I was reading a story today in the Stars and Stripes, our "local" newspaper about a Marine who is being honored with the Navy Cross and a promotion to Sergeant Major for his actions on the battlefield. The Navy Cross is the 2nd highest honor awarded by the Navy for valor.

I will try to find the article and link it, or if not, get a copy of the paper and type in what he did. However, he managed to save a bunch of lives while being shot 7 times, and having embedded in him 40 pieces of shrapnel. He has also endured over 20 surgeries in his recovery process.

I was simply amazed at what this man did and it got me thinking: what exactly does it take to win the Medal of Honor? According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society website, 3460 have been awarded since it was established on July 14, 1862. One has been awarded to the current Operation Iraqi Freedom / Operation Enduring Freedom campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan: Army Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith. Follow the link to read his citation. Then pick your jaw up off the floor and hit the back key to return here.

There are 113 medal recipients still alive today: 38 from WWII, 15 from Korea, and 60 from Vietnam. Many, many more were awarded. It has been 4 1/2 years since we began in Afghanistan and only 1 medal? I could not believe that the actions of some of today's soldiers have not equalled those of the past, when it dawned on me that the probable answer to my question was politics. Those that do the fighting have not changed; those that judge the fighting have.

A Medal of Honor recipient today would be an instant celebrity. They would become a permanent cable news fixture on any topic related to the military. As we saw in the last election, they would be invited to political conventions and appear in commercials. They would get book and movie deals. But then there would also be the complaints based in political correctness. I do not want to get into details but I feel that the medal would become something totally different than for what it was intended: to honor those who have demonstrated unmatched valor while disregarding extreme danger to themselves. From what I understand, there must be at least 2 witnesses to the action. It must also be above and beyond the call of duty to such an extent that had the individual not taken their actions, there would have been no professional consequences or shame to bear.

It may just be that investigations are under way and the military wants to be 100% sure before setting off the inevitable media and political circus. However, I do not feel that is the case; I think the military has decided that if it is at all possible, they will do what they can to avoid this situation. Is that a bad thing? Yes. The real question is does it outweigh the dishonor that the award would receive in today's public arena? I don't think so because but I think that any soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who could be thusly honored, would not allow that to happen. People that deserve the award should get the award, and the next generation needs their heroes. Sadly, there was also a recent article in the paper which pointed out that there are fewer Medal of Honor recipients alive today than there are those who fraudulently claim to be.

So here is my prediction: except for those awarded decades after the decorated action, we will never again see a non-posthumous Medal of Honor.

What do you think? Take the poll and leave a comment.