Three soldiers to be awarded Medals of Honor: report

Thank you my friend MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. for making us aware that three US Army NCO's will be awarded the Medal of Honor by POTUS Joe Biden
President Joe Biden will soon present Medals of Honor to three soldiers [of family members in the case of the two NCO's awarded the MOH posthumously] for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming weeks, according to a source and a Washington Post report.
May Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe and Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz rest in peace. Prayers for their family members as they grieve and I hope this award may bring some solace to the family members.

Sgt. Alwyn Cashe, Oviedo soldier killed in Iraq, to receive Medal of Honor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCTCcqKWnSI

Image: SFC Christopher Celiz, SFC Alwyn Cashe and MSG Plumlee

The three recipients will be:
Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who died of burns sustained in October 2005 after rescuing, one-by-one, six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from a burning Bradley Fighting Vehicle that struck an IED near Samarra, Iraq.
Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, a Green Beret who played a pivotal role in fighting off a complex suicide attack at FOB Ghazni, Afghanistan, in August 2013.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, an Army Ranger who died of wounds received in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, during a firefight with Taliban militants in July 2018.

The Washington Post first reported the pending ceremony. A friend of the Cashe family confirmed the award when reached by Army Times. White House officials declined to comment on the awards, but a formal announcement was expected as early as Wednesday evening.

All three soldiers previously received valor awards for their actions — Cashe and Plumlee were awarded the Silver Star, and Celiz received a Bronze Star with V device.
Cashe’s award is long overdue, according to many observers. He will be the first Black service member to receive the Medal of Honor for events during the Global War on Terrorism.
Cashe’s efforts to rescue his soldiers resulted in second and third degree burns over nearly 75 percent of his body, ultimately leading to his death. Witnesses said that even as the heat burned his uniform and body armor off of him, Cashe ignored the pain to continue pulling his men out of the fire.
Originally, his command rapidly moved to award him the Silver Star.
But after learning the full extent of Cashe’s actions, his battalion commander, now-Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, soon launched a campaign to upgrade the award. It took more than a decade for Cashe’s supporters to win over Army officials and lawmakers in order to clear administrative barriers for the award.
In November 2020, Congress removed the final hurdle when it passed legislation authorizing Cashe to receive the nation’s highest award for valor, but the Trump administration did not award the medal.
That hasn’t stopped the Army from recognizing Cashe in other ways. The service has named an Army Reserve facility in Florida after the fallen NCO, and the 3rd Infantry Division renamed its ceremonial gardens at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for him.

In Plumlee’s case, his initial award recommendation was downgraded.
The master sergeant almost single-handedly staved off a complex suicide attack after militants blew a hole in the base’s perimeter and poured into the breach. He used multiple weapons to kill three attackers and wound others. He also pulled a mortally wounded soldier out of the line of fire in an attempt to save him.
Plumlee’s award was the subject of controversy in 2016 when a Defense Department Inspector General investigation revealed that one member of an Army awards board had argued that the senior NCO was simply doing his job as a leader that day.


“[A]lthough the battle was ferocious and unfortunately a couple members were killed, I just thought that it wasn’t a sufficient level for the Medal of Honor based off the individual and the circumstance,” said the unnamed board member. “I just felt that there was an expectation of a leader who did a phenomenal job, that there was something more that [the nominee] needed to have done in order to, in my mind, to make the recommendation for a Medal of Honor.”
But multiple lawmakers advocated for the Green Beret, who will soon receive the Medal of Honor.
Celiz, meanwhile, was shot while providing security for a medical evacuation flight that had landed under withering Taliban fire, according to the helicopter’s pilot.
“My aircraft would have been critically damaged if it weren’t for Chris, and we owed him our lives,” said Capt. Ben Krzeczowski in July of this year.

At the time of his death, Celiz was part of a secret program that helps the CIA hunt down militant leaders, Politico reported in 2018.
Celiz and other Army Rangers were supporting the CIA at a time when the agency was intensifying its efforts to kill or capture top militant targets in Afghanistan.
Celiz and Plumlee will be the 19th and 20th individuals awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan. Cashe will be only the seventh from the Iraq War to receive the honor.'

FYI SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL MSG Andrew White LTC Greg Henning Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO2 (Join to see) SFC Randy Purham SSG William Jones MSG Greg Kelly SFC William Farrell Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SSG Michael Noll Sgt (Join to see) LTC Joe AndersonMGySgt (Join to see) SFC Ralph E Kelley 1LT Voyle Smith SSG Robert Pratt

Rock on! The world loves heroes!

Men all worthy of this high honor MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.