Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
June 3, 2008
Pg. 15
By Austin Bogues
WASHINGTON — President Bush awarded the military’s highest honor posthumously on Monday to a 19-year-old soldier who was killed in Iraq after falling on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers.
At a White House ceremony, the president presented the award to Romayne and Thomas McGinnis, the parents of the soldier, Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis of the Army.
Private McGinnis, of Knox, Pa., was killed in a Baghdad neighborhood on Dec. 4, 2006, when a grenade was thrown into the gunner’s hatch of the Humvee in which he was riding. Mr. Bush noted that Private McGinnis had enough time to jump out and save himself but instead dropped into the hatch and covered the grenade with his own body, absorbing the fragments. He was killed instantly. All four of his fellow soldiers were saved.
“When Ross McGinnis was in kindergarten,” Mr. Bush said, “the teacher asked him to draw a picture of what he wanted to be when he grew up. He drew a soldier. Four men are alive because this soldier embodied our Army values and gave his life.”
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Vice President Dick Cheney and other military officials. Private McGinnis was posthumously promoted to specialist. He also received the Bronze Star and Silver Star. On Tuesday, Private McGinnis will be inducted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes. A newly engraved headstone will be unveiled in a ceremony on Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. Bush said that Private McGinnis was known for being a regular guy who enjoyed basketball and working on cars, and especially for his sense of humor. “In high school and in the Army, Ross became known for his ability to do impersonations,” Mr. Bush said. “A buddy from boot camp said that Ross was the only man there who could make the drill sergeant laugh.”
In April, Mr. Bush awarded the Medal of Honor to Petty Officer Second Class Michael A. Monsoor, 25, a Navy Seal who was killed similarly in 2006 by a grenade. Petty Officer Monsoor threw himself on top of a grenade to save others who were with him.
According to the Army’s Web site, the Medal of Honor was first authorized in 1861 for sailors and marines and the next year for soldiers as well. Nearly 3,500 have been awarded.
June 3, 2008
Pg. 15
By Austin Bogues
WASHINGTON — President Bush awarded the military’s highest honor posthumously on Monday to a 19-year-old soldier who was killed in Iraq after falling on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers.
At a White House ceremony, the president presented the award to Romayne and Thomas McGinnis, the parents of the soldier, Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis of the Army.
Private McGinnis, of Knox, Pa., was killed in a Baghdad neighborhood on Dec. 4, 2006, when a grenade was thrown into the gunner’s hatch of the Humvee in which he was riding. Mr. Bush noted that Private McGinnis had enough time to jump out and save himself but instead dropped into the hatch and covered the grenade with his own body, absorbing the fragments. He was killed instantly. All four of his fellow soldiers were saved.
“When Ross McGinnis was in kindergarten,” Mr. Bush said, “the teacher asked him to draw a picture of what he wanted to be when he grew up. He drew a soldier. Four men are alive because this soldier embodied our Army values and gave his life.”
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Vice President Dick Cheney and other military officials. Private McGinnis was posthumously promoted to specialist. He also received the Bronze Star and Silver Star. On Tuesday, Private McGinnis will be inducted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes. A newly engraved headstone will be unveiled in a ceremony on Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. Bush said that Private McGinnis was known for being a regular guy who enjoyed basketball and working on cars, and especially for his sense of humor. “In high school and in the Army, Ross became known for his ability to do impersonations,” Mr. Bush said. “A buddy from boot camp said that Ross was the only man there who could make the drill sergeant laugh.”
In April, Mr. Bush awarded the Medal of Honor to Petty Officer Second Class Michael A. Monsoor, 25, a Navy Seal who was killed similarly in 2006 by a grenade. Petty Officer Monsoor threw himself on top of a grenade to save others who were with him.
According to the Army’s Web site, the Medal of Honor was first authorized in 1861 for sailors and marines and the next year for soldiers as well. Nearly 3,500 have been awarded.