Fallen Fort Bragg soldier receives Medal of Honor

[Archer]

Fort Bragg, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2008 will be honored with a posthumous Medal of Honor on Wednesday.
Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, 24, sacrificed his own life to save the lives of his comrades and 15 Afghanistan National Army soldiers during a Jan. 25, 2008, reconnaissance mission, according to a news release from Special Operations Command. He fended off fire from Taliban insurgents in the village of Barikowt, near the Pakistani border, to allow his team to fall back to a safe position.
Comrades who survived the battle say Miller continued advancing, firing and hurling grenades, even after he was wounded twice in the chest, pinning down enemy troops as he sought to rescue the others.
A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Miller enlisted in the Army in August 2003 as a Special Forces candidate, and he became a Green Beret in 2005. He served as a weapons sergeant in Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
Miller’s parents, Phil and Maureen Miller, are scheduled to accept the award on his behalf.
Watch the ceremony LIVE a 1:45 p.m. on WRAL.com.
The Medal of Honor is awarded to a member of the armed forces for heroism above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in combat. The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life.
Miller is the third U.S. service member to receive the Medal of Honor for the Afghanistan conflict.
Thursday is the ninth anniversary of the bombardment that began the post-9/11 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Since then, more than 1,200 U.S. troops have perished in the conflict, and this year is already the deadliest yet. Afghanistan is America’s longest war since Vietnam.
In August, the troop surge Obama ordered last December to reverse Taliban gains reached its peak. Currently, U.S. troop strength numbers just under 95,000.
While vowing not to let Afghanistan became a haven for al-Qaida, Obama has set a deadline of next summer to start drawing down U.S. forces and handing responsibility to Afghan troops.


http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8404871/

[The Duke]

wow! sad, but an amazing story. when I think of our military I like to think of things like this and not the trash at Guantanamo bay that puts a bad outlook on our troops. More stories like this need to be publicized instead of all the bad shit. I think we should put the news people on the front lines and then let them report and see how things change.

[Archer]

Politics have been involved a lot in the reporting lately.

Here are some winners if you can call it a prize: http://www.history.army.mil/moh.html