What Honor Looks Like

[waltky]

Hero Marine saves drowning child...

Tenn. Marine saves drowning child
August 8, 2013 > When Sgt. Michael Austin Pickett saw an 8-year-old boy struggling to keep his head above water in the Atlantic Ocean, the Marine didn’t hesitate. He sprinted into the water and swam out to help.

The child had already been pulled about 70 yards out to sea by a rip current when Pickett, a 2006 graduate of Hixson High School, noticed people on shore shouting and pointing toward the foundering youth “As soon as I saw him, I knew he didn’t have a chance by himself,” says Pickett. “I’m trained in water rescue. In the Marines, we train in how to rescue somebody with all the military gear on.” Pickett, 25, is a special intelligence communicator at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2. He says he happened to be at Atlantic Beach, N.C., to relax while off-duty on July 6.

Although putting himself at risk of being pulled out to sea, too, Pickett swam out and grabbed the boy, reassuring him that he was safe to calm him. “I held his head above water to let him catch his breath. I told him I was going to get him back to shore,” says the Marine. The riptide was pulling both of them further out to sea, Pickett says, so he swam perpendicular to the current until the tide no longer affected their course. All the while, he supported the child with one arm, swam with the other and “let him know whenever a wave was coming so he could hold his breath.” “Still supporting the weight of the boy, and now further away from safety, he made his way back to shore,” says Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elek L. Williams in a news release.

The pair was met by a lifeguard about 20 yards from shore, who offered his help, but Pickett says the youth walked in to where his mother was waiting. “I have a son that’s about to turn 6, so the only thing I could think of was ‘What if it was him out there,’ and I would hope someone else would do the same thing,” the Marine says. “I would 100 percent do the exact same thing if I was presented with the same situation again. Marines are trained more than the average person, and if we can use the skills we have been taught to help someone in need, I think we should do it, no questions asked.” For his heroic action, the Marine has been nominated by Marine Wing Headquarters Station for the seventh annual American Hero Awards, which are presented by Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox, commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Pickett is the son of Ed and Dixie Pickett of Hixson and has been in military service for six years, says his father. “He told me about it that day,” Ed Pickett says. “I was surprised he was in that situation, but it didn’t surprise me he did whatever he could to help.” But his son downplayed the incident when talking to his father about it. “We really didn’t know the full extent until we read the Marines’ release later,” Ed Pickett says. “He just said ‘The kid was splashing around and I swam out there and dragged him in,’ instead of telling us he swam out in a rip current.” Austin Pickett says he will be deployed overseas in March to serve in embassy security.

Tenn. Marine saves drowning child - U.S. - Stripes

 

[waltky]

Video shows viscious attack on Marine veteran (Click on Source link)...

Former Marine paid price for stopping beach bullies
September 7, 2013 — As LeRoy Wright Jr. and his 14-year-old son were surrounded and threatened by three men at Juno Beach Park in May, several people stood nearby either watching or videotaping the incident.

Not Marine veteran Wen Jones. Fearing that Wright and his son were on the verge of being beaten, Jones stepped into the fracas.

Former Marine Wes Jones speaks about the beating he received from three men after he tried to stop them from picking on boy.

The three men then beat Jones until he was unconscious, according to a report on abcnews.go.com.

Jones was taken to the hospital where he received treatment for a broken eye bone and where he received multiple stitches for facial wounds, according to the ABC news report, which added that the three suspects are facing felony charges.

Former Marine Wes Jones sits in a hospital room where he received treatment for injuries he sustained when he tried to stop three men from bullying a youth at a Florida beach in May, 2013.

The video above shows the brutal attack captured on video that day, and it shows the injuries Jones received.

Source

 

[waltky]

'If one of us earned it, all of us did'...

Two Marines decorated for actions during Khe Sanh battle in Vietnam
September 20, 2013 — Bobby Moffatt and Joe Cordileone were privates first class when they advanced on Hill 881 South in Vietnam, on April 30, 1967. The Battle of Khe Sanh was their first firefight, and, they said, the worst day of their lives.

The two former Marines, now in their 60s, were honored Friday for their bravery in that battle: Cordileone was awarded the Silver Star and Moffatt the Bronze Star with V for combat valor. Both said they were simply doing their jobs. Company M, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, was advancing to secure the hill that day when they were attacked by a much larger force, according to the award citations. The hill turned into “a deadly killing zone,” and Cordileone’s platoon leader and every automatic and heavy weapon Marine was either killed or severely wounded.

Cordileone attacked several enemy fighters, and, when he realized enemy snipers were targeting the wounded Marines laying on the battlefield, he charged into the line of fire again and again to move them to safety. Cordileone was hit during one of his trips to recover the wounded, and at one point passed out from the exertion and loss of blood, but he continued to attack the enemy and move his fellow Marines to safety, according to his award citation. He is responsible for saving at least 10 Marines that day, including Moffatt, according to the citation.

