http://news.aol.com/story/_a/bush-honors-navy-hero-at-white-house/20080408171209990001

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON (April 8) - Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor had fast thinking to do when a live grenade came out of nowhere to bounce off his chest: Take the clear path to safety that he had but his comrades didn't, try to toss it safely away, or throw himself on top of it.

With barely an instant's hesitation on that Iraqi rooftop, Monsoor took the last course, sacrificing his life to save the men around him. For that, President Bush on Tuesday awarded him the Medal of Honor.

In an East Room ceremony, Bush presented the nation's highest military honor to Monsoor's still-grieving parents, Sally and George Monsoor. About 250 guests, including his sister and two brothers, fellow SEALS, other Medal winners, many friends and GOP Sen. John McCain and other members of Congress, looked on quietly.

"The Medal of Honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one could rightly be expected to undertake it," Bush said. "Yet those who knew Michael Monsoor were not surprised when he did."

Bush has awarded the medals to 10 people during his presidency. Monsoor is only the third from the Iraq war, and Bush's lip trembled and tears streamed down his cheeks as the official citation was read with the details of his bravery.

God Bless that Soldier and his family.

Although devestated, his parents must be very proud of his actions.

How fitting that other Medal of Honor recipients were present too. These men and women defending the nation today, and in particular those noted for such courage, are no less worthy than those of the Greatest Generation.

From what I've read, Medal of Honor winners are the most humble group of people you will ever meet, and all downplay their role while talking up their compatriots...

This was a great article.

At the risk of sounding really stupid, why did so much time pass from this soldier's actions and the Medal of Honor being presented? Is there a period of time that must lapse? Regardless, bless him and his family.

BaconBoy,

It's not that a certain amount of time must lapse. There's a whole process of nomination, review, approval by the chain of command and so on.... It can take a very long time, and be influenced by politics (organizational politics.)

Ah, bureaucracy. Thanks, AML!

Baconboy,

To follow up on AML-Barbarian's post, when it comes to awards of this caliber (MOH, Silver Star, etc...) the review and approval consists of a very intensive investigation. Going back to the Civil War, there have only been 3466 MOH's awarded. There was a movie "Courage Under Fire" in 1996 with Meg Ryan, Denzel Washington and Lou Diamond Phillips. It showed the investigative process by Denzel Washington on whether or not Meg Ryan's charactar should be awarded the MOH.

Something else in this process, the authority to authorize different awards is authorized at different levels of a member's chain-of-command. I know when I was active duty, my Commanding Officer could authorize a certain number of Navy Achievement Medals per year, anything beyond that had to go to the next level in the chain. To get approval, we had to submitt a written justification for approval. Sometimes they were approved and sometimes they were downgraded.

For example I had a friend who risked his live during a float trip. A child fell out of a canoe and went to the bottom of the river. My friend dove down and freed the child and brought him to the surface. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corp Medal (2nd highest non-combat medal). This medal is presented for acts of heroism that involving lifesaving. In this case, it took almost 9 months for it to be approved. All parties who witnessed the act had to provide statements and the entire package had to be sent for approval and if memory serves me correctly, it had to be approved by the Secretary of the Navy.

Yes, there is a lot of bureaucracy invovled. However, this is how the standards are maintained for those level of awards. Unfortunately, the lower ranked awards are being presented now like they are candy.

Witness: John Kerry