Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Spirit of heroes..remember

Dan Daly, Two time Medal of Honor recipient
Sgt Dan Daily

Belleau Wood 1917:
He fought in several campaigns with the American Expeditionary Force in France, and won combat medals three more times - once when he crawled out under heavy enemy fire and rescued a half-dozen wounded Marines who were pinned down, once when he single-handedly captured 13 German soldiers, and once when he took out a heavily-fortified German machine gun nest all by himself using nothing more than a handful of grenades and a Colt .45 Automatic. He was also wounded three times, but yeah right like that could slow him down.

Daly's greatest moment in World War I came during the intense fighting at the Battle of Belleau Wood. Daly's Marines were in the middle of a goddamned shitstorm. They were outnumbered two-to-one, outgunned, and facing down the barrel of a veritable assload of German machine gun nests. They had been pinned down for hours by a non-stop hail of artillery and gunfire, and things were looking bleak as hell for our boys.

Well all of a sudden, just as things were looking hopeless, a lone figure jumped up onto the earthworks the American Marines had been using for cover. Sergeant Dan Daly looked down the line, clutched his rifle and shouted, "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?" before charging out to meet the enemy. The men of the United States Marine Corps saw this act of bravery and decided, no, they did not want to live forever. They went "over the top" and charged the German positions.
Daly received the Navy Cross for this day, and BTW received TWO Congressional Medals of Honor for other action.

Munley.jpgPolice Sgt Kim Munley

Around this time, Fort Hood Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley got the call of "shots fired." The SRP isn't on Munley's beat; she was in the area because her vehicle was in the shop.

Munley, 34, was on the scene within three minutes.

Just over 5 feet tall, Munley is an advanced firearms instructor and civilian member of Fort Hood's special reaction team. She had trained on "active shooter" scenarios after the April 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech University.

She didn't wait for backup.

As she approached the squat, rectangular building, a soldier emerged from a door with a gunman in pursuit. The officer fired, and the uniformed shooter wheeled and charged.

Munley was hit at least three times in the exchange--twice through the left leg and once in her right wrist. Hasan was hit four times.

From the first shots to the last, authorities say the whole incident lasted less than 10 minutes.

She didn't wait for backup.
And more safety.



TIBOR RUBIN20050927-tibor rubin.jpg

Rank and Organization: Coproral, U.S. Army, Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Republic of Korea, 23 July 1950-20 April 1953.

Corporal Tibor Rubin distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism during the period from July 23, 1950, to April 20, 1953, while serving as a rifleman with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in the Republic of Korea. While his unit was retreating to the Pusan Perimeter, Corporal Rubin was assigned to stay behind to keep open the vital Taegu-Pusan Road link used by his withdrawing unit. During the ensuing battle, overwhelming numbers of North Korean troops assaulted a hill defended solely by Corporal Rubin. He inflicted a staggering number of casualties on the attacking force during his personal 24-hour battle, single-handedly slowing the enemy advance and allowing the 8th Cavalry Regiment to complete its withdrawal successfully. Following the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, the 8th Cavalry Regiment proceeded northward and advanced into North Korea. During the advance, he helped capture several hundred North Korean soldiers. On October 30, 1950, Chinese forces attacked his unit at Unsan, North Korea, during a massive nighttime assault. That night and throughout the next day, he manned a .30 caliber machine gun at the south end of the unit's line after three previous gunners became casualties. He continued to man his machine gun until his ammunition was exhausted. His determined stand slowed the pace of the enemy advance in his sector, permitting the remnants of his unit to retreat southward. As the battle raged, Corporal Rubin was severely wounded and captured by the Chinese. Choosing to remain in the prison camp despite offers from the Chinese to return him to his native Hungary, Corporal Rubin disregarded his own personal safety and immediately began sneaking out of the camp at night in search of food for his comrades. Breaking into enemy food storehouses and gardens, he risked certain torture or death if caught. Corporal Rubin provided not only food to the starving Soldiers, but also desperately needed medical care and moral support for the sick and wounded of the POW camp. His brave, selfless efforts were directly attributed to saving the lives of as many as forty of his fellow prisoners. Corporal Rubin's gallant actions in close contact with the enemy and unyielding courage and bravery while a prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

Prior to his employment by the US Army, Corporal Rubin survived the Holocaust at the Matthausen concentration camp in Europe.

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