Bobby Moffatt, left, and Joe Cordileone were decorated Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, with the Bronze Star with V for combat valor and the Silver Star, respectively, for their actions in April 1967 during the Battle of Khe Sanh in Vietnam.

Moffatt, who was an assistant machine gunner at the time, took charge of the machine gun after the other gunners were killed or wounded, and continued firing even though he knew he was making himself a target, according to his award citation. He kept firing until he was shot in the head, with wounds so severe he was hospitalized for more than a year. He said he remembers regaining consciousness in a “filthy bomb crater,” without knowing how he got there. Moffatt later learned that Cordileone and others had pulled him there for safety. “I’m amazed we’re here. I don’t understand how we made it. I don’t know how we didn’t all die that day,” Moffatt said, thanking Cordileone and other Marines from his unit for “caring for those of us who couldn’t protect ourselves.”

Cordileone said he was “a scared 19-year-old kid,” afraid to die, but that there was one thing he feared more than death: leaving an injured Marine unattended. “It was not a matter of me feeling courageous or brave,” he said. Instead, he was thinking, “if I have to die, I’m going to die, but I’m not going to let (my fellow Marines) down.” Cordileone and Moffatt said they both experienced post-traumatic stress after Vietnam, and urged others who might be dealing with similar problems to get help. “To ignore it, I think, is the worst thing,” said Moffatt, who also suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Cordileone and Moffatt were nominated for the awards by a retired major general who served with the men in Vietnam and later learned that they had not been recognized for their actions. Cordileone said that the fact that the Marine Corps saw fit to award him the Silver Star for his actions gave him “a sense of awe and gratitude.” “If one of us earned it, all of us did. … Though, I must say, what Bobby Moffatt did was damn courageous,” he said. Moffatt said it was nice to be recognized, though he doesn’t consider himself a hero. “I always knew I did the best I could,” he said.

Two Marines decorated for actions during Khe Sanh battle in Vietnam - News - Stripes

 

[waltky]

No matter what one thinks of Nixon now - watch this.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=LemllfcAY8A&sns=em]Vietnam POW 40th Reunion News Coverage - YouTube[/ame]

 

[waltky]

Moved to stop a suicide bomber's attack...

Retired Army Captain to Get Medal of Honor for Heroism in Afghanistan
Oct 14, 2015 | A former U.S. Army captain born in France will be awarded the Medal of Honor next month for heroic actions during combat in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in 2012, the White House announced on Wednesday.

Retired Capt. Florent A. Groberg, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was a personal security detachment commander for his brigade commander, Col. James Mingus, when he moved to stop a suicide bomber's attack. At the time Groberg, then a first lieutenant, was assigned to Task Force Mountain Warrior.

Then-1st Lt. Florent Groberg, right, will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Nov. 12 at the White House for heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2012. Pictured with Groberg is Sgt. Andrew Mahoney of Laingsburg, Mich.​

Groberg and another soldier, Sgt. Andrew Mahoney, threw the man to the ground, where he exploded a vest filled with explosives and ball bearings. Both soldiers were injured by the blast, which also killed four other Americans. Groberg sustained a serious wound to his left leg. Both men were awarded the Purple Heart and Mahoney was awarded the Silver Star. Killed in the attack were Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Griffin, Maj. Thomas Kennedy, Air Force Maj. Walter D. Gray, and Ragaei Abdelfattah, a representative of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Groberg was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from August 2012 until May 2015, according to the White House. He was medically retired on July 23, 2015. Groberg was born in Poissy, France, on May 8, 1983. He became a naturalized U.S. Citizen on February 27, 2001, and graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland in June 2001.

Retired Army Captain to Get Medal of Honor for Heroism in Afghanistan | Military.com

 

[waltky]

Better late than never...

Marine Gets Upgrade to Navy Cross 46 Years Later
Oct 16, 2015 | First, an ancient tape surfaced, then a letter that had been locked away for 40 years. Finally the full picture of Marine Sgt. Kenneth Altazan's bravery on a harrowing day in Vietnam began to emerge.

But it would be six years before the retired farmer got the call from a major at the Pentagon. "He said, 'I assume you've gotten our letter by now,'" Altazan recalled in a phone interview with Stars and Stripes. "I said, 'No sir, I haven't got your letter.' And he said, 'Let me be the first one to congratulate you -- your Silver Star has been upgraded to the Navy Cross.' " Altazan, of Baton Rouge, La., was being recognized for pulling injured Marines off a battlefield in Quang Nam province under intense fire and bringing them to the CH-46 helicopter where he served as crew chief. The Navy Cross is the highest honor bestowed on Marines and seamen by the Navy, second only to the Medal of Honor. He received the award Tuesday.

Kenneth Altazan, at center wearing red hat, and other veterans pose during a "retirement ceremony" for a CH-46 helicopter at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia​

On May 9, 1969, Altazan was serving with the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 "Purple Foxes" when they were dispatched to what they knew would be a hazardous mission: 10 wounded Marines spread over several rice paddies were under heavy fire and needed to be evacuated. "With complete disregard for his own safety, Sergeant Altazan boldly leaped from his helicopter, ran to the side of the wounded man, lifted him to his shoulders, and fearlessly moved back across the fire-swept terrain toward his CH-46, all the while assisting another evacuee across the perilous open area," according to Altazan's original citation.

