Upon video review, Medal of Honor winner's story falls apart

[LongTimeListener]

http://news.msn.com/us/videos-contradict-medal-of-honor-winners-account

Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer won the award for heroism in a 2009 battle in Afghanistan, and he wrote a memoir called "Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War." He describes switching from machine gun to rifle and back as he mows down the Taliban.

Oops. Medevac videos show no Taliban anywhere in the area at the time. And McClatchy has been doing an entire series on who got but didn't deserve a medal, and who deserved but didn't get a medal, in what is quickly becoming an embarrassing and controversial episode for all involved.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/medal/

Meyer's response: "I wrote my book to the best of my recollection of what happened. And if that's not it, then that's not it."

Sounds like some folks went whole hog on a narrative here.

 

[Versatile]

We need to stop honoring people who claim they committed murder
.

 

[buckweaver]

There was a strong political push inside the Pentagon a few years back to get more Medal of Honor recipient from Iraq and Afghanistan. Makes it real easy to pass a story up the ladder without the usual level of scrutiny.

What a shame. Sounds like there was an actual deserving Medal of Honor recipient on the same day, too.

 

[wicked]

I've followed the case a bit. A couple thoughts:

1. What buck said -- there was an uproar a few years ago about how few living service members were receiving the Medal of Honor. Meyer was the first living MoH recipient from the Corps since Vietnam.

2. Meyer at first was pretty humble about it. He pretty much said he didn't deserve the award, and gave Will Swenson a lot of the credit for surviving the firefight.

2a. I'm thinking a lot of this narrative has been formed by DoD for multiple reasons, very high up on that list is developing "heroes" from these conflicts to remove the stain of Abu Ghraib, urinating on a Taliban corpse, etc. It's the same reason the Jessica Lynch rescue mission was embellished to high heaven. Did DoD write the book for Meyer? Maybe not that far, but certainly officials put bugs into his ear on what would sound nice.

 

[Boom_70]

We need to stop honoring people who claim they committed murder
.

Cross thread?

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

This isn't really new news. I think it's pretty well accepted what they say happened and what happened are not the same.
In fact, a McClatchy reporter has been on this story for more than two years.


http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/3220078/

 

[YankeeFan]

If you're going to rescind Medals of Honor, a good place to start might be with the ones awarded for actions at Wounded Knee:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/18/massacre-wounded-knee-medals-honor-rescinded

Maybe Bob Costas can spearhead the movement.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Maybe Bob Costas can spearhead the movement.

Of all the things that conservatives lose their **** over, the Redskins thing - Native American nicknames, in general, really - is one of the most puzzling to me.

The New York ******s would be OK with you, too, I guess?

 

[YankeeFan]

Maybe Bob Costas can spearhead the movement.

Of all the things that conservatives lose their **** over, the Redskins thing - Native American nicknames, in general, really - is one of the most puzzling to me.

The New York ******s would be OK with you, too, I guess?

No. The name should be changed. It's stupid.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Maybe Bob Costas can spearhead the movement.

Of all the things that conservatives lose their **** over, the Redskins thing - Native American nicknames, in general, really - is one of the most puzzling to me.

The New York ******s would be OK with you, too, I guess?

No. The name should be changed. It's stupid.

OK. Fair enough. I just am reminded of the ridiculous explosion of hostility at Costas the other night for a pretty tame commentary.

 

[YankeeFan]

OK. Fair enough. I just am reminded of the ridiculous explosion of hostility at Costas the other night for a pretty tame commentary.

It's just not a very heroic stance. "I'm against a racist name, and you should be too!"

Yeah, let's all give Bob a medal. It's like how Princess Diana was against land mines. Se really took a controversial stand on that one, going up against the big pro-land mine movement.

It's simplistic. No heavy lifting is required.

 

[Dick Whitman]

OK. Fair enough. I just am reminded of the ridiculous explosion of hostility at Costas the other night for a pretty tame commentary.

It's just not a very heroic stance. "I'm against a racist name, and you should be too!"

Yeah, let's all give Bob a medal. It's like how Princess Diana was against land mines. Se really took a controversial stand on that one, going up against the big pro-land mine movement.

It's simplistic. No heavy lifting is required.

That's not why people lost their ****, though. They lost it because he was: (1) Being "politically correct1111!!!"; (2) Not "talking about sports111!!!!"

I mean, look at the thread about it here before a moderator heroically locked it to protect us from civil debate.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Since when has anyone cared what Bob Costas thinks of anything outside the calling of a game?

 

[Captain Obvious]

OK. Fair enough. I just am reminded of the ridiculous explosion of hostility at Costas the other night for a pretty tame commentary.

It's just not a very heroic stance. "I'm against a racist name, and you should be too!"

Yeah, let's all give Bob a medal. It's like how Princess Diana was against land mines. Se really took a controversial stand on that one, going up against the big pro-land mine movement.

It's simplistic. No heavy lifting is required.

That's not why people lost their ****, though. They lost it because he was: (1) Being "politically correct1111!!!"; (2) Not "talking about sports111!!!!"

I mean, look at the thread about it here before a moderator heroically locked it to protect us from civil debate.

The dinosaurs have a duty to make sure the threads are focused on the next sparsely attended outing or running threads that showcase the great knowledge members of the board possess while watching a game on TV.

 

[YankeeFan]

The videos, however, dispute the accounts of the “swarm” in the book, the Marine Corps accounts and the narrative Obama read.

How glad is John Kerry that helmet cams didn't exist in Vietnam?

 

[Dick Whitman]

The videos, however, dispute the accounts of the “swarm” in the book, the Marine Corps accounts and the narrative Obama read.

How glad is John Kerry that helmet cams didn't exist in Vietnam?

Yeah, if they had, people may have questioned his account later.

 

[Pilot]

The videos, however, dispute the accounts of the “swarm” in the book, the Marine Corps accounts and the narrative Obama read.

How glad is John Kerry that helmet cams didn't exist in Vietnam?

Yeah, he might not even be president if they did.

 

[waterytart]

Since when has anyone cared what Bob Costas thinks of anything outside the calling of a game?

It's not about Costas. Does anyone really think Costas didn't mention what he was going to say to NBC?

There were several posts on the locked thread suggesting that pressure from the NFL's TV partners might get Snyder's attention. This was Baby Step #1.

(Apologies for continuing the threadjack.)

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Since when has anyone cared what Bob Costas thinks of anything outside the calling of a game?

It's not about Costas. Does anyone really think Costas didn't mention what he was going to say to NBC?

There were several posts on the locked thread suggesting that pressure from the NFL's TV partners might get Snyder's attention. This was Baby Step #1.

(Apologies for continuing the threadjack.)

Tell Costas he is an idjit. Is NO Saints a slur against Christians?