[antimedia] antimedia: Cool beans....

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Posted by antimedia:
Cool beans....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1146538522.shtml


   ....Brad Kasal, whose bloodied but not beaten photo made the
   international rounds during the battle for Fallujah will be
   [1]receiving the Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, for
   his [2]heroic actions in Fallujah.

     When Kasal learned that three Marines were pinned down in one
     house, he and other Marines went to their aid.
     Once inside the house, Kasal barked orders to younger Marines to
     cover vantage spots where insurgents might be hiding. He turned
     into one room and immediately ran into an insurgent who cried out
     in Arabic. The two exchanged gunfire; the insurgent missed and
     Kasal killed him.
     Other insurgents fired at the Marines from upstairs, hitting Kasal
     and others. Kasal fought his way to a wounded Marine and used a
     tourniquet on his leg to keep him from bleeding to death. When he
     spotted an insurgent's grenade, he sheltered the wounded Marine
     with his body to protect him from the blast.
     Kasal refused medical attention until other Marines were helped and
     made sure Marines in the street knew there were Marines inside so
     none would be hit by so-called friendly fire.
     "Although severely wounded himself, he shouted encouragement to his
     fellow Marines," the Navy Cross citation states. By the time he was
     evacuated, Kasal had lost about 60% of his blood and was barely
     conscious.

   Typical of all true military heroes (not the braggart poseurs like
   John Kerry), Kasal demurs

     Kasal said the picture and the acclaim it has brought him should
     not overshadow the actions of other Marines in the same fight.
     "That house was full of heroes," he said.

   Pay attention to this man's words. Every true hero will have the same
   reaction. That's how you separate the real heroes from the barroom
   braggarts.
   I have a personal friend who has had the privilege of knowing several
   Medal of Honor winners. I once asked him if there was a common
   denominator that distinguished Medal of Honor winners from other men.
   I suggested it would be extreme modesty.
   He answered

     Yes, one is an almost obsessive modesty. But I was trying to see
     something in them that went along with their great courage, which
     belied the often claimed (and to me, inherently derisive) "they
     acted impulsively."
     They were not the impulsive type. The common denominator as I saw
     it was two-fold, in men of different "IQ's," most likely:
     a) a computer-like speed in assessing one's surroundings and
     circumstances (or predicament); and
     b) the ability to make rapid, if not instant, decisions based on
     (a) and "executing" a plan of action without hesitation or second
     guessing.
     I saw this in various situations, some important, and some as
     trivially social as "which way do we turn here?" or "where or when
     do we go to eat? (and many had wives with them, which with most men
     makes for indecision and a multitude of possibilities)" by
     virtually all of them. And I was in close contact with them for a
     week straight. I'm convinced most CMOH recipients share (a) &
     (b)--and, of course, a courage above and beyond the call of
     duty--or that of other mere mortals.

   In other words, these are men of action, not words.
   I have seldom met men who possessed an abundance of both, and those
   who possess an abundance of the latter were never men of action.

References

   1. http://www.blackfive.net/main/2006/05/brad_kasal_some.html
   2. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-cross1may01,1,4646543.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true