But the narrative in the original citation, remarkable as it was, understated Altazan's actions. Altazan had actually left the helicopter multiple times despite the danger. At one point, the wounded man he was carrying was shot, sending Altazan sprawling and severely injuring his knee. He not only got up and took the man to the chopper but continued to pick up the injured despite being in excruciating pain. "I learned in boot camp to react -- you don't think, you react," he said.

MORE

See also:

Marine Amputee Rescues Baby from Smoking Car
Oct 17, 2015 - An Afghanistan vet and double amputee became a local hero in New York City earlier this week when he rescued a baby from a smoking car.

Matias Ferreira, a former Marine who lost both his legs to an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan, was just two days away from getting married to his sweetheart when he heard a frantic mother crying for help on a busy road in Queens. The mother was trapped in her driver’s seat after her car plowed into a median pole and needed to get her child out of the smoking car. Thinking of his own 11-month-old daughter, the 26-year-old Ferreira jumped out of his pick-up truck and sprinted over – on two prosthetic legs – to the car. "With the Marines, you are taught to be prepared and act," Ferreira, who was leaving his wedding rehearsal at St. Mary Gate of Heaven Parish when he heard the screams, told the New York Daily News.

Matias Ferreira, a former Marine who lost both his legs to an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan, in a Facebook photo with his bride-to-be Tiffany and his daughter.​

He added: "Instinctively you just react, you don’t freeze, and thankfully we were able to make a difference." While his brother and future father-in-law helped free the frantic mother, Ferreira squeezed himself into the backseat of the car and rescued the baby from her car seat. "We didn’t know if the car was on fire or anything else," the Uruguayan-born marine said. "We knew we had to get them to safety."

The three men stayed on the scene until firefighters and paramedics arrived on scene. "I didn’t hear the baby crying, so I got kind of concerned," Ferreira added. "Then I saw her open her eyes, and it kind of reassured me she was doing better." Ferreira lost both legs from the knees down and broke his pelvis in January 2011 when he stepped on an IED while fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Despite his injuries, he still competes in sports and rides a motorcycle. "The prostheses were the last thing on my mind," Ferreira said of the rescue. "It doesn’t have to be a Marine. It doesn’t have to be a firefighter. It just has to be someone with a good heart."

Marine Amputee Rescues Baby from Smoking Car | Military.com

 

[whitehall]

Find the movie "Taking Chance" starring Kevin Bacon. A true story of a Marine officer escorting the body of a fallen Marine, killed in Afghanistan, from the Military base in Dover, Delaware to his hometown, I think in Montana, for burial. The escorting Marine never leaves the body during the long trip, sleeping in the baggage area during the change of planes and the airlines baggage people treat it with conspicuous respect. Though the body will not be viewed because of the head trauma the Marine Corps insists that it be dressed in a perfect Dress Blue uniform and when it arrives at the local funeral home the escorting Marine officer opens the casket to check on the uniform. It's an example of the honor the Marines give to a fallen hero. The movie is worth watching and is guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes of any former Marine and any Veteran.

 

[9thIDdoc]

I returned from Vietnam in late '70. I received my first "Welcome Home" a few years ago on the internet.

 

[waltky]

75-year-old Army Vet Defends Children against knife-Wielding Assailant...

Elderly Army Vet Defends Children against knife-Wielding Assailant
Oct 18, 2015 — A 75-year-old chess instructor who fought off a knife-wielding man threatening to kill children at a central Illinois library says this week's attack will not stop his class from holding its next meeting. U.S. Army veteran James Vernon has one arm in a sling and says his life has been inconvenienced since he disarmed 19-year-old Dustin Brown, who entered the Morton Public Library on Tuesday threatening to commit murder.

But Vernon, who says knife training he received nearly five decades ago helped him in the scuffle, told The Associated Press on Saturday that he was "not going to let this stop the important activity" of teaching children chess next Tuesday. "We're not going to be intimidated or scared off," said Vernon, who described the attack as "an anomaly" and says he's since spoken to a parent coordinator about moving forward as scheduled. Plus, you only need one arm to play the game, he said.

Vernon was instructing 16 children when authorities say Brown entered the room with two knives. According to a court affidavit, Brown told police afterward that he "failed in his mission to kill everyone." "He actually ran into the room yelling, 'I'm going to kill some people!' He was holding two knives," Vernon told the Pekin Daily News. Vernon described the knives as "hunting types" with "fixed blades about 5 inches" long. "I said, 'This can't be happening,'" Vernon, a retired Caterpillar Inc. employee, told the AP. His second thought: "I can't let this happen." The children were able to escape the room after Vernon put himself between Brown and the door. And Vernon says they did not hear or witness the struggle, which left him with two slashed arteries in his hand and damaged a tendon in his finger.

