Apr 08, 2008 08:57 pm That is true heroism. I don't think I could have done it- I would have tried to throw the grenade back though.
Just goes to show there are a few good people left, and they're all risking their necks for our sake.
A Real Hero
Posted on Apr 08, 2008 08:46 pm
guitar_jim
Czar of Cheese
Member Since: Jun 09, 2004
How many of us could do what this guy did...without even thinking twice?
www.usatoday.com/news/was...dal-honor_N.htm
If you ever doubt the resolve and dedication of our US military, remember the name of Petty Officer Second Class Michael Monsoor.
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Apr 08, 2008 08:57 pm That is true heroism. I don't think I could have done it- I would have tried to throw the grenade back though.
Just goes to show there are a few good people left, and they're all risking their necks for our sake.
Apr 08, 2008 09:29 pm I look upon this with a different perspective. Having been in the military, and having fought in Desert Storm. When you are faced with this situation, it becomes instinctive. You just react, you don't think.
I believe that Zek will agree with me on this. When in combat, training takes over. You remain almost in a relaxed state. Even though chaos is all around you. When the slightest abnormality catches your eye, you turn and firer. You don't think about you aim, or your breathing, or even your loved ones. You just fire.
Sadly, this soldier reacted in a way that ended his own life. This is what the military training does to you. This is not to discount his actions. His actions are truly heroic. But, if anyone that has gone through this training, would react in a very similar way.
Apr 09, 2008 03:08 am I think so, here is another one. I remembered reading about it in the paper a couple of weeks ago after I read the one above and looked it up
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle3646243.ece
Fortunately the guy was unhurt, got up and was back in battle a few hours later.
Apr 09, 2008 07:14 am i don't want to celebrate this in the way that the initial post wants to. sorry.
yes, i can imagine doing this, and so can you.
this guy's gift is not that he did something that NONE of you can imagine doing, but that he did the thing that each of you very well might have done yourself.
don't elevate him as a god. see him as that thing in you which could do the same, if the situation called for it, and if you met the call in the right frame of mind.
this is not about an individual. this is about a lot of people. maybe even you. we all have this in us, and that is what this shows us.
Apr 09, 2008 07:51 am Man, this guy had some seeds of steel, big props...but forty is right, while that took some major balls, how many of us have put ourselves in harms way (though maybe not that dramatically) to help a fellow man...I know I have two or three times I can count, only once in actual risk of life and limb but still, we all have it, it's just the balls to do it.
This guy found those balls, and a few others are alive because of it. God bless he and his family.
Apr 09, 2008 08:33 am i can only imagine it, but i think that roles are very important to peeps, you know? if your task is to play the role of protector/defender, and if this happens, and if you realize in that moment what your choices are, i dunno, maybe you do it. i don't know the story. but it was a rooftop, right? i'd try to throw it away if i was quick enough, but otherwise, i dunno. adrenaline and roles can do things to ya.
guy deserves to be celebrated, but there's a way that it happens that, i think, cheapens these sacrifices. i can't really explain it, but it happens when you turn a real man into a poster child for heroism.
there's something to be said for silent appreciation. fox news and all the boosters out there really do, i think, make a market out of patriotism and heroism in a bad way, at times, it seems to me. somehow it become automatic, a commodity. which paradoxically cheapens or wrecks it.
been drinkin'. it's just something that rubs me wrong. the real guy was a regular guy for 20 some years until this one moment. that matters too; it might mean something.
who knows what you do when you're called to do a thing?
Apr 09, 2008 08:35 am (actually, i would have yelled 'grenade' and jumped off the roof, i think. or dangled from the ledge)
Apr 09, 2008 10:11 am I don't know enough about the guy to say if he was just a regular guy for 20 years. And I don't know enough about being in the military to say that I would have done the same thing. I can't imagine that I would have, but that's probably one of my many character flaws that would have precluded me from any type of military service. If I was there, and the grenade had gone off, the shrapnel would have hit me in the *** because I'd have been running the other direction.
That being said, I do understand where you're coming from. I'n very much anti-war (though not anti-military...if that's possible), and glorifying this type of thing just adds fuel to Bush's war machine. Obviously, he didn't do it for the recognition he would get, he did it to save people's lives. While I don't doubt that his tears were genuine, it sure did make for some great PR...
