Database of Veterans’ Medals Cited as Alternative to ‘Stolen Valor’
By JAMES DAO
June 28, 2012
In his opinion striking down the Stolen Valor Act on Thursday, United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy offered an alternative solution for defending the military’s award system against fakers, one he said would not infringe on First Amendment rights.
“The government could likely protect the integrity of the military awards system by creating a database of medal winners accessible and searchable on the Internet, as some private individuals have already done,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “Were a database accessible through the Internet, it would be easy to verify and expose false claims.”
“Some private individuals” might have been a reference to Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran who for more than a decade has been painstakingly logging military award citations into a public database, a task the Defense Department has declined to take on.
So far, Mr. Sterner said on Thursday, he has logged more than 104,000 award records, including every recipient of the top two tiers of military honors: the Medal of Honor, the highest military award, and the Air Force Cross, the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal. (The Congressional Medal of Honor Society also maintains a database of all Medal of Honor recipients.)
Mr. Sterner says he has done all that data entry himself, helped on the technical side by Militarytimes.com, which hosts the database, known as the Hall of Valor. He asserts that for a few million dollars, he could hire a team of data entry workers and, within three years, log every military valor award ever awarded by the United States military.
“I’ve done this much by myself,” he said. “Imagine what I could do if I had a team.”
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Showing posts with label Distinguished Service Cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Distinguished Service Cross. Show all posts
Friday, June 29, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
2 Green Berets Receive Distinguished Service Cross
2 Green Berets Receive Distinguished Service Cross
Jun 13, 2012
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
by Drew Brooks
Battling insurgents hiding in fortified bunkers, Staff Sgt. Corey Calkins led a group of Afghan soldiers over a road littered with bombs and into a hail of gunfire.
A month later, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Myers ran up and down a trapped convoy amid a barrage of enemy fire to find a way to escape an ambush.
Both soldiers, members of the 3rd Special Forces Group, received the nation's second-highest military award for valor -- the Distinguished Service Cross -- at a ceremony Tuesday on Fort Bragg.
read more here
Jun 13, 2012
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
by Drew Brooks
Battling insurgents hiding in fortified bunkers, Staff Sgt. Corey Calkins led a group of Afghan soldiers over a road littered with bombs and into a hail of gunfire.
A month later, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Myers ran up and down a trapped convoy amid a barrage of enemy fire to find a way to escape an ambush.
Both soldiers, members of the 3rd Special Forces Group, received the nation's second-highest military award for valor -- the Distinguished Service Cross -- at a ceremony Tuesday on Fort Bragg.
read more here
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Vietnam veteran gets Distinguished Service Cross he never knew he was awarded
Vietnam veteran gets honors he never knew he was awarded
By LISA PERKINS
The (Traverse City, Mich.)
Record-Eagle
Published: June 9, 2012
TORCH LAKE VILLAGE, Mich. -- Clarence "Sonny" Szejbach performed heroically on June 6, 1969.
Today, he will be recognized for his feat, more than four decades since receiving serious battle wounds while serving in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam.
Szejbach will be presented with the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest award for military valor.
Accounts of the incident show Szejbach unselfishly responded when a wounded enemy soldier threw an anti-tank grenade at his company commander.
He "unhesitatingly moved in front of the officer, deflected the armed weapons, and then picked it up and threw it. The grenade exploded as it left his hand, inflicting severe wounds on him," said his company commander in his recommendation for Szejbach's citation.
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By LISA PERKINS
The (Traverse City, Mich.)
Record-Eagle
Published: June 9, 2012
TORCH LAKE VILLAGE, Mich. -- Clarence "Sonny" Szejbach performed heroically on June 6, 1969.
Today, he will be recognized for his feat, more than four decades since receiving serious battle wounds while serving in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam.
Szejbach will be presented with the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest award for military valor.
"I thought I was just doing what was expected of me in the heat of the battle," said Szejbach, 63, who lost his right hand and sustained severe neck and facial injuries during an enemy attack.