Army veteran James Vernon, 75, sits at his home in Morton, Ill. Vernon is recovering from injuries suffered when he fought off a knife-wielding man who threatened children at an Illinois library.​

Brown, who was awaiting trial on child pornography charges, is now being held in lieu of $800,000 bond on additional charges of attempted murder, armed violence and aggravated battery. Attorney information for Brown was not available Saturday and it is not known if he has a lawyer who could comment on his behalf. After the attack Vernon received medical attention at a nearby hospital. That's when he called his wife of nearly 50 years to inform her. "I'm proud of him, but then I expected him to do that," Hanna Vernon, 73, told the AP. "You need to take some responsibility for your community and your country." James Vernon, who will turn 76 next Sunday, says he's learned a heartening lesson from his experience: "Sometimes old guys aren't as easy of a target as you may think."

Elderly Army Vet Defends Children against knife-Wielding Assailant | Military.com

 

[Gracie]

Find the movie "Taking Chance" starring Kevin Bacon. A true story of a Marine officer escorting the body of a fallen Marine, killed in Afghanistan, from the Military base in Dover, Delaware to his hometown, I think in Montana, for burial. The escorting Marine never leaves the body during the long trip, sleeping in the baggage area during the change of planes and the airlines baggage people treat it with conspicuous respect. Though the body will not be viewed because of the head trauma the Marine Corps insists that it be dressed in a perfect Dress Blue uniform and when it arrives at the local funeral home the escorting Marine officer opens the casket to check on the uniform. It's an example of the honor the Marines give to a fallen hero. The movie is worth watching and is guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes of any former Marine and any Veteran.

I saw that movie on Netflix. Highly recommended.

 

[Gracie]

I returned from Vietnam in late '70. I received my first "Welcome Home" a few years ago on the internet.

Welcome home...and thank you!

 

[The Great Goose]

is ow I know what honor looks like...

What honor looks like: The flash mob at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport
May 23, 2012 - Honor is a hard term to describe. It doesn’t have a color or weight or shape. If someone were to ask me what honor looked like, I’d probably struggle with what to say.

But something happened on May 23, 2012 at 9:31 a.m. at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport that might change that. A flash mob of sorts broke out. But not like you’ve seen on YouTube with highly choreographed dance numbers or people singing a song in unison. In fact, virtually all of the participants of this “flash mob” didn’t know they would be participating until moments before it happened.

Let me explain. Shortly before 9:30 over the loud speakers, a US Airways gate attendant announced that an Honor Flight of World War II veterans would be arriving momentarily and encouraged anyone passing by to help greet them. Five or six people looked like they were officially part of the welcoming committee, and the rest of the people in the secure section of the airport were regular old travelers going somewhere. Then I had a terrible thought. What if these veterans came off the plane and just those five or six individuals were there to greet them. I walked a gate over to help see the veterans out.

But – then it happened and frankly, I wasn’t expecting it. All throughout the terminal, people left their gates and gathered around gate 38. A few active military personnel in plain clothes approached the gate attendant and politely asked if they could join in the salute within the jet way as the heros first stepped off the plane. Every human being in the terminal stood at attention and faced the door. Someone held up an old newspaper from 1945 that had a banner headline that said, “Nazis Quit!” And when I saw that newspaper, I realized that World War II wasn’t just a chapter in a history book. It was men and women who saw an evil like the world has never seen before and traveled across the world to meet that evil. And they defeated it.

I wonder if in 1945, any of those brave soldiers could ever imagine that 67 years later, we’d still be basking in the freedom that they preserved. And some of those heros were about to walk through Gate 38. The first soldier walked through the door. Old, frail and needing help walking. And every person I could see in the entire airport stood and applauded. No – maybe cheered is more like it.

But here’s the thing – the applause didn’t stop. For a full 20 minutes, as veteran by veteran stepped out of the jet way, the US Airways wing of Reagan National Airport thundered in appreciation. Travelers stepped out for the opportunity to shake their hand while others held back tears. This is the America we picture in our heads. Heros getting a hero’s welcome and those who enjoy the freedom adequately conveying their gratitude. Now, I know what honor looks like.

By Chris Muller

Video

Gawd thats cringeful. Bloody appalling.

That is not honour.

 

[waltky]

Granny says...

... Awww, look at dat doggie...

... scratchin' his back.

 

[Cross]

Bill Crawford, Ten Lessons from a Janitor

Bill Crawford, Profiles In Courage

MSG William J Crawford

The rest of the story, he was presumed dead so MSG Crawford's dad was presented the CMOH, once that became known that MSG a never had a Presidential presentation, a ceremony was organized to coincide with the AF Academy's Graduation Ceremony where President Reagan made the Presentation....why the AF Academy one might ask...if one doesn't know the story follow the link...

 

[waltky]

Former WWII Army pilot awarded France's highest honor...

