http://www.mrc.org/realitycheck/2006/fax20060612.asphttp://www.mrc.org/realitycheck/2006/fax20060612heros.asp The investigation isn't over, but on May 17 NBC Nightly News opted to put the story back in the headlines after comments from anti-war Congressman John Murtha. From that date through June 7, the networks have aired 99 stories or segments suggesting U.S. military misconduct — three and a half hours of coverage in three weeks. ABC has hit the story the hardest, with 85½ minutes of coverage on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, This Week and Nightline. NBC aired 67 minutes on Today, Nightly News and Meet the Press, while CBS broadcast 58 minutes on The Early Show, CBS Evening News and Face the Nation.
You have go go to an obscure web site to out good news. What these guys did cannot be praised enough.
Major Mark Mitchell, U.S. Army: In November 2001, after Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners attempted to seize control of the prison at Mazer-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, the Army Special Forces Major led an effort to quell the revolt and rescue two CIA operatives caught inside the prison. According to an account in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Mitchell moved in to the prison "with no body army or helmet and vastly outnumbered....From a vulnerable position on the wall, he directed air strikes that proved vital in defeating the Taliban fighters at the fortress....Even when an errant bomb injured nine of his men — more than half — he was able to evacuate the injured and direct the remaining soldiers as they repelled the Taliban attacks." The first recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross in nearly 30 years, Mitchell at the Nov. 13, 2003 award ceremony told his wife and daughters, "You’re the only people I ever hoped would consider me a hero."
Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass, U.S. Navy: In November 2001, Bass was also at the Mazer-e-Sharif prison as the captured terrorist prisoners attempted to seize the facility. According to the citation that accompanied his Navy Cross, Bass was "engaged continuously by direct small arms fire, indirect mortar fire and rocket propelled grenade fire" as he entered the prison to try and recover the two CIA operatives inside. Bass made multiple attempts to gain access to the missing Americans only to have "large volumes of fire falling on his position." After darkness fell, he made a dash to the center of the prison. "Running low on ammunition, he utilized weapons from deceased Afghans to continue his rescue attempt. Upon verifying the condition of the American citizen, he withdrew from the fortress. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, Chief Petty Officer Bass reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
Senior Chief Petty Officer Britt Slabinski, U.S. Navy: On March 3, 2002, in Operation Anaconda in eastern Afghanistan, Slabinski led a seven man reconnaissance team into a mountain position to support an offensive by U.S. Army forces. According to Slabinski’s Navy Cross citation, the group’s helicopter was met by "unrelenting rocket propelled grenade (RPG) and small arms fire by entrenched enemy forces," and one of the group ejected himself from the helicopter, which later made a controlled crash. Despite the overwhelming enemy presence, Slabinski led the group on a mission to attempt to rescue their missing comrade, engaging "multiple enemy positions" and killing several terrorists as they searched. When their "position became untenable," Slabinski led a tactical withdrawal, "an arduous movement through the mountainous terrain, constantly under fire, covering over one kilometer in waist-deep snow, while carrying a seriously wounded teammate." In a defensible position, Slabinski kept up the fight for 14 hours until the enemy was defeated. According to the citation: "During this entire sustained engagement, Senior Chief Petty Officer Slabinski exhibited classic grace under fire in steadfastly leading the intrepid rescue mission, saving the lives of his wounded men and setting the conditions for the ultimate vanquishing of the enemy."
Technical Sergeant John Chapman, U.S. Air Force: During the fierce fighting of Operation Anaconda on March 4, 2002, a rocket-propelled grenade hit Sgt. Chapman’s helicopter, causing Navy Petty Officer Neil Roberts to fall to the ground and into enemy hands. Chapman volunteered for a small rescue party, and he killed two enemy fighters before his group came under fire from three directions. Cut off from the rest of his men, "he exchanged fire with the enemy from minimal personal cover until he succumbed to multiple wounds," according to his citation. "His Navy sea-air-land team leader credits Sergeant Chapman unequivocally with saving the lives of the entire rescue team." Sgt. Chapman’s widow and two daughters received his Air Force Cross on January 10, 2003.
Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, U.S. Air Force: Airman Cunningham, a pararescue medic, was part of a quick reaction force sent by helicopter to assist Sgt. Chapman’s rescue team on March 4, 2002. Before it could land, Cunningham’s helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and both pilots suffered gunshot wounds. The Rangers trying to exit the helicopter faced immediate intense gunfire, and Cunningham the medic immediately began working on casualties. Realizing the helicopter wreckage was a target for enemy fire, Cunningham dragged wounded troops across the line of enemy fire seven times, only to be forced to move the wounded a second and third time. During the last movement, Cunningham was shot twice, but even after he was wounded, he continued to treat patients. Airman Cunningham died of his injuries before helicopters could be brought in to evacuate the wounded, but all the men whom Cunningham had treated survived their ordeal. His widow, Theresa, accepted Cunningham’s Air Force Cross on Sept. 13, 2002.
Hospitalman Apprentice Louis E. Fonseca, U.S. Navy: On March 23, 2003 Fonseca was with U.S. Marines in an amphibious assault vehicle, part of a convoy sent to capture the Saddam Canal Bridge. Just after the vehicles crossed the bridge, they were ambushed, attacked on all sides. Fonseca left his vehicle to attend to five Marines wounded when a rocket-propelled grenade hit their vehicle, which was still burning. He attended to two Marines with badly injured legs, then enlisted others to help transport the wounded back to his own vehicle. As described in the book Home of the Brave: Honoring the Unsung Heroes in the War on Terror, "the 5 feet 5, 140-pound Fonseca had a 6-feet, 210-pound Marine draped over his back and was dodging enemy fire all the way." Fonseca exposed himself to enemy fire again when he heard reports of additional wounded Marines. According to his citation, "his timely and effective care undoubtedly saved the lives of numerous casualties." The Secretary of the Navy gave Fonseca the Navy Cross on August 11, 2004.
Gunnery Sergeant Justin D. Lehew, U.S. Marine Corps: On March 23, 2003, Sgt. Lehew and his men aided in the rescue of wounded soldiers from an earlier Iraqi ambush, then went about trying to secure a Euphrates River bridge. As Lehew recounted to a military Web site, once his men were on the bridge it was briefly quiet, then "all it once it seemed like Armagedden opened up from all angles of the streets....Swarms of Iraqis started converging on our positions. There had to have been hundreds." According to his citation, Sgt. Lehew "continuously exposed himself to withering enemy fire during the three-hour urban firefight." He told the military Web site that Iraqi fire was coming from windows, doorways and cars: "They were using women holding babies as spotters. But we had to hold the bridge at all costs." As the Iraqi attack progressed, Sgt. Lehew and his men helped evacuate 77 casualties. He received the Navy Cross on July 24, 2004 for "his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty."
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