Only six Medals of Honor have been awarded to our heroes after almost nine and after more than seven years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively. All have been awarded posthumously.
I have written several articles on this subject and numerous more have been written by people much more knowledgeable of and with much more authority in this area.
Some of my articles have dealt with the general dearth of Medal of Honor awards (such as summarized here), while others have dealt with specific examples of “honor denied,” such as in the case of Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta.
Of course there are explanations and reasons given for such a measly number of Medals of Honor during these two wars, where so many have sacrificed so much.
During the Bush administration there were reasons given, and the reasons continue during the Obama administration.
Even of more concern is the lack of living Medal of Honor recipients for these two wars. According to the Stars and Stripes:
Last fall, in a Pentagon press conference, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that the lack of a living Medal of Honor recipient from Iraq or Afghanistan — all six awarded have been posthumous — was “a source of real concern to me” and one of former President George W. Bush’s “real regrets” upon leaving office.
In this most recent article on the subject, “Despite criticism, Medals of Honor still scarce for current wars,” the Stars and Stripes once again highlights this troubling issue.
For example, it mentions the case of Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe who, in October 2005:
…was thrown from his Bradley fighting vehicle when a roadside bomb detonated underneath it. Covered in fuel, he rushed back into the burning wreck and pulled out six fellow soldiers.
He died from severe burns three weeks later. Army officials posthumously awarded him the Silver Star for “conspicuous gallantry” on the battlefield.
“You look at stories like that, and you wonder how he didn’t earn the Medal of Honor,” said Doug Sterner, a historian and leading expert on military medals. “That’s the kind of story you expect when you hear about a Medal of Honor. You wonder if there are higher-ups in the military who don’t understand the overall concept of courage anymore.”
As I said, many reasons, justifications and explanations are given. For some more of these please click here.
But please be sure to also read the reasons why more of our heroes should be recognized with our nation’s highest award for valor. Such as “honoring a servicemember from the current conflict could serve as an inspiration, and not just for fellow troops…The whole country would be incredibly proud and they’ll get to see the courage that’s going on today.”