US Veteran Awarded France's Highest Honor for WWII Service
Nov 12, 2015 -- A Sacramento man who served as an Army pilot during World War II has been awarded the French government's highest honor.

The Sacramento Bee report that 91-year-old Gene McDonald was presented with the rank of National Order of the Legion of Honor on Oct. 14 at the French Consulate in San Francisco.

McDonald began flying missions over German-occupied France during the war when he was 20. He joined the Army in 1943 and trained as a fighter pilot in Texas.

He flew 67 fighter-bomber missions over Europe and has been awarded a dozen medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded to pilots who display heroism or extraordinary achievement in combat.

US Veteran Awarded France's Highest Honor for WWII Service | Military.com

See also:

Navajo Code Talker Recalls Role in WWII
Nov 12, 2015 -- Roy Hawthorne recalls his time served during World War II with pride, effortlessly sharing his native Navajo language as he shows off how he used codes to trick the Japanese.

Hawthorne recently traveled to Camp Pendleton near San Diego for the first time since he trained there along with fellow Navajos before they embarked on their fabled war mission in the 1940s. The trip to California rekindled memories for the 89-year-old Marine about the effort that remains an important part of U.S. military history as the nation paused to commemorate Veterans Day. "It gave us a sense of pride but we never thought of ourselves as heroes," Hawthorne said during a recent interview in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo Nation. "We were just young Navajo men, mostly teenagers, that were looking for adventure ... And we were a group that was willing to place our lives in places of danger to protect our country."

Former United States Marine and Navajo Code Talker Roy Hawthorne, center, talks with Marines including Major Gen. Daniel O'Donohue, right, at a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Calif.​

Hawthorne served as a Navajo code talker with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943 to 1945, hopping from island to island across the South Pacific as U.S. troops fought their way toward Japan. He was among an estimated several hundred code talkers who joined the war effort to help stymie the Japanese by using Navajo words and letters transmitted over radios instead of traditional codes that the enemy continued to crack. The Marine Corps Navajo Code Talker Program began in September 1942. Commanders believed that since Navajo was an unwritten language and virtually undecipherable to those who didn't speak it, the language could be used to devise a code the Japanese couldn't crack.

For example, the code talkers would use the word "hummingbird" in Navajo to describe reconnaissance airplanes, he said. "Well, it flies at night. It's quiet, doesn't carry any armament, and we said, 'Well, that's a hummingbird,'" Hawthorne recalled. Officials say the codes worked. They credit the Navajo for playing a hugely vital role in combat along with some other tribes that used their native languages during wartime. "We didn't win the war by ourselves, but we were very instrumental in the war's favorable outcome for our country," Hawthorne said. "So we consider our language to be a precious commodity today."

Navajo Code Talker Recalls Role in WWII | Military.com

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Hero Marine saves drowning child...

Tenn. Marine saves drowning child
August 8, 2013 > When Sgt. Michael Austin Pickett saw an 8-year-old boy struggling to keep his head above water in the Atlantic Ocean, the Marine didn’t hesitate. He sprinted into the water and swam out to help.

The child had already been pulled about 70 yards out to sea by a rip current when Pickett, a 2006 graduate of Hixson High School, noticed people on shore shouting and pointing toward the foundering youth “As soon as I saw him, I knew he didn’t have a chance by himself,” says Pickett. “I’m trained in water rescue. In the Marines, we train in how to rescue somebody with all the military gear on.” Pickett, 25, is a special intelligence communicator at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2. He says he happened to be at Atlantic Beach, N.C., to relax while off-duty on July 6.

Although putting himself at risk of being pulled out to sea, too, Pickett swam out and grabbed the boy, reassuring him that he was safe to calm him. “I held his head above water to let him catch his breath. I told him I was going to get him back to shore,” says the Marine. The riptide was pulling both of them further out to sea, Pickett says, so he swam perpendicular to the current until the tide no longer affected their course. All the while, he supported the child with one arm, swam with the other and “let him know whenever a wave was coming so he could hold his breath.” “Still supporting the weight of the boy, and now further away from safety, he made his way back to shore,” says Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elek L. Williams in a news release.

The pair was met by a lifeguard about 20 yards from shore, who offered his help, but Pickett says the youth walked in to where his mother was waiting. “I have a son that’s about to turn 6, so the only thing I could think of was ‘What if it was him out there,’ and I would hope someone else would do the same thing,” the Marine says. “I would 100 percent do the exact same thing if I was presented with the same situation again. Marines are trained more than the average person, and if we can use the skills we have been taught to help someone in need, I think we should do it, no questions asked.” For his heroic action, the Marine has been nominated by Marine Wing Headquarters Station for the seventh annual American Hero Awards, which are presented by Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox, commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Pickett is the son of Ed and Dixie Pickett of Hixson and has been in military service for six years, says his father. “He told me about it that day,” Ed Pickett says. “I was surprised he was in that situation, but it didn’t surprise me he did whatever he could to help.” But his son downplayed the incident when talking to his father about it. “We really didn’t know the full extent until we read the Marines’ release later,” Ed Pickett says. “He just said ‘The kid was splashing around and I swam out there and dragged him in,’ instead of telling us he swam out in a rip current.” Austin Pickett says he will be deployed overseas in March to serve in embassy security.

