Yesterday the US Senate passed legislation providing a statutory exemption to the time limit for awarding the Medal of Honor. This exemption is for one very specific soldier: Sergeant 1st Class (SFC) Alwyn Cashe.
On #VeteransDay2020 I have the honor of sharing the story of Sgt. Alwyn Cashe. He may become the first Black man to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. @TODAYshow https://t.co/VnjbQ90dFj
— Craig Melvin (@craigmelvin) November 11, 2020
From The Washington Post:
The Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that clears the way for President Trump to award the nation’s highest award for valor in combat to Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who repeatedly entered a burning vehicle in Iraq to save six fellow soldiers and an interpreter from harm and died a few weeks later.
The legislation, passed by unanimous consent, waives the legal requirement that the Medal of Honor be awarded within five years of a service member’s acts of valor. Cashe has long been considered one of the war’s great American heroes and would be the first African American to receive the award for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Former defense secretary Mark T. Esper supported the move in a letter to Congress in August after years of deliberations within the Army.
The Senate bill was introduced on a bipartisan basis following the approval of similar legislation in the House last week. In both cases, lawmakers said they wanted to move quickly.
The approval of the Cashe legislation in both chambers leaves Trump’s approval as the only hurdle to Cashe receiving the award. The president has not commented on the case, but Cashe is often cited within conservative circles as worthy of the award. A senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the open case, said before the legislation’s passage in the Senate that Trump would be supportive.
Cashe, 35, of Oviedo, Fla., was deployed to Samarra, Iraq, with the 3rd Infantry Division when the armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was in rolled over an improvised explosive device on Oct. 17, 2005. He was slightly injured by the explosion and drenched fuel, and realized the vehicle’s fuel cell had erupted and the vehicle had burst into flames.
Cashe made numerous trips into the vehicle to recover fellow soldiers, suffering burns in the process. He died about three weeks later on Nov. 5 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, which is known for its unit treating burns suffered in combat.
Cashe was initially approved for the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor in combat. His commanding officer, then-Lt. Col. Gary Brito, later said that he did not initially have a full understanding for what Cashe did and has sought an upgrade for years. Brito is now a three-star general and the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel.
“Without regard for his personal safety, Sergeant First Class Cashe rushed to the back of the vehicle, reaching into the hot flames and started pulling out his soldiers,” the Silver Star citation said. “The flames gripped his fuel soaked uniform. Flames quickly spread all over his body.”
Cashe continued to assist others, even after he was on fire, the citation said. He suffered burns over 72 percent of his body.
Cashe’s sister, Kasinal Cashe White, said in phone conference with reporters recently that she did not believe discrimination had a role in the Army’s failure to award the Medal of Honor sooner. She cited a conversation that she had with Brito, who also is Black, in 2007.
Brito, she said, told her that no one in the 3rd Infantry Division had received anything higher than the Silver Star and that he knew from the information he had at the time that Cashe merited one.
“What I feel is that the information did not get back in time,” she said.
White added that she “won’t allow anybody to make it a race thing.”
“He did what he did not because he was Black, but because he was a soldier and because he loved his men,” she said. “And I believe they loved him in return.”
I expect that if the President, in a fit of pique over how the election went, refuses to sign it, it’ll be quickly resubmitted in the next Congress and President-elect Biden will sign it and then make the award.
I did not know SFC Cashe as I didn’t go to work for the Army until 2007. However, I do have a connection to him and know of his heroism. When I deployed to Iraq in 2008 with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team/1st Armored Division (2BCT/1AD), the Iron Brigade, our operating environment (OE) included one (command) forward operating base (FOB), four combat outposts (COP), and a number of patrol bases (PB). Our armor battalion, 1st Battalion/35th Armor Regiment (Task Force Iron Knights) was located just outside of Jisr Diyala on a combat outpost that was divided into a north and south base. This base’s name is COP Cashe; specifically COP Cashe North and COP Cashe South. I spent a lot of time during my deployment working with the 1/35 Armor Soldiers, as well as their Civil Affairs Team-Alpha (CAT-A), and their National Police Training Team (NPiTT) and, as a result, spent a good amount of time living and working off of COP Cashe South. There was a large portrait of SFC Cashe in the entryway to the tactical operations center (TOC) and a description of his heroism hung beside it.
This award is well deserved and too long overdue. And it is fitting that the Senate bestirred itself to actually act on this in advance of Veterans Day.
And, so that I don’t get yelled at in the comments, here’s some appropriate Veterans Day music.