Accounts of the incident show Szejbach unselfishly responded when a wounded enemy soldier threw an anti-tank grenade at his company commander.
He "unhesitatingly moved in front of the officer, deflected the armed weapons, and then picked it up and threw it. The grenade exploded as it left his hand, inflicting severe wounds on him," said his company commander in his recommendation for Szejbach's citation.
read more here
Friday, May 4, 2012
Sgt. Felipe Pereira Distinguished Service Cross
No Man Left Behind. 101st Airborne Division's Distinguished Service Cross
Apr 30, 2012 by FortCampbell101
Sgt. Felipe Pereira, an infantryman with Co. A, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), found himself and his platoon in the worst of conditions in Kandahar Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2010, but never quit fighting and never left a man behind. This is his story.
Apr 30, 2012 by FortCampbell101
Sgt. Felipe Pereira, an infantryman with Co. A, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), found himself and his platoon in the worst of conditions in Kandahar Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2010, but never quit fighting and never left a man behind. This is his story.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Screaming Eagle Soldier to be presented Distinguished Service Cross
Screaming Eagle Soldier to be presented Distinguished Service Cross
April 4, 2012
By Fort Campbell Public Affairs
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (April 4, 2012) -- Sgt. Felipe Pereira will be presented with the Distinguished Service Cross by Gen. Ray Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, during a ceremony scheduled for April 12, 2012 at the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters located on Fort Campbell, Ky. Pereira is assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 502d Infantry Regiment (Strike).
The Distinguished Service Cross is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army, distinguished himself or herself by extraordinary heroism not justifying the award of a Medal of Honor; while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing or foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
The act or acts of heroism must have been so notable and have involved risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from their comrades.
The Distinguished Service Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor and this will be the first award to a 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Soldier since the Division's service in Vietnam.
April 4, 2012
By Fort Campbell Public Affairs
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (April 4, 2012) -- Sgt. Felipe Pereira will be presented with the Distinguished Service Cross by Gen. Ray Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, during a ceremony scheduled for April 12, 2012 at the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters located on Fort Campbell, Ky. Pereira is assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 502d Infantry Regiment (Strike).
The Distinguished Service Cross is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army, distinguished himself or herself by extraordinary heroism not justifying the award of a Medal of Honor; while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing or foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
The act or acts of heroism must have been so notable and have involved risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from their comrades.
The Distinguished Service Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor and this will be the first award to a 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Soldier since the Division's service in Vietnam.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Bag of medals left at traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Bellingham
Bag of medals left at traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Bellingham
ISABELLE DILLS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BELLINGHAM — No one would have guessed the contents of a brown plastic bag with a camouflage design laid against the Veterans Traveling Tribute, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The bag sat untouched, as are some other items left at the memorial, for almost two days before Shelley Prentice, the coordinator of the memorial’s visit, finally opened it. When she did, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
The bag contained five medals, including an Army Distinguished Service Cross — the nation’s second-highest military honor — and a Purple Heart, in their original blue tin cases.
“That’s just amazing,” Prentice said. “These are the highest medals you can get, short of the … Medal of Honor.”
Medals are occasionally left beside the traveling wall, a smaller replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The tradition of leaving items is believed to have begun in 1982 at The Wall in D.C. when someone put a Purple Heart in the concrete being poured during the memorial's construction, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Web site.
go here for more
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/top/story/990077.html
ISABELLE DILLS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BELLINGHAM — No one would have guessed the contents of a brown plastic bag with a camouflage design laid against the Veterans Traveling Tribute, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The bag sat untouched, as are some other items left at the memorial, for almost two days before Shelley Prentice, the coordinator of the memorial’s visit, finally opened it. When she did, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
The bag contained five medals, including an Army Distinguished Service Cross — the nation’s second-highest military honor — and a Purple Heart, in their original blue tin cases.
“That’s just amazing,” Prentice said. “These are the highest medals you can get, short of the … Medal of Honor.”
