Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, USN. Heard the name? Wouldn't surprise me if you haven't.
If I were not also a member of military.com, I probably wouldn't either except that I happened to catch a short blurb about Pres Bush awarding the Medal of Honor to him, posthumously, on the news. Took 'em all of 15 seconds to report it. Didn't tell us why a Navy SEAL was being awarded the nation's highest honor, or that he had previously been awarded the Bronze Star for valor. No mention of the fact that this was the third MoH of the Iraq war to be awarded, all posthumously (the 2nd for the same type of act, no less).
Let me nutshell it for you: On 9/29/06 PO2 Monsoor, two other SEAL's, and 3 Iraqi Army snipers were engaged in a firefight with enemy insurgents in Ramadi. They were on a rooftop for supporting fire & overlook. PO2 MONSOOR'S POSITION ON THE ROOF MADE HIM THE ONLY ONE WITH A READY ESCAPE ROUTE.
During the ensuing action, a grenade was thrown on the roof, it hit him in the chest & fell to the rooftop. He had a ready escape & ample time to use it. Instead, he instantly threw himself on the grenade, absorbing the blast & saving the lives of his comrades.
Garden Grove, Ca native Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor was 25. His prior awards include: the Silver Star, Bronze Star w/Valor device, Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Ribbon. His parents, George & Sally, accepted his Medal of Honor from Pres. George W. Bush on April 8, 2008.
How about Sgt 1st Class Paul R Smith, US Army? Not him either, huh?
Born in El Paso, Tx., raised in Tampa Fl, he joined the Army in 1989 rising to the rank of Sgt 1st Class (SFC).
On 4/4/03, his unit, the 11th Combat Engineer Bn/3rd Infantry Div, acting in support of elements of the 7th Inf Reg, were attempting to build a temporary P.O.W. enclosure when they came under heavy fire from entrenched enemy troops.
SFC Smith, aware there was a battalion aid station with 100 patients nearby, elected to stand & fight rather than be evacuated. He assumed command of an M113 APC & ordered it's driver to position it to cover & attack. SFC Smith manned a .50 cal machine gun opening fire on the enemy. Though wounded multiple times, he continued firing, emptying 3 boxes of ammo, allowing additional elements to flank & ultimately destroy the enemy.
SFC Paul R. Smith was found slumped over his weapon. His body armor was perforated multiple times, it's ceramic lining cracked 13 times. The fatal shot entered his neck, lodging in his brain. His actions saved at least 100 lives & turned the battle into victory. He was 33.
He is survived by his wife Brigit, son David & stepdaughter Jessica. He had previously been awarded the Bronze Star & the Purple Heart.
On April 4, 2008, the 5th anniversery of his death, he became the 1st soldier of Operation Iraqi Freedom to recieve the Medal of Honor as Pres Bush bestowed it upon his 12 yr old son, David.
Then there's Cpl Jason Lee Dunham, USMC, age 22 from Scio NY. Nope. Not unless you watch Fox News.
He was serving with 4th Platoon, Company K, 3/7 Marine Reg near Husaybah, Iraq . On 4/14/04, he was leading a patrol investigating an attack on a Marine convoy when they intercepted some vehicles sighted at or near the scene of the attack.
An occupant of one vehicle attacked Cpl Dunham, during the struggle, this individual dropped a grenade. Cpl Dunham, to save his men, threw himself on the grenade using his helmet in an attempt to also shield himself. He was gravely injured & evacuated.
Cpl Jason Lee Dunham, 22, died 10 days later at Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.
On Jan 11, 2007, Pres Bush presented the Medal of Honor to his family in a ceremony held in the East Room of the White House.
OK, now let's take a look at Operation Enduring Freedom (You do remember Enduring Freedom?).
I haven't heard anything at all about Navy Lt Michael P. Murphy's MoH....have you?
In June, 2005 the 29 yr old Lt Murphy was leading a 4-man recon team on a mission to locate a top Taliban leader in Kunar Province, near the Pakistan Border during Operation Red Wing
After being dropped by helicopter, the team's presence was discovered by hostile locals who alerted the bad guys, who surrounded & attacked the team.
