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| Britain |
| British Soldier wins VC for Iraq bravery |
| 2005-03-18 |
| A British soldier serving in Iraq who saved 30 members of his unit from an ambush has been awarded the first Victoria Cross for more than 20 years. Private Johnson Beharry, 25, was struck by enemy fire as he guided a convoy of Warrior fighting vehicles through the town of Al Amarah last May. A month later he saved more lives in an attack which left him in a coma. Mr Beharry is one of 140 servicemen and women honoured for Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia and Africa. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said: "These honours and awards recognise the outstanding achievements of these extraordinary men and women and their acts of great courage, bravery and determination." Mr Beharry, still recovering from his injuries, said he was "speechless" when told he was winning the VC. The award is the first of the medals to be awarded since posthumous VC given to Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Jones and Sergeant Ian John McKay during the Falklands conflict. It makes him the first living recipient of the VC - the highest award in the British and Commonwealth military - since 1965. The medals are made from the remains of a Russian cannon captured in the 1850s Crimean War. "When I was told yesterday I thought it was great to have received the award. I was speechless," said Mr Beharry, from London. The soldier was at the head of a five-vehicle convoy when it came under attack on 1 May 2004, and guided the column through a mile of enemy ground to drop off wounded comrades at great risk to his own safety, his citation said. Weeks later, his vehicle was hit by an RPG round. Despite a head wound, he managed to reverse his Warrior to safety. "Maybe I was brave, I don't know. I think anyone else could do the same thing," he said. Mr Beharry, who was born on the Caribbean island of Grenada, is one of only 13 recipients of the award still alive. "At the time I was just doing the job, I didn't have time for other thoughts," he said of his actions. "I want to return to service, but I don't know when that will be and I would go back to Iraq if I had to." The former construction worker, who came to the UK in 1999 and joined the army in 2000, has also served tours in Northern Ireland and in Kosovo. "I joined the Army for a change of life. I've really thought about it, it was a good decision to make," he said. Mr Beharry has had brain surgery for wounds he received in the second enemy action. Chief of Defence staff Sir Mike Jackson praised his bravery, and said that it would have to be Mr Beharry's decision to return to duty because of the severity of his wounds. "His citation is an extraordinary story of one man's courage, in the way he risked his life for his colleagues not once, but twice." Royal Marines reservist Colonel Paul Anthony Jobbins, 56, of Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, won the George Medal for peacekeeping work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The retired police fingerprint officer was responsible for control of UN forces in the town of Bukavu, which fell to rebels in June 2004. The unarmed officer held negotiations with warring factions amid a wave of violence which killed hundreds. "At great personal risk, Jobbins continuously demonstrated remarkable gallantry," his citation read. Seven other awards have been made for distinguished service during the Boscastle floods last August, when helicopters were used to rescue 150 people. Troops of the Black Watch also received citations for their Iraq tour of duty. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #13 The MOH receipient that earned it through leadership was General Vandegrift during the battle for Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the Solomon islands, to wit: General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II, served as the eighteenth Commandant of the Marine Corps, from January 1, 1944 to January 1, 1948. The general commanded the First Marine Division, Reinforced, in the battle for Guadalcanal, and the First Marine Amphibious Corps in the landing at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, during World War II. For outstanding services as Commanding General of the First Marine Division, Reinforced, during the attack on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Gavutu in the Solomon Islands on August 7, 1942, he was awarded the Navy Cross, and for the subsequent occupation and defense from August 7 to December 9, 1942, was awarded the Medal of Honor. His citation for the latter reads in part: "With the adverse factors of weather, terrain and disease making his task a difficult and hazardous undertaking, and with his command eventually including sea, land, and air forces of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, Major General Vandegrift achieved marked success in commanding the initial landings of the United States Forces in the Solomon Islands and in their subsequent occupation. "His tenacity, courage and resourcefulness prevailed against a strong, determined and experienced enemy, and the gallant fighting spirit of the men under his inspiring leadership enabled them to withstand aerial, land and sea bombardment, to surmount all obstacles and leave a disorganized and ravaged enemy. "This dangerous but vital mission, accomplished at the constant risk of his life, resulted in securing a valuable base for further operations of our forces against the enemy." |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-03-18 10:42:48 PM |
