SPC Ross McGinnis to Receive Medal of Honor

SPC stands for Specialist in the Army. Old soldiers may know them as Spec 4. While he is truly deserving of the medal I wish that dying wasn't such a prerequisite for receiving the award. So far in the Global War on Terror no Medal of Honor has been awarded to a living member.

Spc. Ross McGinnis, who was killed Dec. 4, 2006, in Iraq when he smothered a grenade with his body, will receive the Medal of Honor, sources told Army Times.

McGinnis, 19, is the second soldier to receive the nation’s highest valor award for actions while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed April 4, 2003, fighting off insurgents in a fierce firefight south of Baghdad, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor two years after he died.

Now before you get your panties in a knot protesting that there have been 4 MOH's awarded, it is important to note that the phrase soldier is used. A soldier is a member of the Army. The other winners have included 2 Navy SEALS and a Marine.

As he stood up to get ready to jump out of the vehicle, as he had been trained to do, McGinnis realized the other four soldiers in the Humvee did not know where the grenade had landed and did not have enough time to escape.

McGinnis, a native of Knox, Pa., threw his back against the radio mount, where the grenade was lodged, and smothered the explosive with his body.

The grenade exploded, hitting McGinnis on his sides and lower back, under his vest. He was killed instantly. The other four men survived.

Here is more news about this young man along with some comments from his parents shortly after being notified of his death on Dec 4, 2006.

The choice for Ross was simple, but simple does not mean easy. His straightforward answer to a simple but difficult choice should stand as a shining example for the rest of us. We all face simple choices, but how often do we choose to make a sacrifice to get the right answer? The right choice sometimes requires honor.

Since he is a native of Pennsylvania, I wonder if Congressman Murtha will bother to recognize the young man and his actions or is he too busy defending himself from the Marines he falsely accused and slandered in the Haditha case?