Tenn. Marine saves drowning child - U.S. - Stripes

That wasn't honor. That's called normal human behaviour. When a neighbor's house was on fire, I grabbed their garden hose and put water on the fire through a window. I was 15. It had nothing to do with honor. Everything to do with what people do in that kind of a situation. If you can help, you help. Has nothing to do with being a US Marine or honorable though.

An honorable act by a US Marine is disobeying a combat order to attack a target because there are non-combatants present even knowing you'll be court-martialed and likely imprisoned, if not worse.

 

[9thIDdoc]

Hero Marine saves drowning child...

Tenn. Marine saves drowning child
August 8, 2013 > When Sgt. Michael Austin Pickett saw an 8-year-old boy struggling to keep his head above water in the Atlantic Ocean, the Marine didn’t hesitate. He sprinted into the water and swam out to help.

The child had already been pulled about 70 yards out to sea by a rip current when Pickett, a 2006 graduate of Hixson High School, noticed people on shore shouting and pointing toward the foundering youth “As soon as I saw him, I knew he didn’t have a chance by himself,” says Pickett. “I’m trained in water rescue. In the Marines, we train in how to rescue somebody with all the military gear on.” Pickett, 25, is a special intelligence communicator at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2. He says he happened to be at Atlantic Beach, N.C., to relax while off-duty on July 6.

Although putting himself at risk of being pulled out to sea, too, Pickett swam out and grabbed the boy, reassuring him that he was safe to calm him. “I held his head above water to let him catch his breath. I told him I was going to get him back to shore,” says the Marine. The riptide was pulling both of them further out to sea, Pickett says, so he swam perpendicular to the current until the tide no longer affected their course. All the while, he supported the child with one arm, swam with the other and “let him know whenever a wave was coming so he could hold his breath.” “Still supporting the weight of the boy, and now further away from safety, he made his way back to shore,” says Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elek L. Williams in a news release.

The pair was met by a lifeguard about 20 yards from shore, who offered his help, but Pickett says the youth walked in to where his mother was waiting. “I have a son that’s about to turn 6, so the only thing I could think of was ‘What if it was him out there,’ and I would hope someone else would do the same thing,” the Marine says. “I would 100 percent do the exact same thing if I was presented with the same situation again. Marines are trained more than the average person, and if we can use the skills we have been taught to help someone in need, I think we should do it, no questions asked.” For his heroic action, the Marine has been nominated by Marine Wing Headquarters Station for the seventh annual American Hero Awards, which are presented by Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox, commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Pickett is the son of Ed and Dixie Pickett of Hixson and has been in military service for six years, says his father. “He told me about it that day,” Ed Pickett says. “I was surprised he was in that situation, but it didn’t surprise me he did whatever he could to help.” But his son downplayed the incident when talking to his father about it. “We really didn’t know the full extent until we read the Marines’ release later,” Ed Pickett says. “He just said ‘The kid was splashing around and I swam out there and dragged him in,’ instead of telling us he swam out in a rip current.” Austin Pickett says he will be deployed overseas in March to serve in embassy security.

Tenn. Marine saves drowning child - U.S. - Stripes

That wasn't honor. That's called normal human behaviour. When a neighbor's house was on fire, I grabbed their garden hose and put water on the fire through a window. I was 15. It had nothing to do with honor. Everything to do with what people do in that kind of a situation. If you can help, you help. Has nothing to do with being a US Marine or honorable though.

An honorable act by a US Marine is disobeying a combat order to attack a target because there are non-combatants present even knowing you'll be court-martialed and likely imprisoned, if not worse.

You are clueless. You confuse cowardice and arrogance with honor. What right does a Marine have to endanger the lives of his comrades by refusing to do the job he enlisted and was trained (at considerable cost in time and money) to do? What right does he have to decide he knows more about the situation than those who job it is to make those decisions?

 

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Quick action ends lone wolf jihadi attack...

Ohio State Officer Lauded for Stopping Attack
November 29, 2016 - Officer Alan Horujko, who had been in the area on another call, arrived on the scene within a minute and fatally shot Abdul Razak Ali Artan Monday.

The man who drove a car into a crowd of students at Ohio State University on Monday and then attacked bystanders with a butcher knife, injuring at least 11, has been identified as a student at the university, and officials are investigating whether terrorism was a motive. The attacker, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, who authorities said was about 20 years old, was shot and killed by a university police officer who arrived and brought Artan down within a minute, officials said. "This happened right before his eyes," campus Police Chief Craig Stone said of Officer Alan Horujko, 28, who had been in the area on another call. In a previous news conference, Stone said Artan had not "followed" the officer's commands and "the officer did what he had to do to end the threat."

