In the military, the highest honor for valor in action against an enemy force is the Medal of Honor. According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, this is the highest distinction "bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States" and it is often awarded posthumously. There are three variations of the Medal of Honor, the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard retained the original 1861 simple star shape. But in 1904, a wreath design was struck for the Army and an altered wreath version for the U.S. Air Force was adopted in 1965.
Regardless of the different designs between military divisions, the meaning behind the award is the same. All recipients receive the honor, "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty." It should be remembered that for living Medal of Honor recipients, the award is a reminder that valiant actions are fleeting in comparison to the lives that are lost. Furthermore, Medal of Honor recipients do not wish to be recognized as winners because nothing was truly won even if only one soldier died.
Sept. 15, President Obama presented Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota L. Meyer with the latest Medal of Honor. He is the first living U.S. Marine to receive the honor since the Vietnam War. But media coverage of the award ceremony and interviews with Sgt. Meyer show a reticent honoree reluctant to accept the high regard. It was reported that after the firefight that prompted his award, Sgt. Meyer felt like a failure for his inability to save his four U.S. team members.
It was an early September morning in Afghanistan in 2009 when then 21-year-old Cpl. Meyer engaged in an act of heroism that changed his life and military career. American and Afghan patrol troops were in the village of Ganjgal for a routine meeting with the village elders. But the situation instantly turned dangerous when more than 50 enemy fighters ambushed the patrol. Meyer and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez had stayed behind with the vehicles when the attack occurred. It was the sound of arms fire and an officer yelling over the radio that alerted the Marines to act. Meyers continuously called over the radio to officers requesting to assist the stranded soldiers but repeatedly received the reply, "no" because backup would arrive in 15 minutes. After 15 minutes passed, Meyer asked again but was declined and told to wait another 15 minutes for air support. When no one showed, Meyer made one final request but received the same response.
Meyer and Rodriguez-Chavez decided to disobey orders and go after their missing men. It was a six-hour fight to save the trapped troops. Rodriguez-Chavez drove a Humvee straight into the ambush, while Meyer operated the vehicle's gun turret to fire at the Taliban. Meyer and Rodriguez-Chavez rescued the Afghan soldiers first cut off by the attack. Then, they went back. They threw themselves into the line of fire five times. Meyer was fully exposed to Taliban fire but he was determined and he accepted his mission as one that would kill him. But the rescue mission did not take either man's life. The mission saved dozens of Marines and two dozen Afghan soldiers, but four American troops were dead when the Humvee finally arrived.
The actions of Meyer and Rodriguez-Chavez were due to the prime motivation of men and women in uniform. When under fire, a soldier's motivation to keep fighting is for the sake of men and women to the left and right. Meyer did not continually go back into the surrounded area with the hope of receiving recognition for valor. He went back because it was his call of duty to "leave no man behind."
The Medal of Honor is a stigma for living recipients like Meyer because it serves as a reminder that lives were still lost. As Meyer said to National Public Radio writer Tom Bowman, "You feel like a failure. Why isn't it you being carried on that bird? Why are you standing here and they're not?" Moreover, as Americans we need reminders that young soldiers are putting their lives on the line for each other and for the sake of our national security. Meyer was 21 at the time of the ambush and he did not hesitate to rescue his men. How many of us are willing to lay down our lives for the sake of someone else?
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