A Tribute to Medal of Honor Recipients on 149th anniversary

A Tribute to Medal of Honor Recipients

Staff Sgt. Abram Pinnington Reporting
news@clarksvillenow.com

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - While facing insurmountable odds with their backs against a wall and their comrades' lives at stake; brave men and women, without hesitation, place the well-being of others before their own. On Sunday we remember these brave and courageous warriors.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill creating the Medal of Honor. The distinguished award was designed to recognize those whom displayed valorous actions while serving on the battlefield.

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, presents this unique award.

This Sunday, March 25th, marks the 149th anniversary of the first presentation of the medal in 1863. On that day, six soldiers were given the award for their bravery during the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862.

Since the medal's inception, there have been 3,458 recipients, 19 of whom were double awardees.

Some of the most recognizable and distinguished recipients include; President Theodore Roosevelt, for his actions during the Spanish-American War. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was recognized for his selfless service in the Philippines during World War II. Sgt. Audie Murphy, World War II's most decorated US soldier, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous gallantry. Most recently, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer was recognized for his heroism while serving in the mountains of Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
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Double Medal of Honor

BALDWIN, FRANK D. First Lieutenant U.S. Army
BUTLER, SMEDLEY DARLINGTON Major U.S. Marine
COOPER, JOHN Coxswain U.S. Navy
CUKELA, LOUIS Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps
CUSTER, THOMAS W. Second Lieutenant U.S. Amry
DALY, DANIEL JOSEPH Gunnery Sergeant U.S. Marine
HOFFMAN, CHARLES F. (AKA ERNEST JANSON) Gunnery Sergeant U.S. Marine
HOGAN, HENRY First Sergeant U.S. Army
KELLY, JOHN JOSEPH Private U.S. Marine Corps
KING, JOHN Watertender U.S. Navy
KOCAK, MATEJ Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps
LAFFERTY, JOHN Fireman U.S. Navy
McCLOY, JOHN Coxswain U.S. Navy
MULLEN, PATRICK Boatswain's Mate U.S. Navy
PRUITT, JOHN HENRY Corporal U.S. Marine Corps
SWEENEY, ROBERT Ordinary Seaman U.S. Navy
WEISBOGEL, ALBERT Captain of the Mizzen Top U.S. Navy
WILLIAMS, LOUIS Captain of the Hold U.S. Navy
WILSON, WILLIAM Sergeant U.S. Army
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12 Rangers get Silver Stars for Afghan heroics

12 Rangers get Silver Stars for Afghan heroics
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Mar 25, 2012

Twelve soldiers from 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, were awarded the Silver Star during a ceremony March 16 at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga. The soldiers were honored — two of them posthumously — with the nation’s third-highest award for valor for actions spanning two deployments to Afghanistan.

SGT. 1ST CLASS MICHAEL A. EIERMANN
SGT. TODD D. MARK
SGT. DYLAN J. MAYNARD
SGT. 1ST CLASS MICHAEL A. DUCHESNE
STAFF SGT. ETHAN P. KILLEEN
CAPT. JONATHAN F. LOGAN
SGT. JONATHAN K. PENEY (POSTHUMOUS AWARD)
STAFF SGT. TREVOR D. TOW
SGT. MARTIN A. LUGO (POSTHUMOUS AWARD)
STAFF SGT. JOHN M. ROWLAND
SGT. 1ST CLASS KEITH A. MORGES
SGT. ALAN D. SOLOMON
read their stories here

Coming home: The enduring sacrifice

Coming home: The enduring sacrifice
By William Brangham and Jessica Wang
March 23, 2012

There’s been intense coverage of the nation’s suddenly improving economy – including the sharp drop in the unemployment rate. But one part of that story may have slipped by in a mass of numbers.

There’s apparently been a dramatic fall in joblessness among America’s newest veterans – those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last month, their unemployment rate actually dipped below the national average. One possible explanation: new tax credits for businesses to hire vets.

Still, more than a 150,000 veterans are still unemployed, and some have even become homeless. Need to Know’s Maria Hinojosa has been following several of these new veterans since last fall.

Watch The enduring sacrifice (update) on PBS. See more from Need to Know.

Wife says Iraq War changed Nicholas Horner

Wife: Iraq changed Horner
March 24, 2012
By Phil Ray
The Altoona Mirror

HOLLIDAYSBURG - When Army Sgt. Nicholas A. Horner returned from his third tour in Iraq in the summer of 2008, he was no longer the "happy-go-lucky goofball" that his wife, Windy, had fallen in love with just a few years before.

Windy Horner testified Friday in a Blair County courtroom that Horner, 31, was "more antsy" and subject to mood changes. He was suicidal at times. He carried a handgun and avoided crowds. He, for instance, would not go to local stores.

Windy Horner was one of the opening witnesses for the defense in her husband's double-homicide trial. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty against Nicholas Horner for the shooting deaths of Scott Garlick, 19, and Raymond Williams, 64, during a 2009 robbery and getaway at the 58th Street Subway.

She filed for divorce in 2010. The petition is pending, Windy Horner said under cross-examination.

She said her husband would disappear for hours, citing two instances when the couple lived in Dixon, Mo., just 20 miles from his station at Fort Leonard Wood, in which he left home and later appeared at the house of a friend, Staff Sgt. Kevin Hall, a trainer at Fort Leonard Wood.

She remembered him leaving a barbeque with another family one night.

He said he was going for a cigarette but when she went outside to look for him, he was "taking off for the treeline."

Windy Horner said she let him go, knowing she couldn't catch him.
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Katy Perry video features 80 Marines from Camp Pendleton

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Marines say Katy Perry video is good publicity
Video features 80 Marines from Camp Pendleton

Written by
Jeanette Steele

Pop star Katy Perry is known for her blue hair and quirky videos.

When she wanted to get tough for her latest release, the young singer picked up an M-16 and trained with actual Marines at Camp Pendleton.

Perry’s “Part of Me” video, released Wednesday, was shot over three days in February at Pendleton’s Camp Horno area and at Red Beach, the sandy stretch off Interstate 5 where Marines practice maneuvers.

It’s likely the first major music video to be shot at a Marine base, officials say.
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Katy Perry Part of Me video