Showing posts with label Medal Recipients. Show all posts
Three Bragg Soldiers Killed in Pakistan
The Soldiers were part of a low-profile mission and were the first U.S. Soldiers to die in Pakistan, officials said.
The Soldiers killed were Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller, 35, of Callettsburg, Ky., 96th Civil Affairs Battalion of the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade; Sgt. 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, of Okinawa, Japan, who was in the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion; and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets Jr., 39, of El Cajon, Calif., assigned to the 8th Psychological Operations Battalion of the 4th Psychological Operations Group.
The Soldiers died of wounds from the explosion of a homemade bomb in the Lower Dir District of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. They were in the area to attend the inauguration ceremony of a girls' school recently renovated with U.S. humanitarian assistance.
The blast also killed three children and a Pakistan paramilitary Soldier. Two other U.S. Soldiers and about 100 people were wounded.
Sluss-Tiller had previously deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. He is survived by his wife, Melissa, and daughter, Hannah, of Sanford; his father, Edward Tiller, of Sevierville, Tenn.; and mother and stepfather, Jane and Forest Blankenship, of Sanford.
He would have turned 36 on Valentine's Day, said his wife of 16 years. In his letters, he requested crayons and Play-Doh to give to children, she said.
"Matthew was my hero," his wife said. "He was a good man, loved the Army, loved everything about serving his country."
The couple had known each other since eighth grade.
"He loved people," she said. "He had a heart of gold and would readily do anything for anybody. He was a great father. Matthew did a little bit of everything. He was active in our community; he was active on post. He loved life."
Sluss-Tiller had three years left until he was eligible to retire from the Army with benefits, she said.
"My heart breaks," she said. "The military was a part of him. He didn't question serving his country."
He enlisted in the Army Reserve as a heavy construction mechanic in 1991. Two years later, he went on active duty as a signal specialist and served at Fort Bragg, Germany, and Kuwait. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion in April and has served as a civil affairs noncommissioned officer in Civil Military
Operations Cell and most recently as team sergeant of Civil Affairs Team 622.
Sluss-Tiller's awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He was also awarded the Senior Parachutist's Badge, Gold Recruiter's Badge and German Jump wings.
Hartman previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is survived by his pregnant wife, Cherise Sabio of Rosamond, Calif., and their son, Michael. He also is survived by his parents, Greg and Mikail Hartman of Merced. Hartman was a sergeant in the Civil Military Operations Cell and a former civil affairs team sergeant.
Hartman graduated from Kadena High School, Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa in 2000, and enlisted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned as a civil affairs noncommissioned officer for Team 622 in Company B of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion.
He served at Fort Bragg in the 50th Signal Battalion as an electronic maintenance shop foreman, forced entry switch section team chief and sergeant, senior electronic maintenance technician and senior switch technician.
Hartman's awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary and Service medals, NCO Professional Development Ribbon and Overseas Service Medal.
Stets previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Nina, and daughters, Jessica, December and Rachael, of Fayetteville. He was a native of California. Stets was a senior psychological operations sergeant.
He joined the Navy in 1989, enlisted in the Army in 1995 as an artilleryman and then reclassified to become a psy ops specialist in 2004.
His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medals, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, South West Asia Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Citation.
Coast Guardsman Awarded Star of Courage
PORTSMOUTH, Va. - A U.S. Coast Guardsman stationed in Elizabeth City, N.C., was awarded the Star of Courage at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada.
Due to the extreme weather and sea conditions, Dazzo was injured during the first rescue, but continued his efforts until all three men were safely aboard the helicopter. He accompanied the men to the hospital to attend to his own injuries after their arrival at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, presented one Star of Courage and 46 Medals of Bravery at the ceremony at Rideau Hall.
Petty Officer 1st Class Drew D. Dazzo is only the third United States citizen to receive the Star of Courage.
