Donald J. Trump and the Medal of Honor
Some people use the acronym MOH when referring to the Medal of Honor. The highest decoration that can be earned for valor on the battlefield. Donald Trump, referred to often on Twitter as #TFG (the former guy although I prefer the former goofball) said in a speech that he was upset that he was prevented from awarding himself the Medal of Honor. His exact words were:
“As President, I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor but they wouldn’t let me do it... They said that would be inappropriate...”
Inappropriate is not strong enough a word. Disgusting. Revolting. Loathesome. A man who dodged the draft five times wants a medal to wear. Makes me think of this.
I served in the Air Force for 10 years. I've been out of the service for 35 years now. In all that time I never saw any military member with that many ribbons. Fittingly, that photo comes from a film titled The Dictator.
The reality is that there were 8 civilians who earned the Medal of Honor. Three of them were civilian scouts for the U.S. Army. One has a name you will probably recognize. William "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a scout for an Army unit in 1872 during the Indian Wars. The citation for his Medal of Honor reads as follows:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Civilian Scout William Frederick Cody, a United States Civilian, for gallantry in action on 26 April 1872, while serving as a Scout with the 3d U.S. Cavalry, at the Loupe Fork of the Platte River, Nebraska
That doesn't begin to describe what he did on the field of battle. Facing a band of Sioux warriors, he led a cavalry charge against them. He killed two of them, managed to recover their horses and wound up chasing the warriors from the battlefield.
Mr. Trump wants to award the MOH to himself because he flew to Iraq. I'd say the only MOH Trump would come close to earning would be as some person's Maid Of Honor at a wedding. But he's brought enough dishonor on himself that no one would want him for that task.
He not only claimed to have bone spurs that kept him from serving, but he has denigrated those of us who did serve. Let's start with the late John McCain.
But that was not the first time Trump disparaged Senator McCain.
This is a video of Trump being interviewed by Dan Rather on 60 minutes.
Back in 2020, Vox dot com posted an article about the claim that Trump had referred to those who died fighting for our nation were "losers" and "suckers". They pointed out that four different, reliable news outlets ran with the story based on unnamed sources. I believe it. Trump has no concept of doing something for someone else, unless he will ultimately benefit.
In 1963 Congress changed the requirements to earn the Medal of Honor. The requirements for the Medal of Honor were standardized among all the services, requiring that a recipient had "distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Thus, the act removed the loophole allowing non-combat awards to Navy personnel. The act also clarified that the act of valor must occur during one of three circumstances: While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States
While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force. While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
Donald Trump has done nothing to earn any military medal, let alone the highest award given for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life. Let me leave you with the citation of a man I admire a lot. We learned about him and his then-Air Force Cross at part of our military education. His Air Force Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in December of 2000. Here is his citation for the MOH:
Airman First Class Pitsenbarger distinguished himself by extreme valor on April 11, 1966 near Cam My, Republic of Vietnam, while assigned as a Pararescue Crew Member, Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. On that date, Airman Pitsenbarger was aboard a rescue helicopter responding to a call for evacuation of casualties incurred in an on-going firefight between elements of the United States Army's 1st Infantry Division and a sizable enemy force approximately 35 miles east of Saigon. With complete disregard for personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger volunteered to ride a hoist more than one hundred feet through the jungle, to the ground. On the ground, he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared for the wounded, prepared casualties for evacuation, and insured that the recovery operation continued in a smooth and orderly fashion. Through his personal efforts, the evacuation of the wounded was greatly expedited. As each of the nine casualties evacuated that day were recovered, Pitsenbarger refused evacuation in order to get one more wounded soldier to safety. After several pick-ups, one of the two rescue helicopters involved in the evacuation was struck by heavy enemy ground fire and was forced to leave the scene for an emergency landing. Airman Pitsenbarger stayed behind, on the ground, to perform medical duties. Shortly thereafter, the area came under sniper and mortar fire. During a subsequent attempt to evacuate the site, American forces came under heavy assault by a large Viet Cong force. When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute vital ammunition to American defenders. As the battle raged on, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to care for the wounded, pull them out of the line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which time, he was wounded three times. Despite his wounds, he valiantly fought on, simultaneously treating as many wounded as possible. In the vicious fighting which followed, the American forces suffered 80 percent casualties as their perimeter was breached, and airman Pitsenbarger was finally fatally wounded. Airman Pitsenbarger exposed himself to almost certain death by staying on the ground, and perished while saving the lives of wounded infantrymen. His bravery and determination exemplify the highest professional standards and traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Air Force
Donald Trump could not accomplish a miniscule fraction of heroism like that.
