Tearful Bush Awards Medal Of Honor To SEAL

Michael A. Monsoor Gets Highest Military Tribute For Throwing Himself On Grenade In Iraq

(CBS/AP)  Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor had fast thinking to do when a live grenade came out of nowhere to bounce off his chest: Take the clear path to safety that he had but his comrades didn't, try to toss it safely away, or throw himself on top of it.

With barely an instant's hesitation on that Iraqi rooftop, Monsoor took the last course, sacrificing his life to save the men around him. For that, President Bush on Tuesday awarded him the Medal of Honor.

In an East Room ceremony, Mr. Bush presented the nation's highest military honor to Monsoor's still-grieving parents, Sally and George Monsoor. About 250 guests, including his sister and two brothers, fellow SEALS, other Medal winners, many friends and GOP Sen. John McCain and other members of Congress, looked on quietly.

"The Medal of Honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one could rightly be expected to undertake it," Mr. Bush said. "Yet those who knew Michael Monsoor were not surprised when he did."

Mr. Bush has awarded the medals to 10 people during his presidency. Monsoor is only the third from the Iraq war, and Mr. Bush's lip trembled and tears streamed down his cheeks as the official citation was read with the details of his bravery.

The emotional proceedings at the White House came as the top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq opened two days of testimony across town on Capitol Hill on the status of the war, which has killed more than 4,020 U.S. military personnel.

Gen. David Petraeus said security in Iraq is still too fragile to allow announcements of troop levels going below 140,000 before September. Mr. Bush is giving a speech on Thursday to announce whether he accepts Petraeus' recommendation to suspend troop withdrawals for 45 days after the current round completes in July. He is expected to do so.

In brief remarks, Mr. Bush told the story of Monsoor's service-oriented upbringing and determined youth.

Monsoor became a Navy SEAL, the military's most elite fighting force, in 2004.

"His teammates liked to laugh about the way his shiny Corvette would leave everybody in the dust," Mr. Bush said. "But deep down, they always knew Mike would never leave anybody behind when it counted."

By spring 2006, Monsoor was deployed to Ramadi in Iraq's dangerous, then-al Qaeda dominated Anbar Province, as an automatic weapons gunner and communications operator - a double assignment that often landed him more than 100 pounds of gear to carry in the hot desert.

In May, Monsoor ran through heavy enemy fire to pull a wounded SEAL to safety. He earned a Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for that action.

It was only four months later, on Sept. 29, 2006, that Monsoor and his two American teammates, plus members of the Iraqi Army, were on a rooftop in a Ramadi residential area known as a stronghold for the Sunni insurgency. They were providing early warning and sniper cover for a mission aimed at trying to clear the neighborhood.

After a long day of back-and-forth engagement and evidence that the enemy was closing them off, Monsoor and the two other SEALS moved to a confined outcropping of the roof for a better lookout position. An unseen insurgent lobbed a grenade, which hit Monsoor in the chest and landed on the floor in front of him. He yelled a warning, but quickly saw that his fellow SEALS, not positioned near the exit like he was, wouldn't be able to get clear in time. Monsoor fell onto the grenade just as it exploded, absorbing the blast with his body and dying from the injuries about 30 minutes later. Others suffered shrapnel wounds, but no one else was killed.

He was always "Mikey" to his family - the favorite uncle with a devilish smile and a silver corvette, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod. His sister just knew when her baby brother shipped out, he wasn't coming home.

"I don't think any of us really felt like we would see him again," she said. "There was just something there about it, and we knew if anything were to happen, Mike would be the first to jump in and try to fix it or solve it."

The Garden Grove, Calif., native, was only 25 years old.

"Mr. and Mrs. Monsoor: America owes you a debt that can never be repaid," Mr. Bush said. "This nation will always cherish the memory of your son."

