Capt. Swenson was presented the Medal today (Tuesday 15 October 2013) in a ceremony at the Whitehouse. Swenson’s path to the White House ceremony has been a rocky one. After he criticized his Army superiors for failing to provide enough air and artillery support, his medal nomination was delayed for years. Army officials said they lost his packet in the computer system for 19 months.
Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer - the other service member to receive the Medal for the Ganjgal battle - was not present at today's ceremony. Swenson has expressed skepticism about the accuracy of Meyer’s account of the battle.
Two other Marines, Ademola Fabayo and Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, who helped Swenson and Meyer in the rescue missions, attended Swenson’s ceremony. They both have received the Navy Cross for their actions.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Swenson said he accepted the Medal of Honor on behalf of the fellow soldiers and Marines with whom he fought, along with the family members of those who died.
“It does not really belong to me; it belongs to that event and the people I stood with,” he said of The Medal. “I’ll be thinking of everyone in that valley who gave more than could be expected of anybody.”
These are the exact words I have heard from other recipients of the Medal of Honor. It is remarkable how they all say the same thing.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
Taking nothing away from either Swenson or Meyer on the day, Meyer's actions were attested to by his comrades in direct proximity to his actions, for which he was awarded his MoH.
ReplyDeleteSo given the situation on the ground, it sounds like girly-man bitchiness to try and sharpshoot the recollections of someone else when they don't exactly match your own, when obviously no two individuals see anything the same way, let alone when they're in the midst of a near-death firefight and working seperately.
Swenson sounds like a stand-up soldier under fire, and a stick-up-the-ass jackass after the fact, who ought to make recourse to some of that humility rather than popping off about people he wasn't in a position to evaluate, then or now.
Curious how quickly this MOH award ceremony followed on the heels of the vets' march on the DC memorials. Makes me wonder if the damage control team in the WH pushed the date up at all.
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