Modern War Heroes

Last month I posted about Michael Monsoor, a young SEAL who threw himself on a grenade to save his comrades. Today I ran across a touching memorial video on YouTube.

What a brave young man. I’m sure his family is proud of him and his selfless actions, but I’m also sure they wish he could be with them today.

This past January, Chief Special Warfare Operator Mitchell Hall received the Silver Star medal for heroism. On April 2, 2007, Hall’s unit was involved in a combat situation in Habbaniyah, Iraq. His actions in this fight were certainly commendable, and this award has been well placed.

According to the release, Hall, assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Center, deployed with Coronado, Calif.-based SEAL Team 5 and was manning observation posts along the Euphrates River with a squad of Iraqi commandos when their radios rang out with reports of a Marine Corps unit caught by sniper fire nearby.

Hall’s men spotted suspicious enemy fighters near their post, and soon after the men traded heavy gunfire across alleys and between buildings with the insurgents. Rounds struck one of the SEALs, and Hall ran over to his aid.

“Under heavy fire, Hall repeatedly exposed himself to heavy fire to engage the enemy and provide suppressive fire for his teammates. He and his squad then worked to secure a helicopter landing zone for the wounded SEAL’s extraction,” the release stated.

Brown, the commodore, commended Hall’s actions, saying he “acted with great skill to save an injured teammate, his heroic actions battling insurgents that day in Albu Bali is part of the Naval Special Warfare’s remarkable work in defeating the insurgency in the west part of Iraq.” (source)