Officer Alan Horujko​

Local officials have not suggested a motive for Artan's actions, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich urged caution while the investigation unfolds. "It's our job to let the investigation take its due course, and at the end of the day we'll find out what happened," Kasich said. "We may never find out [why], but we're going to have a lot more information.... Right now we have to have patience." After receiving a briefing on the attack, U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the incident "bears all of the hallmarks of a terror attack carried out by someone who may have been self-radicalized." His office declined to release more information on how he reached that conclusion. "The intelligence community is providing all necessary information and support to law enforcement as they investigate this individual's motivations and background, and we hope to know much more very soon," Schiff said in a statement.

An anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press that Artan was born in Somalia and was a permanent U.S. resident. In an interview given to the Lantern campus newspaper in August, Artan said he was a Muslim and a new transfer student. Citing negative portrayals of Muslims in the media, he said he was confused and "scared" about where to pray on campus. "I just transferred from Columbus State. We had prayer rooms, like actual rooms where we could go to pray because we Muslims have to pray five times a day," Artan told the Lantern. "I wanted to pray in the open, but I was kind of scared with everything going on in the media," Artan said. "I'm a Muslim, it's not what the media portrays me to be. If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don't know what they're going to think, what's going to happen." Artan said he decided to pray in a corner.

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Ga. Deputy Pulls Clerk From Gas Station Fire
November 29, 2016 - Flames trapped a store clerk early Monday when a car crashed into the fuel pumps and hit the building.

Just before 2 a.m. at the Circle K at 3802 Northside Drive, a 2014 Toyota Camry hit the curb at the Elnora Drive entrance, clipped the landscaping and hit a fuel pump. "It's amazing no one was killed," said a man waiting for a work crew to begin repairs at the convenience store next to The Wellness Center, Navicent Health. Bibb County sheriff's Deputy Scott Rickert was patrolling nearby and witnessed the accident.

The pump was torn from the fuel island and smashed into the front corner of the building where it erupted into flames. The clerk, working inside the protective glass compartment, could not open the door to escape. Bibb County deputies were patrolling the area and responded immediately. Rickert pulled the clerk over the counter and out of the window of the cashier's compartment, said Macon-Bibb Fire Battalion Chief Todd Alligood.

Flames trapped a store clerk early Monday when a car crashed into the fuel pumps and hit the building.​

The other deputy chased and apprehended the fleeing driver, Howard McKinney III, of Stockbridge, who was charged with driving under the influence. McKinney smelled of alcohol, admitted he had a few drinks earlier and failed a field sobriety test, according to the arrest report. McKinney was taken to Coliseum Northside Hospital and gave the nurse permission to try one time to draw his blood.

The nurse was not able to get a vein on the first try, and McKinney refused to be stuck again, the report noted. A Circle K manager on site was not able to comment, but it appears the store could be closed for weeks. Northside Drive was blocked for a couple of hours and a fire crew watched the building overnight. The Bibb County Sheriff's Office is investigating the crash.

Georgia Deputy Pulls Clerk From Gas Station Fire | Officer.com

 

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Heroes' heroes...

Oklahoma police officer adopts boy he found bound in a bin of water during child abuse case
Saturday, July 1, 2017 - An Oklahoma police officer rescued a little boy tied up in a bin and then decided he would spend the rest of life making sure he stayed safe.

Poteau Police Officer Jody Thompson met his son, John, for the first time when he was responding to a child abuse call in 2015, KXNW reported. “... when we found him he was bound by his hands and his feet with rope and had been submerged in a trash can held in the shower,” Poteua Police Chief Stephen Fruen told the news station. “They weren’t feeding him. He didn’t have much to eat. I think what he did get to eat he got at school. Bruises, he was covered in bruises from head to toe.” Thompson said as soon he first laid eyes on the boy he knew that he was meant to be his son. “When I’d seen him in that house shivering and his hands tied — just soaking wet from confusion — I knew at that moment the only time I would be satisfied and sure that he was safe is if he was with me,” he told CBS News.

Poteau police officer Jody Thompson adopted John, an 8-year-old-boy, after rescuing him from abuse at the hands of his biological parents in Oklahoma​

First responders took John, then 8 years old, to the hospital where Thompson remained by his side as he recovered in the intensive care unit. The next day, he contacted the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to become a certified foster parent and brought John home. Thompson, who had 15-year-old and 8-year-old sons already, said he didn’t tell his family initially, though they trusted he was doing the right thing. On April 2015, the Thompsons welcomed John into their home. Two days later, the police officer learned his wife was pregnant with their third son.

Thompson also adopted John's biological sister, who was born in jail.​

Nearly 7 months later, the family received a call informing them John’s biological mother had given birth to a daughter while serving jail time — and they took her in too, according to the news station. John’s biological parents have relinquished their parental rights — though they have not done the same for their young daughter. Now 10 years old, John is a straight-A student and a part of the gifted and talented program, according to KXNW. He said he’ll be forever grateful for his new family, especially his police officer father. “He’s the reason I’m here right now,” John said.

