Today I became ashamed ...

[TX-BlackKnight]

..to say that I served my country for 12.5 years in the Armed Forces.

Jessica Lynch just was awarded the Bronze Star.....
For being a dumb-ass, taking a wrong turn and getting captured.....

I STRONGLY feel that this act by our "leaders" just lessoned the ones that really deserved the award..and all those that deserved the award but were never recognized.

Now awards that were given for valor are now given out for publicity stunts.
I took all my medals and my dolphins and threw them in the trash. They mean NOTHING any more.

~S~
BK

 

[TX-Chukar]

Let’s see, the news reports first reported how she killed several Iraqi solders after being shot several times herself.  She continued to return fire even though she was wounded, until all ammunition was exhausted.  They said she didn’t want to be taken alive so she fought to the end in hand to hand fighting where she received a stab wound, then had her legs broken while she was held as a POW.  Well it seems those first news accounts were not very accurate; actually they just made it all up.  Truth is the convoy became lost and entered Iraqi held territory.  They came under fire and began racing through the streets at high speed trying to find a way out and get clear of the enemy fire.  In the confusion the convoy became split into three groups and some of the vehicles crashed into each other.  This is how lynch received her injuries, from a vehicle crash not the result of enemy fire.  I cannot find any reports confirming she even actually fired a weapon or made any attempt to resist or avoid capture.  Maybe she wasn’t able to, not that any of that is her fault but it’s certainly not deserving of a Bronze Star.  It’s certainly not the story that many were hoping for but nobody wants the truth now.  Too many people (mostly those who have never served) had already made up their minds that as one of the first women in combat she should get a big medal for this.  Just be glad they didn’t get everything they wanted or she would be wearing the Medal of Honor.  I agree that it is very disappointing and a slap in the face to all of us who have served and especially to those who have earned medals for distinguished service.S!Chukar

[TX-BlackKnight]

Bronze Star Medala. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419, 4 February 1944 (superseded by Executive Order 11046, 24 August 1962).b. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy; or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.c. Awards may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above, which are of lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.d. The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded for meritorious achievement or meritorious service according to the following:(1) Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The lesser degree than that required for the award of the Legion of Merit must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction.(2) Award may be made by letter application to Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN: DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200 (enclosing documentary evidence, if possible), to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who after 6 December 1941, has been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, inclusive, or whose meritorious achievement has been other wise confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. For this purpose, an award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge is considered as a citation in orders. Documents executed since 4 August 1944 in connection with recommendations for the award of decorations of higher degree than the Bronze Star Medal will not be used as the basis for an award under this paragraph.(3) Upon letter application, award of the Bronze Star Medal may be made to eligible soldiers who participated in the Philippine Islands Campaign between 7 December 1941 to 10 May 1942. Performance of duty must have been on the island of Luzon or the Harbor Defenses in Corregidor and Bataan. Only soldiers who were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (Presidential Unit Citation) may be awarded this decoration. Letter application should be sent to the Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN: DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200.

[TX-Deck]

BK, go get those medals out of the trash!While the latest news about her Bronze Star is not real cool, there WILL be a day and time where awards and medals for wartime deeds mean something.  Don't set yourself up for something that years later you might regret.One day your kids will take a large interest in your military career, and will enjoy listening to your experiences and thoughts about it.  To be able to share those memories, as well as awards, will be more than rewarding for both you and your family, and possibly good friends too.My grandfather (now living in the San Diego area) has most of his WWII items still intact, and well preserved.   The only thing he is missing is his leather flight jacket which he wore while on duty in the Pacific piloting a C-47.  It was with him the entire time, even when his plane went down somewhere over southern India.  Hot as hell and he made sure to hold on to it for later use.   Years later he could not figure out where in the heck it had gone, only to find out that somehow it had ended up with a nephew who had wrecklessly lost it in a bar bet or something foolish like that.Hang on to your stuff, you will be glad that you did.   Awards or not, I fully respect any person who is prior service or active duty.  I also feel very sorry for the ones who stuck to the plan, did what they were told, and received very little if no recognition what so ever.  A whole hearted "THANK YOU" goes out to all of our military personnel.TX-Deck out.

