him are doing so.
The next time I read about an OWS jackass, I will remember the few still worthy to be called sons of America.
They did it right with USS Basilone. She was christened by the widow Basilone, also a Sergeant of Marines. There is an excellent pic of her on the USN History site, breaking the bottle in uniform. She never remarried. I suspect she found other men somewhat disappointing, in comparison.