Army Hero of Ganjgal ambush denied honor earned

UPDATE
Ganjgal Hero Nominated for Medal of Honor

Afghan ambush heroics go unrecognized
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 13, 2011 5:45:09 EDT

“I’ll put it this way,” Meyer said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

In a rocky mountainside trench, a Marine and a soldier worked in tandem under an avalanche of enemy fire to retrieve the bodies of a four-man training team killed in eastern Afghanistan.

Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer and Army Capt. William Swenson already had braved enemy fire repeatedly during the Sept. 8, 2009, ambush in Ganjgal, an insurgent-held village in Kunar province’s Sarkani district. On a last, urgent dash into the village, Meyer charged through enemy fire alone and on foot to find the missing service members, and Swenson joined him in the chaos to load their bloody bodies and gear onto a Humvee and take them home.

On Thursday, Meyer is expected to receive the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony. He will become the first living Marine in 38 years to receive the nation’s highest combat award, and at least the ninth member of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8 to receive at least a Bronze Star with ‘V’ device for heroism in Ganjgal. Two other Marines — Capt. Ademola Fabayo and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez — each received a Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor.


Swenson has received nothing. The lack of recognition raises questions whether Swenson’s angry criticism of Army officers, who repeatedly refused to send fire support that day, is the reason he has not been decorated.

It is “ridiculous” that Swenson hasn’t yet been recognized for his heroism, Meyer said. Swenson also repeatedly braved fire in the battle, working with the Marines to engage enemy fighters and evacuate U.S. and Afghan casualties from a kill zone, the Medal of Honor nominee said.
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