On Heroes and HeroismHere's an
interesting article on the topic that this blog probably focuses on more than any other.
Do you see a pattern? Back when my father -- who joined the Army at the age of 16 and was in Pearl City 67 years ago today -- was island-hopping with his artillery unit across the Pacific, some medals went to men who selflessly died for their country, but more often to those who made the enemy die for theirs.
Sacrifice was important, but winning was paramount.
This is no denigration of our brave soldiers in Iraq, but an observation about what the people awarding medals are thinking now vs. then.
Of course, there have been medals awarded to those who made the other poor bastard die for his country;
Brian R. Chontosh and
Leigh Ann Hester come to mind. But it's still a valid argument that those two should be more celebrated for their accomplishments than they are.
