What makes America great

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/17/monti.medal.of.honor/index.html Medal of Honor recipient remembered as a selfless friend * Story Highlights * Sgt. Jared Monti will be posthumously awarded Medal of Honor on Thursday * Monti died in 2006 in Afghanistan trying to save young private who was wounded * In his last moments, Monti asked his comrades to tell his family he loved them * The private that Monti tried to save died after cable to rescue helicopter snapped

That is a very heroic story. However, I thought capitalism was the primary thing that makes America great.

Yea without dudes like that, nothing else exists my friend.

it’s what makes him a great person as much as you’d love to take it from him, it says absolutely nothing about the rest of americans

Go to http://www.cmohs.org/ You can view all of the past recipients of the medal of honor and read how they earned the award. Very Cool stuff. Gary Gordon (One of the snipers depicted in Black Hawk Down that was awarded the moh) “Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon’s sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew’s weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, “good luck.” Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot’s life. Master Sergeant Gordon’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.”

Badass.

Holy f**king sh!t.

Damn, that’s awesome.

I don’t know how any of these guys operate under these conditions. Truly amazing. I am very proud to say my father was up for the medal of honor. Though ultimately he did not receive it (he was turned down for the third and final time under the Clinton administration). He did receive the distinguished service cross for his actions in Viet Nam. If you are interested you can read about his story here: http://books.google.com/books?id=c0pyl7T4aswC&dq=the+battle+of+an+loc&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=YIeySu2UC9PQlAfy-9GbDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=whitehead&f=false Click on page 60. He is Captain Whitehead.

Salute the brave men and women around the world that put their lives at risk for others. mwvt9 - how did you end up on AF? …just kidding…

I can’t imagine ever being able to do that, but that is just awesome!

i love america and the admire our heroes in the armed forces. that said, they are the exception and many americans (just like many people around the world) are stupid, lazy, and nothing special.

Fortunately an inspiring example…unfortunately a drastic anomaly.

check out this this video profile him, i’m in total awe. http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/monti/profile.html

These guys are very selfless. I would never volunteer to fight in somebody’s war. On other hand, I would volunteer to fight in a civil war. Would be fun, ye-haw.