Medals are occasionally left beside the traveling wall, a smaller replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The tradition of leaving items is believed to have begun in 1982 at The Wall in D.C. when someone put a Purple Heart in the concrete being poured during the memorial's construction, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Web site.
go here for more
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/top/story/990077.html
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Iraq fight results in 1 DSC, 2 Silver Stars
Iraq fight results in 1 DSC, 2 Silver Stars
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 26, 2009 5:49:44 EDT
The battle inside the farming complex on the outskirts of Samarra, Iraq, lasted less than 10 minutes.
But in that time, a high-value target responsible for weapons smuggling, kidnapping and murder was dead, as were 12 of his fighters. Six others were detained.
In the fierce fight to subdue them, three Special Forces soldiers suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Their actions earned one of them the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for combat valor, and two of them the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor.
On May 14, the awards were presented to the three soldiers: Sgt. 1st Class Jarion Halbisengibbs, 27, receiving the DSC, and Capt. Matthew Chaney, 31, and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay, 30, each receiving the Silver Star. Adm. Eric Olson, commander of Special Operations Command, presented the DSC, and Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commander of Army Special Operations Command, presented the Silver Stars during a ceremony at Fort Carson, Colo.
All three soldiers belong to 10th Special Forces Group.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/army_dsc_award_052309w/
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 26, 2009 5:49:44 EDT
The battle inside the farming complex on the outskirts of Samarra, Iraq, lasted less than 10 minutes.
But in that time, a high-value target responsible for weapons smuggling, kidnapping and murder was dead, as were 12 of his fighters. Six others were detained.
In the fierce fight to subdue them, three Special Forces soldiers suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Their actions earned one of them the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for combat valor, and two of them the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor.
On May 14, the awards were presented to the three soldiers: Sgt. 1st Class Jarion Halbisengibbs, 27, receiving the DSC, and Capt. Matthew Chaney, 31, and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay, 30, each receiving the Silver Star. Adm. Eric Olson, commander of Special Operations Command, presented the DSC, and Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commander of Army Special Operations Command, presented the Silver Stars during a ceremony at Fort Carson, Colo.
All three soldiers belong to 10th Special Forces Group.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/army_dsc_award_052309w/
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
3 Carson soldiers to receive high honors
3 Carson soldiers to receive high honors
By Dan Elliott - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 13, 2009 17:39:41 EDT
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Staff Sgt. Jarion Halbisen-Gibbs felt something like “a white-hot shot of lightning” pierce his gut when an Iraqi insurgent’s bullet tore through his small intestine and lodged in his buttock.
He and other Green Berets kept fighting, and when the September 2007 raid was over, 12 suspected Iraqi insurgents were dead — including the target of the raid, a man described by the Army as a high-value terrorist who was masterminding extortion and kidnappings.
On Thursday, the Army will give the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest medal for valor a soldier can get, to Halbisen-Gibbs. Two of his fellow soldiers from the 10th Special Forces Group, Capt. Matthew A. Chaney and Sgt. 1st Class Michael D. Lindsay, will get the Silver Star, which ranks just below the Distinguished Service Cross.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/ap_army_carson_valor_051309/
By Dan Elliott - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 13, 2009 17:39:41 EDT
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Staff Sgt. Jarion Halbisen-Gibbs felt something like “a white-hot shot of lightning” pierce his gut when an Iraqi insurgent’s bullet tore through his small intestine and lodged in his buttock.
He and other Green Berets kept fighting, and when the September 2007 raid was over, 12 suspected Iraqi insurgents were dead — including the target of the raid, a man described by the Army as a high-value terrorist who was masterminding extortion and kidnappings.
