Navy SEAL funeral

[JonW]

PO2 (EOD2) Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq , giving his life to save his fellow SEALs.

During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego , as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery , SEALs were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of twos, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.
The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it. This was a fitting send-off for a warrior hero.

This should be front-page news instead of the crap we see every day.

Since the media won't make this news, I choose to make it news by forwarding it onto you guys. I am proud of our military and the men and women who serve in it. They represent the highest and finest values of this country.

[leasingthisspace]

Thanks for posting this. I since forwarded the link to family and friends.

When I am at home I hate watching the news because sometimes it feels as though the media likes to show the times when service members do something out of line. I just wish that they spent as much time showing some of the things that service members do that have been truly heroic.

[rsamos]

I can't believe this wasn't big in the news. Thank you for sharing it with us here.

This was a selfless heroic act by a warrior defending his brothers.

[68TriShield]

A very fitting ceremony for one of our hero's.


(I'm moving this thread to General Discussion Forum)

[newcigarz]

Thanks for sharing this.

[foureyedgeek]

Powerful stuff, thanks.

[mugen910]

I love hearing stories such as this...thanks for sharing.

[Mark-60]

A real hero. Not some athlete playing a game, or some musician playing a song.


RIP SEAL!

Salute!

[kugie]

Thanks for sharing great Post

[chippewastud79]

A true hero. I feel blessed to have people like this protecting us, allowing us to sleep safe at night.

[skyhigh340]

Thanks to you for bringing this story to light here. I will pass this on to my friends. My prayers go out to his family.
At least we have the internet so they biased media can't keep the information from the public.

[hotreds]

The Best of the Best!

[levinmiester]

I also thank you for posting this. It's disguisting that such a courageous act was not talked about on the news this morning.

[n3uka]

On 29 September 2006, 25-year-old Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor (MA2, not EOD2 as stated above) was killed during operations in enemy-held territory at Ar Ramadi, Iraq, when he threw himself on top of a grenade in order to save the lives of his fellow SEALS.

Here is memorial video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfK2B...eature=related

No greater sacrifice for our country can be made.
A true hero

[Mark-60]

Originally Posted by levinmiester

I also thank you for posting this. It's disguisting that such a courageous act was not talked about on the news this morning.

This happend a while ago.

"[SIZE="4"]Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor, United States Navy, distinguished himself through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Combat Advisor and Automatic Weapons Gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 29 September 2006. He displayed great personal courage and exceptional bravery while conducting operations in enemy held territory at Ar Ramadi Iraq.

During Operation Kentucky Jumper, a combined Coalition battalion clearance and isolation operation in southern Ar Ramadi, he served as automatic weapons gunner in a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army (IA) sniper overwatch element positioned on a residential rooftop in a violent sector and historical stronghold for insurgents. In the morning, his team observed four enemy fighters armed with AK-47s reconnoitering from roads in the sector to conduct follow-on attacks. SEAL snipers from his roof engaged two of them which resulted in one enemy wounded in action and one enemy killed in action. A mutually supporting SEAL/IA position also killed an enemy fighter during the morning hours. After the engagements, the local populace blocked off the roads in the area with rocks to keep civilians away and to warn insurgents of the presence of his Coalition sniper element. Additionally, a nearby mosque called insurgents to arms to fight Coalition Forces.

In the early afternoon, enemy fighters attacked his position with automatic weapons fire from a moving vehicle. The SEALs fired back and stood their ground. Shortly thereafter, an enemy fighter shot a rocket-propelled grenade at his building. Though well-acquainted with enemy tactics in Ar Ramadi, and keenly aware that the enemy would continue to attack, the SEALs remained on the battlefield in order to carry out the mission of guarding the western flank of the main effort.

Due to expected enemy action, the officer in charge repositioned him with his automatic heavy machine gun in the direction of the enemy’s most likely avenue of approach. He placed him in a small, confined sniper hide-sight between two SEAL snipers on an outcropping of the roof, which allowed the three SEALs maximum coverage of the area. He was located closest to the egress route out of the sniper hide-sight watching for enemy activity through a tactical periscope over the parapet wall. While vigilantly watching for enemy activity, an enemy fighter hurled a hand grenade onto the roof from an unseen location. The grenade hit him in the chest and bounced onto the deck. He immediately leapt to his feet and yelled “grenade” to alert his teammates of impending danger, but they could not evacuate the sniper hide-sight in time to escape harm. Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself onto the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity. The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him.

Petty Officer Monsoor’s actions could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional. Of the three SEALs on that rooftop corner, he had the only avenue of escape away from the blast, and if he had so chosen, he could have easily escaped. Instead, Monsoor chose to protect his comrades by the sacrifice of his own life. By his courageous and selfless actions, he saved the lives of his two fellow SEALs and he is the most deserving of the special recognition afforded by awarding the Medal of Honor[/SIZE]."

-Mark.