Ross McGinnis and the Medal of Honor

http://northshorejournal.org/index.php/2008/05/ross-mcginnis-and-the-medal-of-honor

Ross McGinnis and the Medal of Honor
May 23, 2008
Redemption, Courage, Sacrifice
Somewhere near here, Valhalla or Fiddler’s Green, a band of brothers is welcoming a new friend. Standing at attention are men like Alvin York, Audie Murphy and Douglas MacArthur. A new hero has come home.

<snip>

Ross McGinnis was not always hero material.

<snip>

After basic and advanced infantry training, Ross came home on leave. He was a changed man. He was a soldier.

<snip>

McGinnis saw an insurgent throw a grenade from a nearby rooftop. He tried to deflect it but it dropped through the hatch behind him. Training told him to holler “Grenade” and then jump clear. That is not what this hero did.

He saw the grenade lodged in some equipment below him. The doors were locked and the four soldiers in the truck had no chance to escape. McGinnis dropped down into the Humvee and pressed his back against the radio where the grenade had come to rest, covering the blast with his body.

Ross McGinnis, a little over six feet tall and a lanky 130 some pounds, took the force of the explosion. One of the other soldiers was seriously wounded, and the other three received less serious injuries. All of them lived because of Ross McGinnis.

<snip>

Ross McGinnis was once a troubled youth on a clear path to nowhere. Then, he chose to become a soldier in the United States Army. He chose to become a warrior.

This young man, this ordinary young man, found a place that gave him a path, people who became comrades and friends, and he found a time that for all eternity became his time.



My comment- Heroes like Ross do not get the accolades that they deserve. Godspeed and thank you Ross.