They say he stole the show...I believe it....

[cer7711]

14. No One "Wins" The Medal of Honor

The tyke is cute as a button!

Now I don't mean to be a total buzz-kill here but I would like to point something out that has always bugged me when some people refer to Medal of Honor recipients as having "won" the award. You don't "win" the MOH: One is awarded this illustrious medal, our nation's highest, for "conspicuous acts of gallantry above and beyond the call of duty."

One may "win" a sporting contest, life-long soul-mate or battle with a dread disease but to refer to an MOH-recipient as having "won" the medal is to subtly diminish and degrade both the man or woman and the award itself.

Many veterans who have received the Medal of Honor readily admit that they'd melt it down in a heartbeat if that action could bring their buddies back. And many is the veteran who, in wiping away a bitter tear, has brokenly proclaimed, "I got the medal because I survived. The good men died on that hill/plain/valley."

Something sobering to think about and keep in mind as we honor these recipients—by never, ever referring to gallant men and women as having "won" the Medal of Honor.

Peace out.
.............................................

Suicide in the Trenches by Siegfried Sassoon, 1918

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.