Despite being wounded, Lt Murphy continued to lead his men. When his communications man was killed, he attempted to call for help. The mountainous area severely hampered communications, so he crawled into an exposed area & established communication by cell phone with Headquarters. Despite his wounds & exposed to enemy fire, he maintained contact.
A helicopter was dispatched with reinforcements, but crashed killing all on board. A 2nd chopper eventually reached the scene, but it was too late for Lt Murphy & 2 of his men. A lone survivor was rescued.
A native of Smithtown, NY, Lt Michael Patrick Murphy, USN is buried in Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, NY.
On Oct 22, 2007, the Medal of Honor was presented to his parents. His other awards include; The Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Joint Services Commendation Ribbon, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation, Afghanistan Campaign Ribbon, and National Defense Ribbon.
In May, 2008, the Secretary of the Navy announced that the last "Arliegh Burkley" class destroyer would be named "USS Michael Murphy".
I could (and probably should) go on with this ad infinitum, but you're probably wondering, "What the hell's this got to do with firefighting?"
Not a damn thing, but, going into Memorial Day weekend it pisses me off to no end that men (and women) like this are not front and center. Instead, we're all consumed with what to do with a 3 day weekend, cookouts and all those sales.
These people should be household names, every schoolkid in America oughtta know who they are and what they did for this country. Sadly, very few do.
Why is that? Is it because we, as Americans, consider ourselves so exceptional that uncommon valor is a common virtue & thus no big deal? That'd be nice, wouldn't it?
Or do we just not care? I'd like to think we do.
Maybe we're complacent, just too busy with our daily lives to give it much thought, if any.
Memorial Day should remind us all that the price of freedom has not yet been fully paid, we're on the installment plan & the next payment is due. Truthfully, I doubt it'll ever be paid in full.
I'm an Air Force vet, but the thought of my soon-to-be 17yr old son going off to war & possibly coming home in a flag-draped box scares the living hell outta me. BUT, the knowledge that he's seriously considering the military & earnestly wants to serve his country, even at the cost of his own life makes me proud beyond words.
You've heard the quote: "Where do we find such men?" I've asked myself that. whether after reading or hearing stories such as these, meeting wounded or decorated vets, or even watching my own Firefighters at work...where do we find 'em?
Found one right here in my own house. The rest? Just down the street, across town, out on the farm, in a factory, Smithtown, NY, Garden Grove, Ca..
Here's another quote: "Heroes are ordinary people, placed in extraordinary circumstances." to which I would add, "and handling them in an exemplary manner." That's how these people see themselves, as ordinary people, nothing special.
My Air Force career was unspectacular, all but one of my ribbons of the "show-up-and-don't-screw-up" variety. Fire Dept awards? Got a few of them, too, including a plaque inscribed "above and beyond the call of duty". Source of personnal pride to be sure, but they pale to insignifigance beside these people, these ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.
The Medal of Honor is given for "an act of courage so great, at such personnal risk, that no person can be reasonably be expected to undertake it."
Yet they did, and others will follow their example.
Thank God.
Do yourself, and me, a favor this weekend: gather your family around the computer, google the above names, there you'll find bio's, a synopsis of the action for which they were honored, & the MoH citation. Do the same for the Medal of Honor. You'll find quite a list.
And don't forget our friends and allies while you're at it.
Honor these people, say a prayer of thanks for the blessings from God they represent, pray for their families, and the troops in the field, in the air & at sea. Pray for America. Pray for peace.
When you've done this, go out and enjoy this weekend.
They've given all we can ask of them, this is all they ask of us.

P.S. I put this together to honor our men & women in uniform, bouncing back & forth between web sites to get it done by the weekend with limited time to do so.
Working in a hurry, I may have omitted or misinterpreted some details. If so, I apologize.
In googling these people, any discrepancies will be cleared up.
Also feel free to add any you feel should be honored for their service.