[TX-Kingsnake]

Yeah BK don't throw it away, when you kick the bucket your kids can sell your medals on e-bay.

[Seeker]

Whatever she did or didn't do does not cheapen the honors you have been awarded. You were not given them, you earned them. You know it more than anyone else. And that is the ONLY thing that matters. You better damn well keep your medals sir!Seeker

[TX-BlackKnight]

What I did to "earn" my medals, ribbons, awards and dolphins don't add up toone molecule of what those in actual combat did and they receive(d) NOTHING !!!! And yet someone like this chick can be the brunt of a publicity stunt and get a BRONZE STAR.This morning I burnt all my stuff and placed the ashes and remnants into an envelope. Then into a small box. Then I addressed the small box to the Secratary of the Navy and mailed them along with a brief letter explaining what was in the envelope and why.Then I went to a few web-sites for vets and posted my views, my actions, and explained why I did why I did. So far I have received 29 emails from others that said they were going to do the same thing or already have done simular.Doing something for a warm, fuzzy feeling is one thing. Having something to show for what you did is NOT important. The ONLY person I have to impress is MYSELF. On the other hand, seeing someone getting recognition for something not earned in the face of those that HAVE earned something and are getting nothing or have gotten nothing is a load of crap.I'm not doing what I did for myself. I'm doing it for the countless others that DON'T have anything to burn and send back.Someone will open that box, read the letter and spend a few seconds thinking........and that's all I could hope for.~S~BK

[LW_Tornado]

First off SHE didnt take a wrong turn , her whole convoy did, and 2nd im sure she didnt ask for any of the above medals, and 3rd i do agree with you on the ones who served in combat and lost people and didnt get squat, I myself served 8 months in a combat enviroment and did not even get a certificate of achievement from Sam himself, so go figure. Anyways, I'm proud to say I know you and of you Jeff, and you will always have my respect civilian wise and militarily. As for me , I have a kuwaity liberation medal, and a combat stripe on my sleeve, other than that I just have very vivid memories of what was along time ago in the "True" mother land.S~ AllTX-TornadoBlue 3TX TO

[TX-OkieCop]

BK and all others who cast some sort of discredit on Jessica...shame on you!Whether she deserved the Bronze Star or not has NOTHING to do with Jessica's service. Just like you, she chose to serve her country and being a service man yourself you should know the things that can get turned around in the fog of war. And being a private I doubt she had any say in the direction the convoy took that fateful day, so to say she is some dumbass woman who took a wrong turn is just down right disrespectful of a fellow service person.Maybe she didn't deserve a Bronze Star but she certainly served her county and did so well, never loosing her awareness of who she is. In Jessica's own words, "I'm an American soldier too".

[LW_Tornado]

p.s. If you really trashed your military stuff, , thats just a serious ass bummer bro, but youre an individual , and no-one can tell you otherwise bro.we still love ya here @ TX.B~Bill

[TX-BlackKnight]

Discredit on Jessica ? To cast Discredit on someone..they FIRST have had to EARN credit. She doesn't earn squat in my book. Not anymore. Because she served her country she earned my respect. When she went along with this publicity stunt to FURTHER her own movie deal then...you get my drift. She joined the military of her own accord..as I did. I don't desreve a pat on the back for what I freely did of my own will. Does she?MAYBE SHE WASN'T DRIVING THE TRUCK THAT TOOK THE WRONG TURN..BUT SHE WAS THERE. IF MY SUB DID SOMETHING DUMB-ASS THEN I WOULD GET THE BLAME LIKE THE REST OF THE CREW. Why ? Because we a a CREW ( a group more than one individual..ALL working together. We take the good with the bad TOGETHER ).But hey it wasn't her fault..right. If the UNIT does something good..they ALL get credit. Not just one. If the UNIT screws up ( like they did ) all but HER get the aw-shit. Who's fault is it for taking credit for something meritorious when nothing that you did was meritorious? She has a mouth and she hasn't opened it other than to say she's a soldier. Sometimes NOT speaking up for what is right is worse. Do you really BELIEVE that she thinks she deserves the recognition that she is getting?If you really think that she deserves her medal do me and the others that don't feel the same way and write to ALL THE MOTHERS that lost a son ( or daughter ) in the wars and tell them that they should be grateful to have died and received a purple heart. There deaths make it possible for a cheap publicity stunt like this. Do you REALLY feel that her acts stand out above those in her squad that died?I've said all I care to say about this subject..If you feel different then so be it. But..at least learn the facts to why me and others ( that have served ) feel this is a slap in the face to those that gave the ultimate price for their country and not their book and movie deals.~S~BK

