Capt. Eddie S. Ray
57 years old from Seattle, Washington
Company B, 1st Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Task Force Shepherd, 1st Marine Division

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Eddie S. Ray, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Commanding Officer, Company B, First Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Task Force Shepherd, FIRST Marine Division, in the Emirate of Kuwait on 25 February 1991. During the early morning hours of G+1 of Operation Desert Storm, an Iraqi mechanized division counter-attacked elements of the FIRST Marine Division in the vicinity west of the flame and smoke engulfed Burgan Oil Fields in Southeastern Kuwait. As dense black smoke shrouded the battlefield, an Iraqi mechanized brigade engaged the FIRST Marine Division Forward Command Post security forces. During the ensuing intense ten hour battle, Captain Ray repeatedly maneuvered his Light Armored Vehicle Company in harm’s way, skillfully integrating his Light Armored Infantry weapons, reinforcing TOW’s, and AH-1W Attack Helicopters to decisively defeat main Iraqi counter-attacks. Leading from the front and constantly exposed to large volumes of enemy fire, Captain Ray led swift, violent attacks directly into the face of the vastly larger enemy force. These attacks shocked the enemy, destroyed 50 enemy Armored Personnel Carriers, and resulted in the capture of over 250 Iraqi soldiers. Operating perilously close to the attacking enemy, Captain Ray’s courage, composure under fire, and aggressive war fighting spirit were instrumental in the defeat of a major enemy effort and the successful defense of the Division Forward Command Post. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, Captain Ray reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey M. Day

Col. Jessie O. Farrington (Left), U.S. Army Aviation Center for Excellence deputy commander, presents Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey M. Day (Right), of the Directorate of Evaluation and Standardization, with the Air Medal with Valor for exceptionally meritorious achievement in valor.

Photo Courtesy U.S. Army Taken By Nathan Pfau

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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1st Lt. Loren Douglas Hagen
25 years old from Fargo, North Dakota
U.S. Army Training Advisory Group
February 25, 1946 – August 7, 1971

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant Loren Douglas Hagen, United States Army (Reserve), for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the team leader of a small reconnaissance team with the U.S. Army Training Advisory Group, in action against enemy aggressor forces while operating deep within enemy-held territory in the Republic of Vietnam, on 7 August 1971.

At approximately 0630 hours on the morning of 7 August 1971 the small team came under a fierce assault by a superior-sized enemy force using heavy small arms, automatic weapons, mortar, and rocket fire. First Lieutenant Hagen immediately began returning small-arms fire upon the attackers and successfully led this team in repelling the first enemy onslaught. He then quickly deployed his men into more strategic defense locations before the enemy struck again in an attempt to overrun and annihilate the beleaguered team’s members.

First Lieutenant Hagen repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire directed at him as he constantly moved about the team’s perimeter, directing fire, rallying the members, and resupplying the team with ammunition, while courageously returning small arms and hand grenade fire in a valorous attempt to repel the advancing enemy force. The courageous actions and expert leadership abilities of First Lieutenant Hagen were a great source of inspiration and instilled confidence in the team members. After observing an enemy rocket make a direct hit on and destroy one of the team’s bunkers, First Lieutenant Hagen moved toward the wrecked bunker in search for team members despite the fact that the enemy force now controlled the bunker area. With total disregard for his own personal safety, he crawled through the enemy fire while returning small-arms fire upon the enemy force. Undaunted by the enemy rockets and grenades impacting all around him, First Lieutenant Hagen desperately advanced upon the destroyed bunker until he was fatally wounded by enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire.

With complete disregard for his personal safety, First Lieutenant Hagen’s courageous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon him and the United States Army.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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Click Image For Full Size

Photo Courtesy United States Marine Corps Taken By Keith Hayes

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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Pearl Harbor was originally a shallow embankment called Wai Momi
(Pearl Water) or Pu’rloa (long Hill). It was considered the home of
the shark goddess, Ka’ahupahua, and her brother, Kahiuka. Tradition
says that Keaunui, the legendary chief of the Ewa chiefs is the one w
ho created a navigable channel near the present day Pu’uloa saltworks.
The estuary known as “Pearl River” was then accessible to shipping.
It was never used for large shipping because of the shallow entrance.
As whaling and trading began to use the islands as a half-way point in
the Pacific, by 1820 the US was looking for a major harbor. It was
not until the turn of the century that Pearl Harbor began to be
refitted for larger naval vessels. target="_blank">The naval base we know today was formally opened
when the dry dock was open to flooding on August 21, 1919.

