NEED to KNOW!!!! These Heroes!!!

[center:1zibi4te]Lieutenant General Carol Mutter
U.S. Marine Corps (Retired) [/center:1zibi4te]

[center:1zibi4te] [/center:1zibi4te]

"Women in Military have come a long way in my 31 years. We still have more progress to make, but it won't and shouldn't all happen overnight! Sometimes when we walk up to that door of opportunity and find it's locked we may be tempted to blast it open. I've learned to be careful--by blasting it down, we could destroy what we're trying to get on the other side."
Lieutenant General Carol Mutter
USMC (Ret.)

Read her story at: http://homeofheroes.com/DG/05h_mutter.html

[center:269hfvj1]Dane R Balcon [/center:269hfvj1]
[center:269hfvj1] [/center:269hfvj1]
[center:269hfvj1]Colorado Springs, Colorado
September 5, 2007
Age - 19 Military - Army Rank - Pfc Unit/Location - 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Fort Hood, Texas
Killed in Balad, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device.[/center:269hfvj1]
[center:269hfvj1] [/center:269hfvj1]

Read the rest of his story at : http://iraq.pigstye.net/article.php/DaneRBalcon

[center:goj4f5x4]FRED W. STOCKHAM [/center:goj4f5x4][center:goj4f5x4] [/center:goj4f5x4]
*STOCKHAM, FRED W.
Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 96th Company, 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment. Place and date: In Bois-de-Belleau, France, 13-14 June 1918. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Detroit, Mich. G.O.
Citation:
During an intense enemy bombardment with high explosive and gas shells which wounded or killed many members of the company, G/Sgt. Stockham, upon noticing that the gas mask of a wounded comrade was shot away, without hesitation, removed his own gas mask and insisted upon giving it to the wounded man, well knowing that the effects of the gas would be fatal to himself. He continued with undaunted courage and valor to direct and assist in the evacuation of the wounded, until he himself collapsed from the effects of gas, dying as a result thereof a few days later. His courageous conduct undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his wounded comrades and his conspicuous gallantry and spirit of self-sacrifice were a source of great inspiration to all who served with him.
*Though a Marine, he received the Army Medal of Honor

Read his story at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_W._Stockham

[center:3qlg86du]John D Fry [/center:3qlg86du]
[center:3qlg86du] [/center:3qlg86du]
[center:3qlg86du]Lorena, Texas
March 7, 2006
Age -28 Military - Marine Rank - GSgt
Unit/Location - 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina[/center:3qlg86du]
[center:3qlg86du]Killed improvised explosive devices in Al Anbar province, Iraq.[/center:3qlg86du]
http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/fry.htm

Read more about his story: http://militarytimes.com/valor/marine-gunnery-sgt-john-d-fry/1588232
His scholarship fund: http://www.military.com/education/content/money-for-school/fry-scholarship.html

[center:wlrptgye]CSM Robert M. Patterson
US Army/Retired
Medal of Honor, Vietnam
[/center:wlrptgye]

"On September 11, 2001 America sat and watched a deplorable attack on its citizens. These citizens were not part of a military unit, police organization or anything of that nature. They were ordinary people just going to work. They had done nothing to this organization. Their only crime was "THEY WERE AMERICAN".
Most of the countries around the world have condemned the attack and have given their support to the actions America will take against these cowards. It is time for all America to announce around the world, "We will not be driven into hiding so you can have your way".

Read the rest of what Robert had to say at: http://homeofheroes.com/united/index.html
And about him at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Martin_Patterson
[center:wlrptgye] [/center:wlrptgye]

[center:2ym70lmv]George Washington [/center:2ym70lmv]
[center:2ym70lmv] [/center:2ym70lmv]
[center:2ym70lmv]First Inaugural Address
New York, NY
Thursday, April 30, 1789 [/center:2ym70lmv]

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:

AMONG the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month. On the one hand, I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years—a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected. All I dare hope is that if, in executing this task, I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before me, my error will be palliated by the motives which mislead me, and its consequences be judged by my country with some share of the partiality in which they originated.
Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence.