[taevans4]

newsterl -

YOU ARE A SICK PERSON, TO EVEN IMAGINE 140,000 FLAG DRAPED COFFINS, No one is listening to you, it has gone from trying to prove your point to just plain *** TREASON, you are a disgrace to this country and to the freedom it provides, stop trying to prove yourself you have gone way too far for wishing death of the very people who protect your dumb ***, lets get rid of the military and see what *** happens, the first thing you will say is OH NO I WAS WRONG, PLEASE HELP ME, you have NO clue what the hell you are talking about, you do need a HS diploma or GED to join the military, how to I know, I AM IN THE *** MILITARY ***. You are a sick sadistic ***. You anger me to the point of HATE. Jump off a cliff you ignorant, malistic freak.............
I will no longer post on this blog, newsterl you are SATAN himself. I will no longer post on a blog that is only disonoring this HERO''s Story.

[newsterl]

oh stuff it, you still haven''''t admitted you were wrong about the requirements to joining the military

A soldier DOES NOT get to choose where they are deployed!
ladyoAmerica"

BEND OVER honey! you still havent admitted YOU were wrong about the required diploma 30% DONT HAVE according to multiple sources.
I dont CARE if they have a choice where to deploy, any idiot in the last 6 years could figure out they sign up they are GOING to IRAQ, and they go to Iraq they are Bush regime enablers attacking a country that had NO wmd''s OR involvement with 9/11

Nov 19, 2007 . Number of U.S. Soldiers Going AWOL Jumps 80 Percent. The number of U.S. Army soldiers going AWOL has jumped 80 percent since the United ...
www.democracynow.org/2007/11/19/headlines

11,000 troops go Awol since Iraq war
At a time of overstretch we cannot have vital troops going Awol." A spokesman for the MoD said: "There is no rise in the number of soldiers going Awol each ...
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/ news/2007/06/11/nawol111.xml

Looks like some of your patriots are as sick of this illegal war as the rest of us- the 80% who DONT support bush.

[newsterl]

And you are STILL wrong about THIS as I have shown- almost 30% DONT HAVE a diploma;

"in fact t even JOIN the military you are REQUIRED to have a High School Diploma or GED.
Posted by LadyoAmerica"

Maybe you should put your wool where your words are and SIGN UP if you love the military so much, you can sign up Monday and be baaaaaaa ck home before dinner confident you are PROTECTING the US by killing dogs, people and civilians in IRAQ.

Then come baaaaa ck here and tell us how it went.

[newsterl]

Guess your patriotic bro''s have to have a $20K ''enticement'' huh? like this one who only mentioned the bonus and PAY;


"When I first heard about the bonus, I thought that I could really get my life in order," Davis said. "Pay some bills, put some money aside, help my mother."

"He says he emphasizes "Army benefits" above all else, such as a stable job, work experience and health care.

"They would have to be really interested in the Army before I would mention the bonus," Thomas said. "I don''t want anyone making a commitment based on $20,000. That amount of money doesn''t last a lifetime."

But James Hosek, a defense manpower expert at the Rand Corp., said that though the quick-ship bonus is a "very smart move" by the Army, it could attract people who are less motivated to be in the service.

"There''s a risk of bringing people in with lesser attachment or commitment to the Army," Hosek said. "Adding money will, for some people, sweeten the deal enough to persuade them to enter."

[newsterl]

More than 90 percent of the Army''s new recruits since late July have accepted a $20,000 "quick ship" bonus to leave for basic combat training by the end of September, putting thousands of Americans into uniform almost immediately.

Many recruits who take the bonus -- scoring in many cases the equivalent of more than a year''s pay -- leave their homes within days, recruiters said. The initiative is part of an effort by Army officials to meet year-end recruiting goals after a two-month slump earlier this year. With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the Army hopes the extra cash motivates those interested in joining or entices those just considering enlisting.

Army officials have lowered standards and increased waivers in recent years to meet their recruiting goals, in part to deal with the strain of the wars and to quickly expand the Army. But the Army has been more concerned with nose-diving public opinion about the war in Iraq and the role of "influencers" -- parents, teachers and coaches -- who have been increasingly unwilling to recommend the military as a career option to young people.