[TX-FlightRisk]

BK,My Grandfather was Herman Roberts Jr. He Was one of those U.S. Army guys in a foxhole facing the Germans in bastogne until Patton showed up. Not that Patton saved them because they, the survivors still say that Patton saved no one and they were holding their own just fine until he showed up. He was wounded in the leg there. He stayed and fought on. When they finally got relief they did not want to take the bullet out because it had been weeks and he was doing okay on it. He lost his leg in sudden onset gangrene in 1976. It wasn't a year later and he died of a heart attack.What I am trying to say here is that when he died he didn't have much, but he was a very very cool guy that took me all over the place with him until he died when I was 10. There are a bunch of pictures of him...kind of neat.. Also I have his Bronze Star, his Purple Heart, and a Bloody German Flag he brought back. They mean the world to me.Sorry to be so long winded but you need to rescue those for that grandkid that will be in your future.....for a grandfather in his/her past...S~TX-FlightRisk Black 3

[TX-OkieCop]

Please let me clear up my position. I'm not defending her getting a Bronze Star. Far from it. As the current information now stands I do not believe that she did anything which would deserve a medal of such distinction, and that the entire issue was drummed up by feminist politicians who would like to see some positive spin on women in the military. I am however defending Jessica. In my opion and only based on my life experience, I don't believe that she has very much or any input into what is going on and based on what I've heard from the media, she was oblivious to her media popularity for weeks after she hit Times front cover.I also don't think a kid as young as her will be making any astounding decisions on her own when the old man and superior officer tell her that the smart thing to do is go along with the media flow.Yes, she was part of the team but I don't think they made any mistakes. Its the confusion and chances of war and they were on the crappy end of the stick. But what she is is a soldier who appears to have served her country well. I respect her for that. And truthfully I'm not sure if she is going along with what is going on or is ignorant to it but either way I don't think she has a darn thing to say about it either way. Maybe when she gets a little maturity she will make it clear what happened but she is a kid listening to those she respects or her officers and to tell the truth, if I was in her shoes I'd probably be doing the same thing...keeping my mouth shut and going with the flow, and I believe most of you (when you were in your teens and 20's) would probably do the same. Just my opionion. I have the HIGHEST respect for almost all who have served in the military and I salute you all medals or no medals.

[TX-Zen]