Read the rest of his speech at: http://homeofheroes.com/presidents/inaugural/1_wash_1.html

Read about the man at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

[center:1se34rjk]Michael I Edwards

Fairbanks, Alaska
January 7, 2006
Age - 26 Military - Army Rank - Spc Unit/Location -Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment
Anchorage, Alaska[/center:1se34rjk]
Died near Tal Afar, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed.
http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/edwardsmi.htm

[center:zqqksedw]RAYMOND G. MURPHY

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Korea, 3 February 1953. Entered service at: Pueblo, Colo. Born: 14 January 1930, Pueblo, Colo.[/center:zqqksedw]
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a platoon commander of Company A, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Although painfully wounded by fragments from an enemy mortar shell while leading his evacuation platoon in support of assault units attacking a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched hostile force occupying commanding ground, 2d Lt. Murphy steadfastly refused medical aid and continued to lead his men up a hill through a withering barrage of hostile mortar and small-arms fire, skillfully maneuvering his force from one position to the next and shouting words of encouragement. Undeterred by the increasing intense enemy fire, he immediately located casualties as they fell and made several trips up and down the fire-swept hill to direct evacuation teams to the wounded, personally carrying many of the stricken marines to safety. When reinforcements were needed by the assaulting elements, 2d Lt. Murphy employed part of his unit as support and, during the ensuing battle, personally killed 2 of the enemy with his pistol. With all the wounded evacuated and the assaulting units beginning to disengage, he remained behind with a carbine to cover the movement of friendly forces off the hill and, though suffering intense pain from his previous wounds, seized an automatic rifle to provide more firepower when the enemy reappeared in the trenches. After reaching the base of the hill, he organized a search party and again ascended the slope for a final check on missing marines, locating and carrying the bodies of a machinegun crew back down the hill. Wounded a second time while conducting the entire force to the line of departure through a continuing barrage of enemy small-arms, artillery, and mortar fire, he again refused medical assistance until assured that every one of his men, including all casualties, had preceded him to the main lines. His resolute and inspiring leadership, exceptional fortitude, and great personal valor reflect the highest credit upon 2d Lt. Murphy and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
http://homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_living/kc_mc_murphy.html

Read about the man at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_G._Murphy

[center:128o6jlf]Michael E Yashinski [/center:128o6jlf]
[center:128o6jlf] [/center:128o6jlf]
[center:128o6jlf]Monument, Colorado
December 24, 2003[/center:128o6jlf]
[center:128o6jlf]Age - 24 Military - Army Rank - Sgt. Unit/Location - 501st Forward Support Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade
Vicenza, Italy

Kirkuk, Iraq. Yashinski died of injuries sustained while running a communication wire.[/center:128o6jlf]




http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/2003/yashinski.htm

[center:nwg2gnqd]Marine Corps Brevet Medal [/center:nwg2gnqd]
[center:nwg2gnqd] [/center:nwg2gnqd]
Prior to 1915, the Medal of Honor was only authorized to ENLISTED sailors and Marines. Marine Corps officers who performed gallantly in combat were rewarded with BREVET promotion, a practice dating back to the American Revolutionary War in all branches of service. In 1921 Marine Corps Order Number 26 established the Marine Corps Brevet Medal. The award was a one time issuance and retroactively recognized living Marine Corps officers who had received a brevet rank between the years 1861 to 1915. It was only issued to twenty Marine Corps active, retired, and discharged personnel.
The Brevet Medal was considered to be the equivalent of the Navy Cross, although in precedence it ranked just behind the Medal of Honor since those receiving it had received field commissions as Marine Corps officers, under combat conditions, and had performed feats of distinction and gallant service. The scarlet ribbon closely resembled the star-studded blue ribbon of the Medal of Honor.
In 1940, the Marine Corps declared the Brevet Medal obsolete, since the concept of brevet commissions was phased out of the United States military to be replaced by temporary and field commissions which were awarded much more frequently than brevet ranks.
[center:nwg2gnqd]Civil War
POPE, PERCIVAL CLARENCE [/center:nwg2gnqd]
[center:nwg2gnqd] [/center:nwg2gnqd]
Citation:The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Marine Corps Brevet Medal to Percival Clarence Pope, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, for gallant and meritorious service in the night attack upon Fort Sumter, on 2 March 1867, appointed Captain, by brevet, to rank from 8 September 1963.
Born: February 28, 1841 at Boston, Massachusetts

Read more about the man at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_C._Pope