Open thread!
Baud
Thanks for spotlighting this story.
Like anything can prevent that.
Geoduck
If the video doesn’t work for people, evidently YouTube has blown a major fuse.
Jim Appleton
Thank you, Adam.
So many selfless heroes who deserve our highest appreciation.
debbie
His sister was interviewed on NPR earlier today. Cashe was beyond heroic.
?BillinGlendaleCA
NOPE, YOUTUBE IS BORKED!
?BillinGlendaleCA
That was pretty much my expectation; remember what Trump thinks about our military(suckers and losers).
Nobody in particular
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
What part of corporate America isn’t Borked? Especially in Sillycon Valley…
Amir Khalid
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
It’s not borked for me anymore.
Omnes Omnibus
YouTube is broken.
On Topic: Good. These are the kind of people we should use to name our bases. That’s actually how it worked for bases in Germany – no Congressional rednecks to appease.
Nobody in particular
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: It’s working here as well.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yup.
HumboldtBlue
I watched the Netflix series The Liberator today, a live-action animation of the 157th Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division comprised primarily by Native Americans and Mexican Americans and cowboys as it fights in Italy, France, and Germany.
It’s a straightforward war story done with animation technology. I enjoyed it even though I have some issues with it.
YouTube is working here.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I am not the YouTube supervisor!!!!
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: And yet we are yelling at you.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m working on getting the 12 here in the US renamed as part of my volunteer work with Citizens Against Intolerance.
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid: That’s probably because you’re living in the future.
HumboldtBlue
Adam, isn’t the 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Benning? Fort Cashe sounds a helluva lot better.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: I’d like to speak with your manager then.
(It works now.)
Adam L Silverman
@HumboldtBlue: 3ID is split between Benning and Stewart. The Command Group, if I’m recalling correctly, is at Benning. I can’t remember which Soldier we’ve got lined up as the potential replacement for a renamed Benning. But trust me he is much more deserving than Benning.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Excellent.
David ?Booooooo!? Koch
why was this an issue? It seems clear cut heroism worthy of a medal of honor.
Lyrebird
Hear, hear. And thanks Adam for front-paging this news!
I watched a video on Cashe’s bravery. So sad that he lost his life, so clear that he was unshakably committed to his fellow soldiers. (Sorry if I use the wrong vocab.) From the video it sounded like a bunch of the others died back in TX as well, but I guess at least they got to go home and see their loved ones again.
JanieM
@Amir Khalid: It’s not borked for me anymore either. But though I can play the video here, if I go to YouTube to play it, YouTube wants me to sign in to confirm my age, because of the content. Sigh. Anyhow, I can listen to it here, and I can listen to Makem and Clancy sing it over there. Another beautiful rendition.
Nobody in particular
@Omnes Omnibus:
Base naming. Cancel Culture. The first case of “cancel culture” in the nation’s early military history occurred during the revolution when Fort Benedict Arnold reverted back to its current name and geographic locale: West Point. And it may yet still be renamed, Fort Pompeo before the eviction.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: So you’ll be attending the Million Karen March on the afternoon of 20 JAN 2021 protesting the inauguration of President Biden? There are three major concerns that the protestors want to see addressed, in addition to Trump no longer being president, are: waiters that don’t refill drinks quickly enough, those people in public spaces, and unresponsive managers.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: There isn’t enough ice in my Diet Coke.
trollhattan
Please, please, please, please, please
Let it be President Biden who presents the award.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: My wife is named Karen…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: I put enough ice in my Diet Coke, but my cocker spaniel wanted one, now I don’t have enough ice either.
Jim Appleton
@Lyrebird:
Seconded.
The commitment it takes to put one’s own life on the line needs better recognition.
Adam L Silverman
@David ?Booooooo!? Koch: Medal of Honor nominations are incredibly fraught for a variety of reasons. Omnes will be able to better speak to this unfortunate reality than I can.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I hear there’s a lot of that going around.
Adam L Silverman
I’m gonna make some dinner, back later.
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I’ more of a Coke Zero guy these days. It has the classic Coke taste, whereas Diet Coke has the taste profile that was used for New Coke..
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Pretty common name among Korean women.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: Diet Coke tastes the same now as it did before the New Coke.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: I’m stuck in here with the 1Bde/3 ID Co a few years back.
The guy at the 3ID museum was in tears explaining The Rock of the Marne!
raven
Saddam’s Golden Guns
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: The main thing is that they really do not want medal inflation to touch that that one. There are time limits, witness requirements, and a bunch of other stuff and that’s before politics (both civilian and military) becomes involved.
If you ever meet a live MOH holder, you should be amazed because the odds against surviving the kind of things you have to do for them to even talk about it are astronomical.
Omnes Omnibus
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
prostratedragon
(Youtube back up on my route.)
Composition by artilleryman and cantor Willie “The Lion” Smith:
Victor Matheson
@JanieM: I have played a song before class every day for the last 20 years I have been teaching. I played the Dropkick Murphy’s version of Green Fields of France this morning. (Bowie’s “Changes” was yesterday.)
Amir Khalid
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I mean, Coke took the taste profile they developed for Diet Coke and used it in New Coke.
FlyingToaster
@Adam L Silverman:
It’s like the Million Moms, which seems to be 3 moms (more like 60, but in clusters of 3 scattered around edge cities across the country) who know a producer at FoxNews and can get on the air.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: I tried the New Coke, didn’t taste like Diet Coke to me.
Churchy LaFemme
Let me heartily recommend the version of The Green Fields of France done by The Men They Couldn’t Hang. It’s not _supposed_ to be a pretty song.
Barbara
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Women named Karen were more likely to vote for Biden than women with any other name. Barbara was second most likely . . . Maybe let’s give the Karens of the world a break from ridicule.
HumboldtBlue
Let’s hope this the new reality and quick!
Omnes Omnibus
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Sometimes Amir just makes up things.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: I’ve spent some time with Sammy Davis “The Real Forrest Gump” and he’s a really nice and funny guy. He gave a talk at a fundraiser for the nurses memorial at the Wall and told the story of his MOH. His arty unit was overrun and although he couldn’t swim, he took an air mattress and crossed a river three times to save his comrades. One of the guys he saved was at the event and hadn’t seen him since that day. He had been shot through the head and was deaf for he was standing there lip reading Sammy as he told the story. You could have heard a pin drop in a room with about 1000 well oiled vets (it was Veterans Day in DC and we’d all been at the Wall). So Sammy is winding up and it’s a really emotional time. He looks at the guy and says “you know Bob here would look a lot better but I dropped him on his face a couple of time while I carried him to safety”! I mean it brought the house down and was a great way to wind up his speech.
Amir Khalid
Omnes Omnibus
Perfect.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: Redleg!
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
You wound me. (Sob.)
Omnes Omnibus
@Amir Khalid: I bet you aren’t even bleeding.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: He was a journalist.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: Speechless, eh?
Amir Khalid
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I had addressed my reply to the wrong person, so I deleted that one.
Omnes Omnibus
@Amir Khalid: I rather resent being mistaken for Billin and I am sure he feels the same way.
Nobody in particular
@Omnes Omnibus:
Any day now “Forrest Trump” will award himself the MOH for his repeated attempts to save himself. Pompeo will pin it on him, eventually.
raven
@Nobody in particular: Thanks for your Black Panther. . . Party!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: IANAL.
HumboldtBlue
The unveiling of the Cenotaph, 1920.
Also, if you can find it, I highly recommend the movie The Wipers Times. It’s about two British officers on the Western Front who write, edit and publish a newspaper from the front lines. It’s an excellent movie.
Nobody in particular
@raven: At my age and length of service I’ve been promoted to the Inner Circle of the Party. It’s very Grey up in here.
raven
@Nobody in particular: Hanks did it better.
raven
@HumboldtBlue: Sounds like Radio First Termer Radio in Vietnam.
Amir Khalid
@HumboldtBlue:
“Wipers”, as I recall, was the nickname British soldiers gave to the French town of Ypres.
HumboldtBlue
@raven:
Your link is blank. Got nada. Zilch. Nuffink.
Mike in NC
@Amir Khalid: Belgian
Amir Khalid
@Mike in NC:
I lounge in bed corrected.
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid: At 11:00 am?
Amir Khalid
@Gin & Tonic:
Hey, I’m a medical retiree.
TomatoQueen
Apropos of nothing: https://www.openculture.com/2020/11/powells-books-unveils-a-new-perfume-that-smells-like-old-books.html?fbclid=IwAR1-_rYv6Zpf0ZdBDpduskCnzE_xrbfHAVUPL9PWeHWuHGoiqVhmaVNss_w
HumboldtBlue
@Amir Khalid:
It was, and that’s at the heart of the story.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Decadence. Lack of moral fiber. I’m envious.
cain
Sounds dangerous because all the 9-11 and emergency numbers will be busy and nobody will be able to get through. A lot of cell phone cameras recording karens as well. Everyone’s minds are going to just burst!
Nobody in particular
@raven: No argument there. But he’s Tom Hanks. His HBO specials as Producer have all been well done. Masterful. I believe his first was the HBO mini-series John Adam’s, based on David McCullough’s book. It should be required viewing in every American Civics course. I’m watching it again. And Tom Ricks’ new book, First Principles (Marcus Aurelius) looks like it might be a good read, the Framers had many influences, including borrowing ideas from the Iroquois Federation. Franklin and Jefferson (myself included) were both enamored with the indigenous and First Nations societies, and even though it’s not Ricks usual beat, any enumeration of their many influences must include the Romans and Greeks. And the study of Marcus Aurelius’ First Principles made Hannibal Lecter a better character as a serial killer. But I don’t think that the Emperor had this in mind.
Almost to a man, this was a concern of the Founders. Yet they devised a system that promotes the very thing they feared most. The law of unintended consequences strikes again. In the ’50s a French Sociologist named Duverger figured out why. It’s now known as Duverger’s Law and since the Constitution is mute on elections – with the two obvious exceptions – it is really something any state can work to ameliorate. This is the result of the way we conduct our elections: Single Member District Plurality, first past the post, winner take all. And although I’m a transplant, I can claim Mr. Hanks as a “local boy made good.”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Nobody in particular: Of course, the first thing the founders did after the adoption of the Constitution is divide up into parties.
Yarrow
@HumboldtBlue: It’s available on Prime. It looks like it’s a film of a stage production. Is that right?
Nobody in particular
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
This might be a function and result of semantic drift and the futile nature of political labels and labeling. What they did was create political parties, though not their intent. If you read the relevant Federalist Papers that touch on this critical issue of “factionalism,” just substitute “party” for “faction.” 10 and 51, I believe. Factions arise with or without our interference – which often just makes it worse. The Athenians’ experience with democracy is illustrative, even instructive here. Ideology, any ideology, is the usual suspect, but democracy (which is not an ideology), like a sword, can cut both ways. As Winston said,
Adam L Silverman
@raven: They get emotional.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m tracking on all of that.
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
It looks like a “real” movie. Trailer at link.
HumboldtBlue
@Yarrow:
Yes indeed. It’s a fascinating story all around.
I can only make the heartiest suggestion to watch.
I first saw it on Netflix. As is my wont. I then started looking up the original stuff, the inspiration, the people, and it gets better and better.
HumboldtBlue
@Nobody in particular:
This comment is why we read this fucking blog.
The Pale Scot
Adam, have read or have an opinion about Shadow State by Luke Hardy?
This stuff can be like that conspiracy board meme. Not sure if it’s just me getting old but I haven’t been able to pull all the threads together so I can explain it to other people
SFBayAreaGal
@Barbara: I would love to see Karen replaced with Ivanka.
Matt Smith
@Adam L Silverman: Hey… You still planning to write about the attempts to discredit Biden’s victory? Hoping the answer is yes, I’ve been anxious to read your take on it.
The Pale Scot
Forgot to put up Liam Clancy’s Band Played Waltzing Matilda, ANZAC landing at Gallipoli
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be.
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity.
HumboldtBlue
@The Pale Scot:
It’s a heartbreaking song.
Anne Laurie
Someday, Adam, I’d love to read your review of Courage Under Fire.
(Omnes, yours too!)
The Pale Scot
@HumboldtBlue:
Oh shit, I can’t even blame booze anymore, thanks
HumboldtBlue
@The Pale Scot:
I can and I still bawl.
Nobody in particular
@The Pale Scot:
I would read this book, and be curious to hear Adam’s take, also. Perhaps you already have. As a casual observer, I’d suggest it is an evolution in the nature of conflict. Or war.
If Clausewitz is correct – and I find it helps me make sense of this confounding world – simply stated, War is politics carried on by other means and methods.
Consider the outrage of the Redcoats when American colonists fought more like “indians” than gentlemen. Everything evolves and changes and the line between “politics” and “conlict” just becomes more difficult to plot. Few Americans today realize we were attacked, are in a state of war with oligarchs near and abroad, some right here. That line was never really there. “We” put it there to assuage our fears and continue to dream of possible utopias. It is less expensive to wage war this way, less lethal, loud.
Apparently, Americans are going to understand we are at war when Putin flies an aircraft into their own homes.
germy