I'm with BK on this one. (Though I also salute Okie for his valid argument about respecting her as a soldier)She doesn't deserve a Bronze Star. She served her country yes, but it's another example of how women get treated differently in the Army then men do and it reinforces a doublestandard which in no way brings women and men closer to true equality in the services. Her convoy makes a wrong turn, gets ambushed and she is a PW. Occupational hazard when invading another country, end of story. I don't think I would deserve a medal if I were in charge of my tank company and we made a wrong turn, stumbled into an Iraq tank battalion and got slaughtered. I would expect first to be reprimanded if I did manage to survive because my actions LOST lives of fellow soldiers. If the Iraq's made some kind of sneak attack and caught me unawares, I would also be reprimanded for that, for failing to maintain proper alertness. Under most any scenario, unless I destroyed a far greater amount of them than us, I would expect to be in trouble. The Army has little sympathy for making mistakes, especially ones that could have been avoided. To be as blunt as I can, I have no sympathy for soldiers that get killed in the line of fire. I have none for PW's or people that make a wrong turn, get hit by suicide bombers, get killed in accidents or shot by snipers while guarding checkpoints. None whatsoever. I respect those who have fallen in uniform, I respect those that have served and those that are currently serving. But injury and death are the name of the game in the combat arms...in the Army, if you're not in the combat arms, you're supporting them. Regardless of what MoS you have in the Army, you are there to do a job that civilians are unable to...wage war against a hostile enemy. The enemy does not distinguish between combat and combat support troops. You wear the mean greens, you're a target. The press on the other hand, seems to think that if you are a woman in the combat support elements, that you are not supposed to be shot at and if you are, then that by itself is noteworthy. It is in a way, but it means that someone in the combat arms has screwed up and allowed enemy elements past your screening elements. Shat happens though, no war is perfect. This entire thing about her getting a bronze star is media hype. She's a woman, a mother and in the eyes of the press, a hero. So the media panders to the public and gives them this moving story of a woman who endured capture, confinement and finally survives the ordeal to return home to her family, so ofcourse she is a hero. But what did she really do? She did her job, nothing more. By all accounts I have read, she did nothing heroic at all, but because the media has to hype everything, she has to come home with a medal. (The whole unit did I believe).But that cheapens the value of the medal itself and it erodes the purpose it serves, which is to honor soldiers that really have distinguished themselves in combat. You get shot saving your platoon from an ambush, you have done more than your job. You went out of your way to take risks because the bond with your platoon is strong and in defense of that platoon, you are willing to sacrifice yourself so that others may live. Thats heroic. Getting ambushed and captured is not heroic, it's unfortunate. It's also a fact of armed conflict. Speaking from a tank commanders seat, if that happens to you, well sucks to be you. For the ones  like Stephen Gonzales (in Bosnia) who got completely lost and ended up getting captured without firing a shot, well heck, you're just an idiot. There is a standard of excellence that soldiers are judged by, when you do something stupid, most soldiers will agree that you deserved what you got. He came home a hero as well and with a medal. But ask anyone in the Army...he's a dork for getting captured like he did. Soldiers don't get all upset when bad things happen to other soldiers...most of us know thats life and thats what you are getting paid for. To get shot at of all things. These days with American military supremacy at its zenith, there are few chances to witness heros. Conflict in the middle east is by design a systematic destruction of an enemy that can't compete. This is a good thing, you should use every advantage you have if you decide hostilities are inevitable. But since the public has never seen one of its daughters captured before, the actual events have to be blown out of proportion, an award given for something that is not deserving of it and America has to see it's daughter come home as a hero. The public gets what it wants, the media has another big story and she will no doubt profit from it in some way or another. All well and good I suppose.But the very fact that she got it tells another story, implies that women are to be babied still, that their safe return is more important than a mans and that while we want women to be equal in the armed forces, we are still trying to protect them, still giving them breaks that men do not get and still not understanding what the heck war and soldiering is all about. The worst part is that things like this not only do NOT help men and women become equal in the Army, they put up walls. How are other soldiers outside her unit going to treat her? How are they going to perceive her whole unit?She is now a symbol for many things...to the press, a hero. To the public, a daughter than survived capture and a hero as well. Everyone's media darling.To other male soldiers, she's a joke. She's a dumbass private who is getting rewarded for the failure of her unit to complete its mission. I personally think the entire thing caters to the wrong people. The press is not in the front lines, the soldiers are. The public is not taking the risks and losing lives, the soldiers are. In the manner they have handled this, they make one woman look good at the expense of the ideals of the rest of the organization....they make America feel good, but exacerbate existing problems in the Army and reduce the value of things that soldiers respect. Another example of how incredibly short sighted the press and the top leadership of the Army is...short term media hype, long lasting negative effects on the institution itself. Thats my .02 cents, now I will slip back into retirement. TX-ZenBlack 6 Reserve

[TX-Rahman]

All I can say os Wooohoooooooo!  Miss those types of posts...  Very diverse points of view.  I (having never been in the military) would have to agree with those who have...Zen:  Don't call it retirement....unless it will be like Michael Jordan!!!  Glad to see you post bro....Regards,TX-Rahman"BLUE 2"