The Bravery Decorations were created in 1972, to recognize people who risked their lives to try to save or protect the lives of others. The Cross of Valour (C.V.) recognizes acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril; the Star of Courage (S.C.) recognizes acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril; and the Medal of Bravery (M.B.) recognizes acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.
Honored Texan's Medal Claims Fraudulent?
But his claim of receiving combat medals, including the Navy Cross for exceptional valor in World War II, is now in question.
Herring died in 2004 at age 89, and his grave is in an honored place reserved for people whose actions defined Texas history and culture. Governors, signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence and artist Tom Lea, an El Paso native, all are buried at the Texas State Cemetery.
Herring was eligible for burial there because of 17 years of service as a Democratic state senator from Austin. He worked for Johnson when the future president was a congressman, and he managed the Austin headquarters for Johnson's successful Senate campaign. Herring was U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas during 1951-55, making him the region's top prosecutor.
Herring served in the Navy during World War II. However, his stories of combat injuries and heroism appear to be false.
His online biography, posted by the Texas State Cemetery, states that Herring received the Navy Cross, three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star before leaving the service as a lieutenant commander. The Navy Cross is the second-highest decoration for combat valor, behind only the Medal of Honor.
"His official biography is one of the worst war stories I've ever seen," said Doug Sterner, creator of a Web site chronicling the actions of people who received the nation's top medals for combat valor. Sterner used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain Herring's military records.
Those records state that Herring left the Navy Reserve in 1953 as a lieutenant junior grade, two ranks below lieutenant commander, after 10 years of service. The records also show no medals related to combat duty for Herring.
He did receive medals for participating in campaigns in the Pacific and the Philippines.
Charles F. Herring Jr., who lives in Austin, said his father legally changed the spelling of his name in 1963 from "Hering" to "Herring" and suggested there may be more than one set of military records. However, he said, his father used the more common spelling of "Herring" as long as he could remember.
"We know that our father fought in the South Pacific, as a landing craft commander at invasions at Leyte Gulf and elsewhere," the younger Herring said in an e-mail. "He was lucky to come back alive, and his family is proud of his service."
Herring said that most surviving family members were not alive during the war, have no personal knowledge of the events and have not seen the records.
"If he misstated his record in any way, that would be very sad for us and others," Herring said. "We would regret that and want any misstatement in the record corrected."
Sterner's Web site is used by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to help verify requests for specialized license plates related to military service. Sterner and his wife, Pam, were the force behind the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, a law sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo.
That law makes it easier to prosecute people who falsely claim to have received military medals.
"It's not just the lower-level people who do this stuff," Doug Sterner said.
Sterner also works with other organizations, including the Legion of Valor, which was founded in 1890 and chartered by Congress in 1955. The legion collects information on people who have received the nation's highest medals, including the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross and the Air Force Cross.
Donald Mason, the legion's national commander, said the records provided by Sterner indicate that Herring's biography is fraudulent.
"This is a most egregious case of stolen valor, " Mason wrote in an e-mail to Sterner. "I will strive to expunge from all official Texas records any reference to Mr. Herring's fraudulent claims of combat action and decorations."
Last summer, Mason called the office of Speaker of the House Joe Straus at the State Capitol in Austin. Mason said he chose Straus because of his support of veterans. An attorney in Straus' office told him there was not enough evidence to proceed, Mason said.
"The speaker's office is still working on this issue," said Tracy Young, a spokeswoman for Straus.
She said the office's legal staff is looking for documentation. If it finds evidence that the claims are false, the documentation will be forwarded to staff members of the Texas State Cemetery, she said.
Mason, a retired Navy master chief petty officer, said anybody making false claims should be exposed. He said fraudulent claims of heroism diminish the sacrifice made by people who fought and died in combat.
"We're such a unique organization, and there's only about 540 of us nationwide," said Mason, who received a Navy Cross during the Korean War. "It's an honor and a responsibility to protect and recognize the members."