| #12 Someone always has to shit in the soup.. â With all due respect, the Brits are a bit strict about awards, far more than the Americans.â You know first of all itâs not with all due respect or you would not have said it., secondly I have been decorated for combat service and I can assure you I earned my award and the others around me earned theirs so piss off, take this polite American bashing crap to the DU. BTW I am sure Private Beharry earned his award, as has any other soldier, anywhere who has served in combat and I am very proud of him. |
| Posted by: Big Sarge 2005-03-18 10:09:23 PM |
| #11 Billy Hank During the electoral campaign some people in this site told that in Vietnam there were servicemen getting the Silver Star for their efficiency at desktop work. I also know that during WWII the British were shocked about America's liberal distribution of medals to its servicemen. As a personal note I never understood you could be handled a medal just for being wounded: even a guy shaking in fear and dirtying his pants in his foxhole can still be wounded by a mortar. But the people who got a Medal of Honor went well beyond uncommon valor. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-03-18 4:30:15 PM |
| #10 PS - I never saw a paper pusher awarded a Silver Star. I know there have been aberrations like LBJ's , and JFK's. I had the collateral duty of Wing Awards and Decs officer for a year and the Wing COs were strict on justification. |
| Posted by: Billy Hank 2005-03-18 2:41:20 PM |
| #9 The Bronze Star comes in two flavors, Valor and Meritorious Achievement. It originated in 1944 and was awarded to anyone who held a WWII Combat Infantryman Badge. It was meant to equate to the Air Corps Air Medal. The Meritorious Achievement came in later. The Bronze Star is only awarded for service in direct or direct support of combat operations. Valor means you did something significant while getting shot at, most often a single act. You pin a small "V" on the ribbon to mark the difference. MA means you exceeded your performance standards beyond that required for a Commendation medal. The peacetime/non-combat theater equivalent is the Meritorious Service Medal. BSM MA usually went to company grade officers and senior NCOs. All medals have strict criteria. For eaxample a Purple Heart requires that you be wounded in action against the enemy. This is why former Senator Max Clelland did not get a PH for dropping a grenade. When they are getting handed out like popcorn, there is some serious action going on. This is not to say that some medal inflation does not go in. Reponsible commanders keep it well in check. When awards and decs are treated like Crackerjack prizes, they lose meaning and can be casually tossed aside, as JFK demonstrated. |
| Posted by: Billy Hank 2005-03-18 2:36:35 PM |
| #8 JFM, the Bronze Star is handed out whenever possible and may not even involve combat. A lot of times they push them on bright eye officers who may or may not deserve them. The idea is to award officers for their hard work because they can't pass out monetary awards. Personally anyone who doesn't get into the fetal position and shit himself in combat should be at least awarded the Bronze Star, but that is just my opinion. Yes, I would include John Friggin Kerry in that group too. But we are staining these fine men with his name. I noticed that Mr Beharry wants to return to active duty, good luck and god speed him on that effort, we need more like him. It only proves further that this award was made to the right person. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-03-18 11:11:44 AM |
| #7 The things that you know JFM! Amazing! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-03-18 11:11:21 AM |
| #6 BTw, Anyone noticed? He was born in Grenade: the island liberated by the US during the Reagan presidency. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-03-18 10:55:53 AM |
| #5 Snung Snuth You are wrong, about American Awards. Some of them are distributed like pop-corn. Example Purple Heart and at some times and places, the Bronze and Silver Star (in Vietnam they were awarded to paper pushers and even to John Kerry). But I have read about the people who got the Medal of Honor and I was dumbfounded. Jumping on a grenade to protect comrades is about the most basic of the heroicities you will find. Single handedly stopping a column of tanks, capturing a dozen bunkers while dispatching a hundred ennemies is common. And one of the most interesting: an American unit was trapped at the top of cliff and its medic went up and down the cliff on a rope carrying prisoners to safety. He saved over fourty people. He was a conscient objector. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-03-18 10:52:48 AM |
| #4 I like that about making it out of the cannon, I'd forgotten about that decidedly British twist. What should the MOH be made of? Cannon captured from Chapultepec maybe (several at Castle San Marco in St. Augustine)? Polished moon rock? A chunk of that Russ sub for the bubbleheads? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-03-18 10:43:27 AM |
| #3 Exactly Snung! A VC! And alive to wear it. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-03-18 10:32:44 AM |
| #2 With all due respect, the Brits are a bit strict about awards, far more than the Americans. To get the VC, this had to have been one hell of an event. Congrats Private Beharry! |
| Posted by: Snung Snuth2112 2005-03-18 9:58:31 AM |
| #1 Absolutely brilliant! Let's hope Private Beharry's rightly looked after and doesn't end up having to sell his medal later in life like many others have done. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2005-03-18 9:11:00 AM |