The police chief praised Thompson’s heart, calling him a strong man and a great cop. “All of us can sit back and say we would do the same in that situation, but to come through with it and to do that, that’s a measure of a man — and a very good police officer,” Fruen said.

Okla. officer adopts boy he saved from child abuse

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Deputy Pulls Crash Victim From Burning SUV
June 14, 2017 - Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Simonson grabbed a pair of pruning shears from a bystander's car, cut the seat belt on the Explorer, dragged the victim away from the fire and started CPR.

A Fresno County sheriff's deputy who jumped from his car and pulled a vehicle crash victim from a burning SUV Monday was identified as Andrew Simonson. The victim later died of his injuries at Community Regional Medical Center, but the sheriff's office made note of Simonson's effort.

Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Simonson, inset, grabbed a pair of pruning shears from a bystander's car, cut the seat belt on the Explorer, dragged the victim away from the fire and started CPR.​

The incident took place about 9 a.m. as Simonson was driving on Highway 180 to his job at the Fresno County Courthouse. A sheriff's spokesman said Simonson was westbound behind a big rig near Fowler Avenue when a Ford Explorer crossed over from the eastbound lanes and collided with the big rig. The Explorer burst into flames and the driver was knocked unconscious and pinned in the wreckage.

Simonson grabbed a pair of pruning shears from a bystander's car, cut the seat belt on the Explorer, dragged the victim away from the fire and started CPR. Emergency workers rushed the victim to Community Regional Medical Center, where the driver died of his injuries.

California Deputy Pulls Crash Victim From Burning SUV | Officer.com

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Lifeguard-Turned-NYPD Cop Rescues Woman
June 15, 2017 | A former lifeguard-turned-NYPD cop used his old skills to save a Staten Island woman from drowning off Rockaway Beach in Queens Monday night.

A former Hempstead Town lifeguard-turned-cop used his old skills to save a Staten Island woman from drowning off Rockaway Beach in Queens Monday night, according to the NYPD. The woman, 25, was about 50 yards from the beach during the 7:45 p.m. incident, and there were no lifeguards on duty, a NYPD spokesman said. William Lauria, 23, an NYPD officer at the 105th Precinct in Queens, said he noticed the woman in distress while on beach duty. "There were some rough conditions," Lauria said.

A former lifeguard-turned-NYPD cop used his old skills to save a Staten Island woman from drowning off Rockaway Beach in Queens Monday night.​

He said he ran down the boardwalk, stripped down to his police-issued uniform shorts and dove in. He was able to help the woman to shore -- but not before helping another good Samaritan who had also jumped in the water to try and save the young woman, he said. "The man who tried to rescue her initially was swept out even further than her," Lauria said, adding that he then asked for the assistance of a nearby surfer to rescue the good Samaritan. Police did not identify the woman.

Lauria said he has been with the NYPD for a year and a half and comes from a family of cops -- but before that, he spent four years as a lifeguard at the Town of Hempstead's Averill Boulevard Park pool in Elmont. When asked for advice on how to keep safe this season, Lauria advised people to be cautious on the beach. "I advise people not to go into the water when there isn't a lifeguard present," he said, "and if you're a strong swimmer, just know your limits and let someone know you're in the water."

Lifeguard-Turned-Cop Saves Woman From Drowning | Officer.com

 

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NYPD Cop Hailed for Stopping Jihadi Attack...

NYPD Cop Lauded for Stopping Terror Attack
November 1, 2017 - Officer Ryan Nash wounded the driver who killed eight people in Manhattan Tuesday afternoon.

What more mayhem the terror suspect could have committed, nobody knows — thanks to an NYPD officer from Long Island. Officer Ryan Nash, 28, fired at the driver, who had just killed eight people and mowed down several others, hitting the man in the abdomen. Although Nash’s name wasn’t mentioned by city officials at a news conference, he was praised as the hero of the day. NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said he “stopped the carnage moments after it began.”

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill told reporters that Officer Ryan Nash “stopped the carnage moments after it began.”​

Mayor Bill de Blasio singled the Medford resident out in honoring the army of first responders. “I want to thank everyone at the NYPD, all our first responders, for their extraordinary efforts in the midst of this tragedy,” the mayor said, “starting with the officer who stopped this tragedy from continuing — all the first responders who came to the aid of those who were injured.” Nash’s girlfriend declined to speak Tuesday night, except to say she had heard from him and that he was OK.

Nash, a First Precinct officer, was patrolling his regular beat near the scene when he shot the suspect soon after the attack began, O’Neill said. He is a five-year veteran of the NYPD and serves in the First Precinct, a square mile at the southernmost tip of Manhattan that is home to the World Trade Center, SoHo, TriBeCa and Wall Street. Scores of police officers descended Tuesday night on NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital, where Nash was being treated for tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. He has two awards for Excellent Police Duty and one for Meritorious Police Duty from the NYPD.

NYPD Officer Hailed as Hero for Stopping Deadly Terror Attack