The $20,000 bonus can be enticing, especially to those who lack a steady job, languish in debt or are worried about their future.
--

[newsterl]

Your whole basis of argument against the military was that they were HS drop-outs, lazy bums, who joined for the sole purpose to go to Iraq. That is wrong, wrong and wrong
LadyoAmerica

That''s YOUR take on it, I see it as the job of LAST resort- the one the inner city, hood/ghetto/gang boys take to get OUT of there because theres no jobs for them and they cant afford COLLEGE, so the military bribes them with a $20K enlistment bonus, training and college krap.

No skills? cant get a job or only one mopping floors at Burger King? join the military! I SEE THE RECRUITING ADS honey


Aug 27, 2007 ... The bonus prompted him to sign up quickly. ... Military personnel experts said the signing bonuses are a transparent way for the Army to ...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601266.html

[ladyoamerica]

oh stuff it, you still haven''t admitted you were wrong about the requirements to joining the military and thus you don''t know anything about the military but you were oh so high and mighty telling me what you THOUGHT it toook to join the military, yet you were wrong. Do your friggin research before you continue insulting the military, calling them highschool drop-outs, lazy bums, want to get deployed to Iraq. A soldier DOES NOT get to choose where they are deployed! How many times do I have to say it! Your whole basis of argument against the military was that they were HS drop-outs, lazy bums, who joined for the sole purpose to go to Iraq. That is wrong, wrong and wrong! As I have showed countless times over and over again! You have wished death on all the soldiers in Iraq and grief on their families! You are equal to a cold blooded killer to say that you want all of our soldiers to come home in flag draped coffins! I do NOT want to hear any more of you high and mighty talk from such a cold hearted person as yourself!

[newsterl]

With that comment, you really shouldnt be asking how many deaths ranger has under his belt and tell him he is going to hell for it because by saying thatcomment above you are wishing death on 140,000 soldiers and grief upon tens of thousands of families"
LadyoAmerica"

My wishing doesnt count, and its obvious that prayers dont work either LOL but ranger ADMITTED to killing people. like every other war against the enemy target of the MOMENT- Japan, Vietnam etc come to mind- they later became friends/allies.

Again, if you werent over there you invading another country illegally, you wouldnt be at risk.

[newsterl]

I noticed ho ''happy'' the Iraq people were and are to see us, I guess the welcoming committee in 2001 was ABSENT for vacation huh?
I guess those roadside bombs and people kidnapped and found headless later were just part of the ongoing welcome the Iraq people have for the US troops EH?


" I would suggest you leave the country as quickly as possible
Ranger1948"

I suggest you take a flying leap into a roadside bomb and come back in a pine box with the rest of the idiots that fell for this fiasco

"The ACTUAL citizens of Iraq are never shown, you know the ones the media claims hates US Troops being there. Reality check, actually Iraqi Citizens are very glad we are there."

Oh YEAH RIGHT!!!! all the media just hides it and covers it up right? I guess you didnt know I dont just read the right wing US media, I ALSO read the UK news as well as news in Ireland and other countries- guess its all a conspiracy to hide how HAPPY Iraq is that we invaded their country, bombed them, cut off their electric, started a worse civil war and caused al quaida to come in. The great satan invading their holy land Im sure was appreciated BIG TIME!

[newsterl]

If what you are spewing had any truth to it
"Ranger1948"

It''s all in the documented HISTORY that can be verified, including the documentation about the Bay of Tonkin ''incident'' that was a lie to get us into invading Vietnam, just as wmd''s were the lie used to attack Iraq and set up permanent bases there.

GULF WAR syndrome is legendary, as is the US Govt ignoring it for years as ''a figment of your imagination'' but lawsuits and freedom of information acts have pushed that out in the open, ditto for agent orange, and now the anthrax vaccine forced on you.

1969 Dr. Robert MacMahan of the Department of Defense requests from congress $10 million to develop, within 5 to 10 years, a synthetic biological agent to which no natural immunity exists.