Navy SEAL paid ultimate price to save buddies

[nhboy]

' WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When a grenade bounced off his chest and fell to the floor near his fellow troops, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor acted out of instinct.

His actions didn't stem from a lack of training. His instant reaction was to protect his comrades.

The Navy says he committed a selfless act: jumping on the grenade and taking the full force of the blast.

President Bush presented Monsoor's parents with a posthumous Medal of Honor for their son at an emotional White House ceremony on Tuesday. Video Watch Monsoor's sister share her memories »

Bush quoted one of the SEALS saved by Mansoor as saying, "Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, 'You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.

Monsoor was one of the U.S. military's most highly trained combatants, a Navy SEAL. He's the first SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq.'

Navy SEAL paid ultimate price to save buddies - CNN.com

 

[KillJoy]

Props to him.

 

[cwo_ghwebb]

Video

Video of presentation.

President Bush Attends Medal of Honor Ceremony for Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor, U.S. Navy

 

[Larry Gude]

If he had...

...time to jump on it, maybe he had time to get rid of it? It is so upsetting when this happens because it's a crazy, stupid thing to jump on a bomb, but it is THE most selfless, giving thing a soldier can do for his comrades.

One of the books I read as a kid about Iwo Jima had a list at the end of all the medals and citations issued to US troops. There was a special section with pages and pages of guys who had done this very thing. It made me sob then, just the idea of it. It's tough to think about it now and I certainly understand W having a tough time, being with Monsoor's people and honoring him for the ultimate in human bravery and sacrifice.


RIP, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor

 

[yankee44]

Acts like this shows why service members think of eachother as family. If you have never been in the Military you may not understand, but if you have chances are you would do the same.

 

[Tikibar]

RIP Petty Officer Monsoor​

 

[_MightyMouse_]

While in the military, your fellow service members are your family; at least in the Marine Corps Infantry units. Camaraderie is what keeps you sane.

Much respect to Petty Officer Monsoor!

 

[LateApex]

While in the military, your fellow service members are your family; at least in the Marine Corps Infantry units. Camaraderie is what keeps you sane.

Much respect to Petty Officer Monsoor!

In the usn specwar community they are often times closer than family.

The first thing you learn in buds is NEVER EVER leave your swim buddy. It's drilled into you at the start of 1st phase - that you always have to account for your swim buddy, boat crew, class.

We used to get hammered if you didn't know where your swim buddy was.

Each boat crew was it's own self contained unit. Everything you did, physical evolutions, were done as a boat crew. You worked together from the get-go. If you couldn't work together as a team - you failed.

At the platoon level you all watch each other's back. You're depending on your team to watch your back.

I don't know if I could have done the same thing Monsoor did. I couldn't imagine having to do that.

Incredible indeed.