On Thursday, the Army will give the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest medal for valor a soldier can get, to Halbisen-Gibbs. Two of his fellow soldiers from the 10th Special Forces Group, Capt. Matthew A. Chaney and Sgt. 1st Class Michael D. Lindsay, will get the Silver Star, which ranks just below the Distinguished Service Cross.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/ap_army_carson_valor_051309/
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Vietnam MIA's family given medal for his heroism
Family given soldier's medal for heroism
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., April 27 (UPI) -- It took 42 years, but the family of a U.S. Army Green Beret major missing in action in Vietnam has been given the Distinguished Service Cross he earned.
At a ceremony in Fayetteville, N.C., last Wednesday, the story was told how on March 24, 1967, Maj. Jack T. Stewart was last seen providing cover fire for his comrades as they evacuated their position at Bu Dop in Phuoc Long province near the Cambodian border while under attack from an overwhelming North Vietnamese force, American Forces Press Services said Monday.
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Family given soldier's medal for heroism/
Friday, February 6, 2009
Spc. earns DSC for heroism during ambush
Spc. earns DSC for heroism during ambush
By Matthew Cox - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 6, 2009 10:45:26 EST
Spc. Erik Oropeza doesn’t remember hearing a thing when the 13 155mm howitzer rounds exploded beneath his Stryker.
“I remember seeing a white light and then it went dark,” said Oropeza, who had been driving his Stryker on a dirt road 10 kilometers north of Taji, Iraq.
The soldier from 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment regained consciousness a few minutes later and climbed out of his blown-open hatch.
The sharp crack of enemy automatic weapons fire snapped him out of his daze.
“I could hear the bullets whizzing by; I pretty much jumped from my driver hatch to the back right hatch of the Stryker” and ducked inside,” he recalled.
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Monday, September 15, 2008
Staff Sgt. Erich R. Phillips awarded Distinguished Service Cross
'An absolute go-getter'
It was about 5 a.m. and enemy forces were trying to overrun the platoon-size element stationed at the Ranch House, a rudimentary outpost built on a mountain side 7,000 feet above sea level in Nuristan province, Afghanistan."That was exactly their intention," Phillips said Monday. "We didn’t allow them. We fought hard."Phillips not only fought hard, he was instrumental in keeping one of the perimeter posts from falling into enemy hands, stopping the enemy advance.
Staff Sgt. Erich R. Phillips, Mortar Platoon Sergeant for Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross Sept. 15, 2008 in Vicenza, Italy, for his actions at Ranch House in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan Aug. 22, 2007.
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It was about 5 a.m. and enemy forces were trying to overrun the platoon-size element stationed at the Ranch House, a rudimentary outpost built on a mountain side 7,000 feet above sea level in Nuristan province, Afghanistan."That was exactly their intention," Phillips said Monday. "We didn’t allow them. We fought hard."Phillips not only fought hard, he was instrumental in keeping one of the perimeter posts from falling into enemy hands, stopping the enemy advance.
Staff Sgt. Erich R. Phillips, Mortar Platoon Sergeant for Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross Sept. 15, 2008 in Vicenza, Italy, for his actions at Ranch House in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan Aug. 22, 2007.
click link for more
A soldier's courage, obscure since WWI, is given due tribute
A soldier's courage, obscure since WWI, is given due tribute
By Jonnelle Marte
Globe Correspondent / September 15, 2008
EVERETT - Little is known about Fred Dulevitz's life.
It is unclear when his family moved to the United States from Russia, how long he lived in Massachusetts, or whether he graduated from high school.
More is known about his death, however.
Military records show that US Army Private Dulevitz was just 19 years old and had already earned the French Croix de Guerre award for bravery when he died during one of the deadliest battles of World War I, at Verdun in northeast France.
He volunteered for what was surely a suicidal mission: going through the German trenches to get a message to an American battalion commander.
He also earned a Purple Heart and, after his death on Oct. 28, 1918, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Those accolades were recognized on a new tombstone dedicated yesterday at the unmarked grave in Glenwood cemetery where he has lain for decades.
Dulevitz's bravery is no longer buried in obscurity.
click post title for more
By Jonnelle Marte
Globe Correspondent / September 15, 2008
EVERETT - Little is known about Fred Dulevitz's life.
