Hidden Heroes

By: Matthew Felling
Topics: Media Issues

(AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

The reports from Iraq and Afghanistan come to us stateside with a troubling monotony of body counts and acronyms, like "IED," that we'd rather not know.

It's difficult to report over there, and it's also extremely difficult to find "good news" stories that can compete with the harrowing tales for news merit.

But who knew the military was actually making the search for "good news" more difficult?

That's what's happening, according to a story in today's Baltimore Sun:

Three American soldiers were awarded Silver Stars for valor in [a battle detailed in the story]. Their actions are detailed in official Army accounts drawn from eyewitness reports, radio transmissions and other corroborating evidence used as a basis for awarding the medals.

These one- or two-page "narratives," as they are called, are the best accounts of American battlefield heroism. Apart from those who wear the Silver Star - the third-highest decoration for valor - few people even know the accounts exist.

But the Army won't let you read any Silver Star narratives. Though most are not classified, they are kept filed away from public view, a practice being challenged in Congress.

The practice of keeping these war stories secret – which a veteran of the battle mentioned in the piece called "absurd" – is defended by Army lawyers, who say releasing such stories "could subject the soldier and family to increased personal risk."

But if that is the case, then why does the military release the names of the award recipients at all? Right now, the military men get their name in the paper but we are left in the dark about the reasons why. Which even less sense than the military ban on photographing the caskets coming back to Dover Air Force.

I attended a military holiday party over this past weekend, and was surrounded by men and women who had served in the most dangerous spots on the planet. Each and every one of them was uncomfortable telling their stories, seeing it as unnecessarily self-serving. They were just doing their job, they'd say.

Their stories need to be told by someone, though. Which is why these narratives need to be opened up to the rest of us. It's difficult to hear people complain that of too little good news coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan when the military is actively suppressing such brave tales.

We deserve to know. And they deserve to be recognized for their superlative acts.

3 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment


by heritageman1 December 14, 2007 12:32 PM EST: The issue "LOOSING the history of our heroes information" is not new. If the military cannot keep track of the 400 or so Silver Stars in GWOT, imagine how "lost" are the citations for the estimated 20,000 Silver Stars from Vietnam and Korea, the estimated 120,000 from WWII. According to the National Military Order of the Purple Heart, some of those veterans are even denied burial at Arlington because the records of their awards have been lost.
The issue of "PUBLISHING the stories of these heroes" IS NEW. In WWII the names, photos and citations were published in "Life" magazine, hometown newspapers, and other print media. That part of the issue is hardest to understand.
As the individual quoted in the "Sun" story, I have first-hand knowledge of this problem, and authored the legislation (HR 3769) designed to correct BOTH problems. For more on the problem and proposed solution, please see www.homeofheroes.com/rollofvalor; Reply to this comment


by mishie56 December 12, 2007 7:49 PM EST: I think I can shed just a bit of light on this for you. Being the single mom of a son currently serving his second tour in Iraq, he has seen countless horrors and indescribable incidents. The biggest reason that heroism isn''t singled out is because the troops work together there as a TEAM. One person doesn''t win, they ALL win. Also, it would be impossible to single out one person for a heroic act. Normally, there were several other soldiers present who may have helped but did not receive the award, and it simply would not be fair to the non award winner. Most of the time, these guys are heroic, but not with a cost. They see horrific things constantly, and even though they receive awards, most of them would just rather put the incident to rest so they can focus all their attention on their own safety. Additionally, the military likes to keep missions secret to ensure the continuing safety of our soldiers deployed. Hope this helps.; Reply to this comment


by memekiller December 12, 2007 5:30 PM EST: I agree, and I can''t imagine that the administration wouldn''t want these stories reported. Sure, they''ve been burned by hyping the heroism of soldiers that the soldiers and their families publicly complained were false, but I''m sure there are soldiers doing brave things every day.

As with Beauchamp, I''m sure there are people who don''t want any truth coming out at all because any reality of this war -- even heroism -- brings the war home in a personal way. Did the heroism of Blackhawk down gear up support for Somalia? Were the politicians the good guys?

They don''t want us to look to closely at this war for any reason.; Reply to this comment