Army Capt. Will Swenson 'lost' nomination for Medal of Honor questioned

News came out that Ganjgal hero Capt. Will Swenson recommended for Medal of Honor and Dakota Meyer said “I’ll put it this way,” Meyer said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

This happened last year. So why is it news today? Read this and know.

14 minutes ago
Army captain’s 'lost' nomination for Medal of Honor questioned
By JONATHAN S. LANDAY
McClatchy Newspapers
Published: August 6, 2012


WASHINGTON — Like other U.S. trainers with the Afghan force that day, former Army Capt. William Swenson had expected light resistance. Instead, the contingent walked into a furious six-hour gunfight with Taliban ambushers in which Swenson repeatedly charged through intense fire to retrieve wounded and dead.

The 2009 battle of Ganjgal is perhaps the most remarkable of the Afghan war for its extraordinary heroism and deadly incompetence. It produced dozens of casualties, career-killing reprimands and a slew of commendations for valor. They included two Medal of Honor nominations, one for Swenson.

Yet months after the first living Army officer in some 40 years was put in for the nation’s highest military award for gallantry, his nomination vanished into a bureaucratic black hole. The U.S. military in Afghanistan said an investigation had found that it was “lost” in the approval process, something that several experts dismissed as improbable, saying that hasn’t happened since the awards system was computerized in the mid-1970s.

In fact, the investigation uncovered evidence that suggests a far more troubling explanation. It showed that as former Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer’s Medal of Honor nomination from the same battle sailed toward approval despite questions about the accuracy of the account of his deeds, there may have been an effort to kill Swenson’s nomination.

Swenson’s original nomination was downgraded to a lesser award, in violation of Army and Defense Department regulations, evidence uncovered by the investigation showed.

Moreover, Swenson’s Medal of Honor nomination “packet,” a digitized file that contains dozens of documents attesting to his “heroism … above and beyond the call of duty,” disappeared from the computer system dedicated to processing awards, a circumstance for which the military said it has “no explanation.”
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Veteran tracks valor medals, stolen and forgotten

Veteran tracks valor medals, stolen and forgotten
By: JULIA LEDOUX
InsideNova
Published: August 06, 2012

For Doug Sterner, it’s not just a matter of stolen valor; it’s also a matter of forgot­ten valor.

The Vietnam veteran and former Army combat engineer has spent years researching valor medals — including the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross — that have been presented to the nation’s service members. He’s combed through records and made countless Freedom of Information requests to document who has received the awards and why.

The result of that research is easy to see in a spare bedroom in Sterner’s apartment: Folders and binders are filled with the docu­mentation, some of which the Army itself doesn’t have due to a 1973 fire in St. Louis that burned a records center.

Thus far, Sterner estimates he’s documented about 105,000 of the nearly 350,000 medals above the Bronze Star and up to the Medal of Honor that have been award­ed. He is so dedicated to his quest that he and his wife moved from their hometown of Pueblo, Colo., to Alexandria, where they could be closer to records stored at the National Archives, Quantico Ma­rine Corps base, the Washington Navy Yard and other locations holding details.

“We were doing patriotic activi­ties in our home town of Pueblo,” Sterner said. “We were bringing in Medal of Honor recipients to meet with the kids.”

That work led Sterner to es­tablish his own website, Home of Heroes, which focused on Medal of Honor recipients.
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Orange County Florida Honoring Purple Hearts

If you live in the Orlando area and think I'm busy, Cathy Haynes makes me look lazy.


From Cathy Haynes

Tomorrow - Tues., August 7 - is Purple Heart Day, recognizing military personnel wounded or killed in combat.

Tomorrow - Tues., August 7 - is Purple Heart Day, recognizing military personnel wounded or killed in combat. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs with the Orange County Board of Commissioners will issue and present a Proclamation honoring the local Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) and all Purple Heart medal recipients. The presentation is at 1:30 pm in the Commissioners Chambers of the Administration Building.

You are welcomed to attend with others who have served our country!

Please RSVP to me prior to 9 am if you plan to attend, especially if you wish to have a copy of the Proclamation after the presentation.
  chaynes11629@yahoo.com
Promptly at 1:30 pm, Orange County Administration Building, 1st Floor in the Commissioners Chambers, 201 South Rosalind Ave., Orlando.
You will need to go thru the Building Security area - metal detector.

Was it a slow news day?

This was on Army Times under premium content.

Company vows to return evicted soldier’s property
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Aug 2, 2012

The landlord who evicted a hospitalized soldier from Fort Hood, Texas, and is accused of selling and trashing the soldier’s belongings, is reversing course, supporters said.

Tommy Atha has promised to reunite Sgt. Mark Porrazzo with his belongings after Porrazzo’s platoon leader posted an open letter about the situation on the pro-soldier Guardian of Valor website. ...

I went to the website for Guardian of Valor and found this posted on July 29, 2012.

Real Estate Agency Evicts Hospitalized Soldier
Posted on July 29, 2012 by Bulldog1

WE ARE ASKING THAT EVERYONE STAND DOWN FROM CONTACTING THE REAL ESTATE AGENCY. AS WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THEY ARE WORKING WITH THE FAMILY AND THE SOLDIERS CHAIN OF COMMAND. THE SOLDIER WILL RECEIVE HIS BELONGINGS BACK, AND THE FAMILY IS HANDLING IT FROM THIS POINT FORWARD. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THE SOLDIER, THE SISTER HAS SETUP A SITE FOR YOU TO SEND LETTERS ETC. YOU CAN FIND IT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. SINCE OUR GOAL HAS BEEN ACHIEVED, ENSURING THE SOLDIER WAS TAKEN CARE OF, THEIR WILL BE NO MORE UPDATES TO THIS STORY.

THANKS TO THE REAL ESTATE COMPANY FOR COMING FORWARD AND HELPING US OUT WITH THIS.

So this left me with a couple of questions. What makes this story "premium" and why did they report it after the site they referenced asked people to calm down and stop contacting the real estate agent? I go on Army Times a couple of times a day and this morning was the first time I saw this. Granted I usually don't click on the premium section, but I doubt I would have missed this story this long. Anyway, August 2, 2012 must have just been a slow news day for them but I don't remember it ever being a slow day for them.

Film maker looking to interview veterans in Washington

Seeking WA Vets, Military and Family To Interview For Nat’l VA Campaign

Several years ago I had the opportunity to meet Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, former Army SSGOIF 07-08 combat vet, and now a brilliant film maker. He captures the heart and the mindset of the veteran in every production piece he and his team have produced and he is now looking for several Seattle area veterans to assist in his next project: Make The Connection.

Kyle is seeking VETERANS, MILITARY and FAMILY MEMBERS to give interviews for a national Dept. of Veterans Affairs campaign to help other Veterans. This highly visible and acclaimed campaign (www.MakeTheConnection.net) is advertised nationally via TV/radio commercials, magazine ads, billboards, etc. and has developed a strong Web presence.
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