Apr 09, 2008 10:42 am Well, been in the millitary; VN eara; and yes, training can be nearly instinctual. However. The fight or flight instinct is just that, instinctual. It's pretty much up to brain chemistry to determine the action taken in radical situations such as these. I would venture to believe all of this 20/20 editorialism is for naught. Only he knows what his actions were based on and it would be a little difficult to interview him at this point.
Apr 09, 2008 09:52 pm Well, they can call him a hero but I do agree with forty. That kind of thing is in all of us. We may not know it but it is in there somewhere.
And this brings up a good time to let some of you know that Tuna has started the enlistment process. No recruiter talked him into it. He simply decided to enlist in the Army. Not something I ever thought he would do, but I gotta give him props for doing so. Like the Sergent stated in front of us. It takes some big nuggets to simply enlist, but even more while there is a war going on. He has surprised me before but this one caught me off guard. But I'll stand behind him with his decision.
Apr 09, 2008 10:10 pm What is his MOS (Military Occupational Skill)? Did he get anything good?
Apr 09, 2008 10:22 pm Good for him! Speaking only for myself, I am glad I was in. It gave me a perspective on life that has served me well. I also have a niece that is now a full bird. She also has greatly benifited from her experiences.
And good for you for having the balls to stand behind him.
Apr 10, 2008 12:45 am i like walt's two-posts-ago post. when i wrote those posts, i was drinking. walt's perspective there is pretty much what i think.
Apr 10, 2008 11:48 am I'm just thinking out loud here. I'm pretty sure that this kind of thing went on every day in Crimea, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam etc. but the press had (a) different sensibilities back then, and (b) less immediate access. Reporting would have been through the military channels only. Until, that is, the politicians got hold of it and turned it into a circus.
I'm not taking away anything from the bravery of this individual, or any individual in the world's military forces, but I can't help feeling that this is one of Bush's press moments. How many others did the same for their buddies but received "only" a Navy Cross or similar?
Could/would I do the same? I don't know. I'd like to think I could/would given the same situation/training. Hopefully I (or my son) will never have to experience anything like it.
Hats off to this guy for his cajones. He did a great thing, and should be decorated.
I still have the whole Pat Tillman thing giving me a sour taste in my mouth. Remember how "inspirational" he was to the Bush machine. They got some great mileage from him before the truth came out.
Apr 10, 2008 10:43 pm Rob, he took his AbFab and got the results but he hasn't really discussed it with me. His new Recruiting Sergeant is coming over on Sunday to go over it with him. I'll let you know. He is leaning toward either electronics or IT. He is going to take advantage of the education they offer and lean towards IT so that is good. They even allow them to take classes even if he is shipped to Iraq or what have you.
He was originally going in as Infantry and now it sounds like pay and bonus options will be better for scout and what ever. But that means he will be closer to the front lines if he gets shipped over to the war.
Walt, ya that is what I said as well. He has decided to go for the 4 years. And he has the option to increase pay and such if he decides by 2 years that he wants to make it a career. I think it will do him some good. It has already got him straightened out some. He passed his first UA in years so I say yippee for that.
Apr 10, 2008 11:58 pm TallChap,
I am hearing of some good things going on here and there. Just caught an article about some folks forming welcoming lines in airports welcoming back our troops. Every one of these folks that did not defect have some hero in them and are deserving of honor for their willingness to serve. It gives me hope that some people can compartmentalize their politics and give honor to those who serve. The Viet Nam era was pure sick. Public "feelings" were that of mis-directed anger for a political war aimed at the troops, followed by a few decades of electing the GD draft dogers into federal office. Hello? We have a civilian controlled millitary. It is your job to ensure your government is working for you. You say your too busy making a living? The troops should just say no? Drop ship your *** into a war zone and see what you have to say if you can survive for a few months. Irrated with your job because you arn't getting adaquate sleep? (I'm reading this and think I better mention that I am not speaking to you TC, it could be misconstrued) Oh yes, then there are those who talk of negotiation, and talking sense. Just how do you talk to 6000 year old waring tribes? They have more sophicated tools to war with but their phylosphies have not changed.
Dideley Ieeeeee! Dideley Ieeeee! ..... Boom! Last seen looking for 72 virgins.
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