Thursday, September 22, 2011
Juan Rodriguez-Chavez
The awarding of the Medal of Honor to Dakota Meyer has raised the issue of why the former U.S. Marine was given the nation’s highest honor while others who participated in the same gallantry did not.
On September 8, 2009, Afghan soldiers and American troops were ambushed by 50 insurgents in the Ganjgal valley, and repeatedly radioed in for help. Meyer, along with Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, heard what was happening and, defying orders to maintain their positions, jumped into a Humvee and raced into the thick of the battle to rescue those trapped.
With Meyer manning the Humvee’s machine gun while Rodriguez-Chavez drove, the men made four trips into the firefight and helped save the lives of 13 American and 23 Afghan troops.
But Rodriguez-Chavez was given the Navy Cross, the second-most prestigious valor award for a Navy serviceman or a Marine, not the Medal of Honor.
As far as the military was concerned, what separated Meyer’s heroism from Rodriguez-Chavez was the fifth mission Meyer undertook.
After learning that three Marines and a Navy corpsman were still missing, Meyer went out on foot to locate the men, leaving him exposed to potential enemy fire. He found the missing men, all of whom were dead, and then helped evacuate the bodies from the area.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
At Medal of Honor Event, the Story Left Untold (by David Nakamura, Washington Post)
Medal of Honor Sgt. Dakota Meyer (U.S. Marines)
'We're Pinned Down:' 4 U.S. Marines Die in Afghan Ambush (by Jonathan S. Landay, McClatchy Newspapers)
See all 15
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