“As President, I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor but they wouldn’t let me do it... They said that would be inappropriate...”
Inappropriate is not strong enough a word. Disgusting. Revolting. Loathesome. A man who dodged the draft five times wants a medal to wear. Makes me think of this.
I served in the Air Force for 10 years. I've been out of the service for 35 years now. In all that time I never saw any military member with that many ribbons. Fittingly, that photo comes from a film titled The Dictator.
The reality is that there were 8 civilians who earned the Medal of Honor. Three of them were civilian scouts for the U.S. Army. One has a name you will probably recognize. William "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a scout for an Army unit in 1872 during the Indian Wars. The citation for his Medal of Honor reads as follows:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Civilian Scout William Frederick Cody, a United States Civilian, for gallantry in action on 26 April 1872, while serving as a Scout with the 3d U.S. Cavalry, at the Loupe Fork of the Platte River, Nebraska
That doesn't begin to describe what he did on the field of battle. Facing a band of Sioux warriors, he led a cavalry charge against them. He killed two of them, managed to recover their horses and wound up chasing the warriors from the battlefield.
Mr. Trump wants to award the MOH to himself because he flew to Iraq. I'd say the only MOH Trump would come close to earning would be as some person's Maid Of Honor at a wedding. But he's brought enough dishonor on himself that no one would want him for that task.
He not only claimed to have bone spurs that kept him from serving, but he has denigrated those of us who did serve. Let's start with the late John McCain.
But that was not the first time Trump disparaged Senator McCain.
This is a video of Trump being interviewed by Dan Rather on 60 minutes.
Back in 2020, Vox dot com posted an article about the claim that Trump had referred to those who died fighting for our nation were "losers" and "suckers". They pointed out that four different, reliable news outlets ran with the story based on unnamed sources. I believe it. Trump has no concept of doing something for someone else, unless he will ultimately benefit.
In 1963 Congress changed the requirements to earn the Medal of Honor. The requirements for the Medal of Honor were standardized among all the services, requiring that a recipient had "distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Thus, the act removed the loophole allowing non-combat awards to Navy personnel. The act also clarified that the act of valor must occur during one of three circumstances: While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States
While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force. While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
Donald Trump has done nothing to earn any military medal, let alone the highest award given for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life. Let me leave you with the citation of a man I admire a lot. We learned about him and his then-Air Force Cross at part of our military education. His Air Force Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in December of 2000. Here is his citation for the MOH:
Airman First Class Pitsenbarger distinguished himself by extreme valor on April 11, 1966 near Cam My, Republic of Vietnam, while assigned as a Pararescue Crew Member, Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. On that date, Airman Pitsenbarger was aboard a rescue helicopter responding to a call for evacuation of casualties incurred in an on-going firefight between elements of the United States Army's 1st Infantry Division and a sizable enemy force approximately 35 miles east of Saigon. With complete disregard for personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger volunteered to ride a hoist more than one hundred feet through the jungle, to the ground. On the ground, he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared for the wounded, prepared casualties for evacuation, and insured that the recovery operation continued in a smooth and orderly fashion. Through his personal efforts, the evacuation of the wounded was greatly expedited. As each of the nine casualties evacuated that day were recovered, Pitsenbarger refused evacuation in order to get one more wounded soldier to safety. After several pick-ups, one of the two rescue helicopters involved in the evacuation was struck by heavy enemy ground fire and was forced to leave the scene for an emergency landing. Airman Pitsenbarger stayed behind, on the ground, to perform medical duties. Shortly thereafter, the area came under sniper and mortar fire. During a subsequent attempt to evacuate the site, American forces came under heavy assault by a large Viet Cong force. When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute vital ammunition to American defenders. As the battle raged on, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to care for the wounded, pull them out of the line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which time, he was wounded three times. Despite his wounds, he valiantly fought on, simultaneously treating as many wounded as possible. In the vicious fighting which followed, the American forces suffered 80 percent casualties as their perimeter was breached, and airman Pitsenbarger was finally fatally wounded. Airman Pitsenbarger exposed himself to almost certain death by staying on the ground, and perished while saving the lives of wounded infantrymen. His bravery and determination exemplify the highest professional standards and traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Air Force
Donald Trump could not accomplish a miniscule fraction of heroism like that.
posted by me at 2:34 PM
