Navy Cross awarded to family of Marine killed in Afghanistan

MILITARY: Heroic Marine now 'in the company of the finest and bravest'
By MARK WALKER
Posted: Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan was remembered Tuesday as an exceptionally upbeat and selfless young man whose valor in detecting a roadside bomb and using his body to shield fellow Marines from the blast claimed his life at age 20.

That heroism led Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to come to Camp Pendleton to present Hogan's family with the Navy Cross, the highest award for valor after the Medal of Honor. A new barracks complex has also been named in Hogan's honor.

"The actions of Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan place him in the company of the finest and bravest Marines in our nation's history," Mabus said during a Tuesday morning ceremony at the base. "He is now part of Marine Corps lore."

Mabus said that after examining nominating papers for Hogan that would have garnered him a Silver Star, he elevated the award to the highest one that the Department of the Navy can bestow on its own.

"He displayed the most remarkable bravery in combat," Mabus said. "He fully embodied the Marine Corps motto of Semper Fidelis (always faithful)."
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Navy Cross awarded to family of Marine killed in Afghanistan
January 17, 2012

In a ceremony Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, the secretary of the Navy presented the Navy Cross for bravery to the family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus presented the medal to Jim and Carla Hogan, whose son, Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan, was killed Aug. 26, 2009, while saving Marines from the explosion of a roadside bomb.
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