Since it's inception, that cold December day in 1861, the Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor any U.S. military member can earn. And make no mistake, it is indeed earned - many times paid with the ultimate currency, their lives.
It is interesting to note that the original bill, creating the version for the Army (the Navy version came first, and of course, the Air Force much later in the 1950s) stated that it was for "non--commissioned officers and privates..."
I don't know what the process is to nominate someone for this medal. But if the press reports are correct, and in the fog of war things can become very unclear, there is a 19-year-old Army Pfc. supply clerk that may have earned this honor. This soldier, part of the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, serving in Iraq, came under withering ambush fire. The Pfc. returned fire, fighting ferociously against the numerically greater forces firing on the unit. And even though gravely wounded by enemy fire, sustaining two broken arms and a broken leg, the Pfc. continued effective suppressing fire against formidable resistance until ammunition ran out. Even then, this soldier bravely fought on, hand-to-hand, until being stabbed multiple times.
Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on her, her unit, and the United States Army. If these first reports are true, then she is deserving of being the second woman in the history of the medal to be so honored.
Late Update: This report here says she has no gunshot or knife wounds but does have two broken arms, a broken leg, and broken vertebrae. As they say, it is unclear how she sustained these wounds.
Aloha!
