Michael A. Monsoor

I haven’t seen much main stream coverage of this, but I think it is something that everyone should take notice of. A Congressional Medal of Honor was given to the family of Michael A. Monsoor in a moving ceremony with President Bush. You can watch the speech here.

Here are some excerpts from his bio:

- Mike and his platoon operated in a highly contested part of Ramadi city called the Ma’laab district. During their deployment, Mike and his fellow SEALS came under enemy attack on 75 percent of their missions. On May 9, 2006 Mike rescued a SEAL who was shot in the leg. He ran out into the street with another SEAL, shot cover fire and dragged his comrade to safety while enemy bullets kicked up the concrete at their feet. For this brave action, he earned a Silver Star.

- Petty Officer Monsoor was subsequently awarded the Bronze Star as the Task Unit Ramadi, Iraq Combat Advisor from April to September 2006. His leadership, guidance and decisive actions during 11 different combat operations saved the lives of his teammates, other Coalition Forces and Iraqi Army soldiers.

- Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor will receive the Medal of
Honor posthumously in a ceremony at the White House April 8, 2008. He will
receive the award for his actions in Ar Ramadi, Iraq on Sept. 29, 2006. On that
day, Monsoor was part of a sniper overwatch security position with three other
SEALs and eight Iraqi Army (IA) soldiers. An insurgent closed in and threw a
fragmentation grenade into the overwatch position. The grenade hit Monsoor in
the chest before falling to the ground. Positioned next to the single exit,
Monsoor was the only one who could have escaped harm. Instead, he dropped onto
the grenade to shield the others from the blast. Monsoor died approximately 30
minutes later from wounds sustained from the blast. Because of Petty Officer
Monsoor’s actions, he saved the lives of his 3 teammates and the IA
soldiers.

The following are some excerpts from from Bush’s speech, which can be found here:

- One of Mike's officers remembers an instructor once asking after an
intense training session, "What's the deal with the Monsoor guy? He just says,
'Roger that,' to everything."

- In May 2006, Mike and another SEAL ran into the line of fire to save a
wounded teammate. With bullets flying all around them, Mike returned fire with
one hand while helping pull the injured man to safety with the other. In a dream
about the incident months later, the wounded SEAL envisioned Mike coming to the
rescue with wings on his shoulders.

- One of the survivors puts it this way: "Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, 'You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'"

- Perhaps the greatest tribute to Mike's life is the way different service members all across the world responded to his death. Army soldiers in Ramadi hosted a memorial service for the valiant man who had fought beside them. Iraqi Army scouts -- whom Mike helped train -- lowered their flag, and sent it to his parents. Nearly every SEAL on the West Coast turned out for Mike's funeral in California. As the SEALs filed past the casket, they removed their golden tridents from their uniforms, pressed them onto the walls of the coffin. The procession went on nearly half an hour. And when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten.