[tomder55]

In an undisclosed region of Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Earl I. Covel of Oregon was assigned to work with a small group of Army Special Forces soldiers and indigenous Kurdish fighters, when the safe house that Covel and his men were staying in came under a vicious attack.

Covel, the tactical air controller, made his way to the rooftop of a nearby building where he set up communications with air support while pointing out targets to his team. The soldier who was providing Covel cover fire as he coordinated the attack was shot and evacuated, with Covel left in a “little corner of hell” as he later described it. Covel continued to coordinate air and ground strikes for the next 36 hours, all the time returning enemy fire. Through it all, not one of Covel’s men was killed, though more than 100 insurgents were taken down. Later, it was found that approximately 200 insurgents were part of the large-scale assault.

At the recommendation of the Army soldiers with whom he served, Covel was recently awarded the Silver Star. “This honor speaks for itself,” Brigadier General Benjamin Bartlett said at the award ceremony. “Its importance cannot be overstated. I’ve been in the service for 31 years, and I’ve never seen a Silver Star presentation. What he did over there was beyond heroic. Heroes are those people who are put into a position where their true inner character comes out when it is needed most.”

[tickle]

I don't know why you posted, other then letting us know about this individual who received a silver star for heroism. I think that is great too.

We have received more Canadian soldiers back in boxes, I think in the last week about five. Four were killed by a bomb while they were delivering supplies.

A really great guy was buried in Bowmanville, Ontario this week. Not every one could fit in the small church, they had to hook up a speaker so everyone could hear the service. People were standing on rooftops as his casket went by to the cemetery.

As a Canadian I don't think so much this war, as I am sure many down south don't either. It wasn't our war, although some Canadian soldiers have been killed in 'friendly' fire. Think about that one a while.

[speechlesstx]

Tom, thanks for continuing your effort to raise awareness of our heroes in the battle. May God bless Staff Sgt. Earl I. Covel, we salute you.

[ETWolverine]

First of all, G-d bless Sgt. Covel. He is a true hero.

Second of all, I'm glad that Sgt. Covel lived through the incident. Too many Silver Stars are awarded posthumously. We need every hero like Sgt. Covel alive and kicking. Along with all the rest of our troops.

Third, in response to Tickle's post: I bet that you haven't heard this story before Tom posted it, Tickle. Don't you wonder why that may be? Don't you think that a Silver Star presentation, especially for an incident like this one, is worthy of a news report from the major news outlets? Heck, this story is worthy of a full-length, big-budget Hollywood movie with all the bells and whistles. Why is it that the public doesn't know about this story?

Unless guys like Tom and other people on the internet post these stories, you won't hear them from the mainstream media. There is a conspiracy of silence regarding anything good that happens in Iraq and a conspiracy of loudness regarding anything that goes bad in Iraq.

Here's a good example: Is it possible to flush a several-hundred page book down a toilet? Nope. Ask any plumber. But the mainstream media reported the soldiers at Gitmo flushed a Koran down a toilet, despite the fact that the event is patently impossible. And after investigation we found out it never actually occurred. Yet this non-event was front-page news for over a month, while the reports that the story was false were buried and stopped being reported at all after a couple of days.

Take the Abu Ghraib situation as well. By any realistic standards of reporting, the Abu Ghraib story wasn't newsworthy. It certainly should not have been front page news for more than a day or so. Noody was hurt, the soldiers involved were punished, and the event had no lasting consequences. Worse stuff than that goes on during Rush Week on most university campuses without being reported or even raising any eyebrows. Yet this non-story was front-page news for several months, and specifically blamed Bush and Rove. It caused various elected officials to liken the soldiers to Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. It caused one former Marine, now an elected officiel, to claim embarrassment of our soldiers and their leadership. But it wasn't something newsworthy in the first place, and certainly wasn't worthy of the feeding frenzy the mainstream media caused.

But I'll bet you haven't heard the story of Corporal Jason Dunham either. Or that of Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith. Both are Congressional Medal of Honor awardees for the War in Iraq.

Nor have you been hearing very much about these recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross/Navy Cross/Air Force Cross (the military's second highest award for extraordinanary heroism:

Air Force Cross:
Cunningham, Jason Dean (USAF) (Afghanistan)
Chapman, John (USAF) (Afghanistan)

Distinguished Service Cross:
Briggs, Daniel A. (USA) (Iraq)
Coffman, James H. Jr. (USA) (Iraq)
Hollenbaugh, Donald R. (USA) (Iraq)
Mitchell, Mark E. (USA) (Afghanistan)
Nein, Timothy (USA) Iraq
Sanford, Stephen C. (USA) Iraq



Navy Cross:
Axelson, Matthew G. (USN) (Afghanistan)
Adlesperger, Christopher S. (USMC) (Iraq)
Chontosh, Brian R. (USMC) (Iraq)
Clairday, Jason S. (USMC) (Iraq)
Copeland, Willie L. III (USMC) (Iraq)
Corbin, Todd (USMC) (Iraq)
Dietz, Danny P. (USN) (Afghanistan)
Esquibel, Dominic (USMC) (Iraq)
Fonseca, Louis E. (US Navy) (Iraq)
Kasal, Bradley A. (USMC) (Iraq)
Kraft, Jarrett A. (USMC) (Iraq)
Lehew, Justin D. (USMC)(Iraq)
Martinez, Marco A. (USMC)(Iraq)
McDade, Aubrey L. Jr. (USMC)(Iraq)
Mitchell, Robert J. Jr. (USMC) (Iraq)
Montoya, Scott C. (USMC) (Iraq)
Morel, Brent (USMC)(Iraq)
Perez, Joseph B. (USMC)(Iraq)
Unidentified Navy SEAL (US Navy) (Afghanistan)
Unidentified Navy SEAL (US Navy)(Afghanistan)
Unidentified Navy Seal (USN) (Afghanistan)
Viggiani, Anthony L. (USMC) (Afghanistan)
Workman, Jeremiah W. (USMC) (Iraq)


These names ought to be famous, like Audie Murphy was after WWII. But nobody knows these names or what they have done. (Alright, I understand that some of them are unidentified because of the secret nature of their actions.) Why have almost NONE of these stories hit the press? Because there is a conspiracy of silence.

THAT is the reason that Tom posts this stuff. Because nobody else will.

Welcome to the new media.

Elliot

[speechlesstx]

Heck, this story is worthy of a full-length, big-budget Hollywood movie with all the bells and whistles.

We can't have any Iraq war heroes glorified by Hollywood can we?

Welcome to the new media.

Somebody's got to do it. Thanks Elliot and thanks again tom.

[tomder55]

Thanks guys ;as on the other board, I am committed to posting these stories as they became available .

Tickle

I understand that views about the war are across the spectrum. I do not post them to prop up my views but I think these are the neglected stories of the war . During past conflicts guys like Sgt Covel would've been brought home as propaganda instruments and attended countless parades in their honor . This war ,their heroism appears to be dismissed .I don't know why this is so except I don't think that their story fits in well with the narrative being presented. I think that is a shame and a disgrace so I have from time to time posted their stories. As Elliot mentioned too often posthumously .

[NeedKarma]

Thanks guys ;as on the other board, I am committed to posting these stories as they became available .

Just an FYI - this is a Q/A board, not a general postings board. You might like Digg.com for that.

[speechlesstx]

Just an FYI - this is a Q/A board, not a general postings board. You might like Digg.com for that.

Let me help you out here tom... the drive-by media is dedicated to posting the daily body count, why are they ignoring the heroics of our troops? Could it be that if they talked about successes and heroics the public's mood would change, or is vilifying the president at all cost more important?