Medal of Honor Day March 25th

From the Arizona Star:

Guest Opinion: David J. McIntyre Jr.
Medal of Honor Day celebrates Americans' heroic battlefield acts
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.21.2007

Their astonishingly heroic deeds are part of America's battlefield history, and now Congress has marked a day on the calendar to remember and celebrate our nation's Medal of Honor recipients.

Congress last month resolved March 25 to be National Medal of Honor Day. That date is significant. It's the day the first Medals of Honor were awarded – six of them at once in 1863 in the middle of the Civil War.

Maybe you've seen the movie "The Great Locomotive Chase" about those first recipients, members of Andrew's Raiders, and their daring foray deep into enemy territory.
The most recent Medal of Honor was presented last month to helicopter pilot Bruce Crandall, who saved countless lives by flying numerous sorties to supply surrounded troops in the first major action in Vietnam. Maybe you saw the movie, "We Were Soldiers."
There are other movies, too, and I note them because they are evidence that Medal of Honor recipients are a visible and vital part of America's social fabric. These men — and one woman — epitomize the values of patriotism, selflessness, devotion to duty, and humility.
I'm privileged to know a number of Medal of Honor recipients, and I can tell you they're ordinary Joes who displayed extraordinary courage in the face of very difficult circumstances — risking their lives to save others and the mission. I will again be in their company today in Washington, D.C., at a ceremony to celebrate Congress' resolution.
From around the country, more than 30 of the 112 surviving Medal of Honor recipients gathered to share the experience and remember and honor their brethren who did not survive the battle.

It's inspiring and humbling to be in the presence of some of those who single-handedly charged machine gun nests, threw themselves on live grenades, fended off superior forces and thousands of other heroic acts. They risked everything, and most paid that ultimate price so others might live.

Their value on the battlefield is evident, and their example to all of us is crucial.
As the young often search for heroes and role models in rock stars, sports stars and movie stars, they confuse stardom with heroism. They might miss the true nature and meaning of heroism. A primary focus of the Medal of Honor Society and its supporting Foundation is to show them the face of real courage and the values that build it.
Those values are not bounded by age or race or religion. In the present conflicts, the courage of our young defenders is displayed daily. And our nation recently has honored two of them posthumously with its highest award for valor in the face of the enemy.
For all of them, those to follow, and all of those who wear the cloth of this nation, join me in marking this first Medal of Honor Day.

David J. McIntyre Jr. is president and CEO of Phoenix-based TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a company that provides access to health care for military families. For more information about the Medal of Honor, go to www.cmohs.org.

To find out more about National Medal of Honday Day click here