It is unclear when his family moved to the United States from Russia, how long he lived in Massachusetts, or whether he graduated from high school.
More is known about his death, however.
Military records show that US Army Private Dulevitz was just 19 years old and had already earned the French Croix de Guerre award for bravery when he died during one of the deadliest battles of World War I, at Verdun in northeast France.
He volunteered for what was surely a suicidal mission: going through the German trenches to get a message to an American battalion commander.
He also earned a Purple Heart and, after his death on Oct. 28, 1918, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Those accolades were recognized on a new tombstone dedicated yesterday at the unmarked grave in Glenwood cemetery where he has lain for decades.
Dulevitz's bravery is no longer buried in obscurity.
click post title for more
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Honored soldier is plagued by memories of war
Video: Honored soldier is plagued by memories of war
David Edwards
Published: Saturday May 24, 2008
He was honored by President Bush with the second-highest award in the military, but Sgt. Christopher Corriveau does not feel like a hero.
CBS' David Martin reports that after his sniper team was ambushed and outnumbered 10 to one, Corriveau fought his way out. But his two best friends did not make it..
"They were some of the best friends I've ever had," he said. "I almost wanted to die on that roof that day with my brothers."
Corriveau's unit returns to Iraq this fall, but he will be staying in the US to attend college.
This video is from CBS's Evening News, broadcast May 22, 2008.
go here for video
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CBS_Honored_soldier_plagued_by_memories_0524.html
David Edwards
Published: Saturday May 24, 2008
He was honored by President Bush with the second-highest award in the military, but Sgt. Christopher Corriveau does not feel like a hero.
CBS' David Martin reports that after his sniper team was ambushed and outnumbered 10 to one, Corriveau fought his way out. But his two best friends did not make it..
"They were some of the best friends I've ever had," he said. "I almost wanted to die on that roof that day with my brothers."
Corriveau's unit returns to Iraq this fall, but he will be staying in the US to attend college.
This video is from CBS's Evening News, broadcast May 22, 2008.
go here for video
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CBS_Honored_soldier_plagued_by_memories_0524.html
Friday, May 2, 2008
Master Sgt. Brendan O'Connor gets Distinguished Service Cross
Bragg E-8 gets DSC for crawl to save soldiers
By Kevin Maurer - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday May 2, 2008 11:37:22 EDT
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Special Forces soldier who crawled 200 feet while being fired upon to save a wounded colleague, then led a group of besieged soldiers to safety, received the Army’s second-highest award for valor Wednesday.
Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, received the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony Wednesday at Fort Bragg for his actions in Afghanistan.
“He made a conscious decision to do whatever it took to get to our wounded soldiers,” said Maj. Sheffield Ford, the team’s commander during the June 2006 battle in southern Afghanistan.
O’Connor, 47, said he doesn’t believe he is a hero. He said that police officers and firefighters are courageous every day and that he was only completing his mission.
“I am being recognized for a moment of courage,” said O’Connor, whose wife and four children attended the ceremony. “I firmly believe other soldiers in my place would have done the same thing.”
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_bragg_dsc_050108/
By Kevin Maurer - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday May 2, 2008 11:37:22 EDT
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Special Forces soldier who crawled 200 feet while being fired upon to save a wounded colleague, then led a group of besieged soldiers to safety, received the Army’s second-highest award for valor Wednesday.
Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, received the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony Wednesday at Fort Bragg for his actions in Afghanistan.
“He made a conscious decision to do whatever it took to get to our wounded soldiers,” said Maj. Sheffield Ford, the team’s commander during the June 2006 battle in southern Afghanistan.
O’Connor, 47, said he doesn’t believe he is a hero. He said that police officers and firefighters are courageous every day and that he was only completing his mission.
“I am being recognized for a moment of courage,” said O’Connor, whose wife and four children attended the ceremony. “I firmly believe other soldiers in my place would have done the same thing.”
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_bragg_dsc_050108/
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