As early as February 1, 1933, the Navy staged a mock attack on Pearl
Harbor by the Japanese. The exercise was a disaster. Even in 1933 it
was known that Pearl Harbor’s defenses were considered, after the mock
attack by Japan, a failure. It makes the events of December 7, 1941
even more heart-wrenching. The War Department knew the attack was
coming. They did not know when. They did not realize that Pearl
Harbor, which was basically a sitting duck, was to be the location of
the attack. It was assumed the attack would come in the Philippines.

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Photo taken by a Japanese plane shows Battleship Row at the beginning
of the attack, along with the strike on the USS Oklahoma

“.. target="_blank">.Under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the
attack was devastating in loss of life and damage to the U.S. fleet.
At 06:05 on December 7, the six Japanese carriers launched a first
wave of 183 aircraft composed mainly of dive bombers, horizontal
bombers and fighters. The Japanese hit American ships and military
installations at 07:51. The first wave attacked military airfields of
Ford Island. At 08:30, a second wave of 170 Japanese aircraft, mostly
torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The
battleship Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb which
penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart
and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet
were sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged. Three of the 21 would be
irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,403, including 68
civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl
Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The first shots fired were from
the destroyer Ward on a midget submarine that surfaced outside of
Pearl Harbor; Ward sank the midget sub at approximately 06:55, about
an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan would lose 29 out of
the 350 aircraft they attacked with….”

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USS Arizona

The attack on Pearl Harbor, called Hawaii Operation or Operation Al by
the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters was designed to prevent the
US Pacific Fleet from interfering with their military actions in
Southeast Asia, against overseas territories of the United Kingdom,
Netherlands, and the US. The Japanese attack was so thorough that
only 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were lost. The US death
toll was 2,403. Only 65 Japanese servicemen were killed or wounded.
One Japanese sailor was captured.

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USS Arizona Memorial

Joint
Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
WWII
In The Pacific

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Spc. Joseph A. Graves
21 years old from Discovery Bay, California
110th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade
July 26, 2006

Spc. Joseph Graves’s dream was to work for the FBI and he saw that joining the Military was a way to help him do that. Joseph Graves enlisted in the Army at 17 and surprised his family when he went to jump school soon afterwards. “This was a kid I could hardly get to ski down a ski slope, because it was too intimidating,” said his father, Kevin. “And now he’s jumping out of airplanes.” Spc. Graves was the lone casualty when his convoy was attacked by insurgents near Baghdad on July 26, 2006.

You can read more about Spc. Graves here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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Sgt. Kevin Stewart(Left) & Spc. David Duque(Right)

Sgt. Kevin Stewart, left, congratulates Spc. David Duque on his becoming a U.S. citizen in a ceremony at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Nov. 9. Duque is a native of Cuba. Both soldiers are members of Company E, Forward Support Element, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Photo Courtesy U.S. Army Taken By Capt. Christopher Larsen

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz (Far Left) and Amber Boyd (Right)

Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz and Amber Boyd from the 633rd Security Forces Squadron, which is at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., are greeted at the Newport News, Va., airport by family and coworkers Nov. 2, 2011 . The two were part of a group of Airmen that deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in June, but returned a couple of months early after President Obama announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

Photo Courtesy United States Air Force Taken By Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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1st Lt. Ashley White, Sgt. First Class Kristoffer B. Domeij & Pfc. Christopher Horns
October 22, 2011

On Saturday, October 22, 2011, three United States Soldiers were killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. They were 1st Lt. Ashley White, 24, 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard; Sgt. First Class Kristoffer B. Domeij, 29; and Pfc. Christopher Horns, 20, both with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

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Capt.Theodore “Ted” Williams (Center)
83 years old from Inverness, Florida VMF-311, Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33)
August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002

Everyone knows Ted Williams as one of the greatest Baseball players of all time, but many may not know that he also served his country during W.W.II and Korea. Williams joined the V-5 program to became a Naval aviator after enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1942. He received his pilots wings two years later in 1944. He never saw action as Japan surrendered as he was in Pearl Harbor awaiting orders. He did, however, in the Marine Forces Reserves and was later recalled in to active duty during the Korean War. He flew 39 combat missions before being hospitalized with pneumonia which resulted in the discovery of an inner ear infection that ultimately disqualified him from flight status.

You Can Read More About Williams here and here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We’re In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don’t Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.