244 Awards Compiled & Edited By C. Douglas Sterner

Somalia (1993)

*Gordon, Gary Ivan

Master Sergeant, U.S. Army

Task Force Ranger, Special Operations Command

Date of Action: October 3, 1993

Citation:

The Medal of Honor is presented to Gary Ivan Gordon, Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, for actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon, his unit and the United States Army.

Born: 8/30/1960 at Lincoln, Maine

Home Town: Lincoln, Maine

*Shughart, Randall David

Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army

Task Force Ranger, Special Operations Command

Date of Action: October 3, 1993

Citation:

The Medal of Honor is presented to Randall David Shughart, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

Born: 8/13/1958 at Lincoln, Nebraska

Home Town: Newville, Pennsylvania

War on Terrorism

*Smith, Paul Ray

Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army

Company B, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3d Infantry Division

Date of Action: April 4, 2003

Citation:

The Medal of Honor is presented to Paul Ray Smith, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company B, 11th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 3d Infantry Division, in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

Born: 9/24/1969 at El Paso, Texas

Home Town: Tampa, Florida

*McGinnis, Ross (KIA)

Private First Class, U.S. Army

Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

Date of Action: December 4, 2006

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Ross McGinnis, Private First Class, U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006. That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner’s hatch into his vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled “grenade,” allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade’s blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner’s hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private

McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion. Private McGinnis’ gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis’ extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Born: June 14, 1987 at Meadville, Pennsylvania

Home Town: Knox, Pennsylvania

HomeOfHeroes.com Electronic Books

HomeOfHeroes electronic books are a unique feature of the HomeOfHeroes.com website, which currently maintains more than 20,000 pages of American history. These books are available in .pdf OR Microsoft®Word® format for easy single-file download and printing. Once you have downloaded the file you can print multiple copies of these books to distribute freely for patriotic and educational purposes. Some electronic books currently available include:

Doug Sterner is a popular author, speaker, Webmaster and historian who has dedicated his life to preserving the stories of some of our Nation’s greatest heroes. He has single-handedly authored more than 20,000 web pages in his popular site at www.HomeOfHeroes.com. A dedicated public servant in his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado; he initiated and organized several programs to introduce Medal of Honor recipients to the community, including a series of school assemblies that brought history and inspiration to more than 32,000 youth in one day of activities. He and his wife Pam’s continuing programs resulted in the community bidding for and hosting the Medal of Honor convention in Pueblo in September 2000. Other activities have resulted in local schools promoting and passing legislation in two states authorizing distinctive Medal of Honor license plates.