Vietnam veteran receives Silver Star 44 years later.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/10/13203606-vietnam-veteran-receives-silver-star-44-years-after-service?lite&__utma=238145375.2067127778.1344612338.1344612338. 1344715166.2&__utmb=238145375.7.10.1344715166&__utmc=238145375&__utmx=-&__utmz=238145375.1344715166.2.2.utmcsr=msn.com|utm ccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/&__utmv=238145375.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Cpolitics%7 Cpolitics=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landin g%20Hostname=www.msnbc.msn.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%2 0to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=101991106

Vietnam veteran receives Silver Star 44 years after service
Sgt. John Crosby / Indiana Joint Forces Headquarter

Vietnam veteran Frank Spink (center) receives the Silver Star from Indiana National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger (left), and Indiana Congressman Todd Rokita (right), at Indiana Joint Force Headquarters in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012.
By Rebecca Ruiz, NBC News
Forty-four years ago, Frank Spink, a 22-year-old Army sergeant who had been drafted into the Vietnam War, spotted enemy forces approaching in the middle of the night and warned his sleeping platoon leader. Their company was quickly receiving rocket and grenade fire; Spink lost his right arm in the attack and attempted to shoot with his left hand until he passed out.


That was in June 1968, and Spink eventually returned home to Indiana following a stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he received a Purple Heart.

"It was a mission," Spink, 66, told NBC News. "I never thought a whole lot more about it."


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But that night stayed with his platoon leader and second lieutenant John McHenry, who said Spink saved soldiers' lives with his warning.

"Those few seconds that we had made all the difference," he said. "If they had gotten much closer with their firepower, we would have been toast."

McHenry hadn't really spoken about the attack that night, during which he sustained a concussion, until a few years ago. Then he began wondering if his soldiers had ever received recognition for their heroic acts.

"That’s one of the things that haunted me over the years, that the guys didn’t get recognition," McHenry said.

He decided to investigate the records at the National Archives in College Park, Md., four years ago and found an order to award Spink a Silver Star that had nearly been lost to history. McHenry believes the mistake may have been the result of an error in the number that identified Spink.

McHenry called Spink with the good news. "I couldn’t believe it," said Spink, who didn't realize his actions were worthy of the military's third highest honor. "I thought I was supposed to do that."

Earlier this year, Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., who counts Spink as a constituent, lobbied military officials to award the medal quickly.

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Better late than never. I am glad he was finally recognised for his service after all he lost his right arm in that attack.-Tyr

[aboutime]

Only two words need to be said here, with respect.

​WELCOME HOME!

[Shadow]

That's pretty awesome....it's about damn time too.:clap:

[Kathianne]

I couldn't link to the url you posted, I hope this is the same:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/10/13203606-vietnam-veteran-receives-silver-star-44-years-after-service

Here's the pic, I believe mentioned in your post:

http://i46.tinypic.com/4ujdhk.png

and more explanation:

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/08/gannett-vietnam-vet-frank-spink-silver-star-080912/


...Spink was the center of attention at a ceremony at Stout Field in Indianapolis, where he accepted the Army's third-highest award for heroism for his gallantry during a North Vietnamese attack on his base.
It was a medal presentation that almost never happened.


It's unclear why Spink had not received the honor -- or hadn't even been informed of it until earlier this year. Somewhere along the way, there was a bureaucratic mix-up. A serial number was copied incorrectly. Paperwork was lost or misplaced.


"This is a great day, but it's a shame that it took 44 years for it to happen," said Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., who helped the veteran receive his medal.


"Sergeant Spink, all of us here today salute you for your service. And as Americans, we all express our sadness that you haven't received this honor until now," Rokita said during the ceremony.


Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard, who formally awarded Spink his medal, alluded to mixed feelings many Vietnam veterans had about the negative reception they received when they came home from the war.


"Our nation did you and all our fellow Vietnam vets wrong, but thank God we learned from it," Umbarger said. "A lot of what we have today, of what we do for these brave men and women who are serving our country, is because of what we did not do for you. Welcome home. Your nation thanks you for your service."


Spink preferred to give credit to the man who uncovered the missing orders. His platoon leader, Lt. John McHenry, discovered the four-decade-old mistake in February while researching his former Army unit at the National Archives in College Park, Md...

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I couldn't link to the url you posted, I hope this is the same:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/10/13203606-vietnam-veteran-receives-silver-star-44-years-after-service

Here's the pic, I believe mentioned in your post:

http://i46.tinypic.com/4ujdhk.png

and more explanation:

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/08/gannett-vietnam-vet-frank-spink-silver-star-080912/

Thanks for posting a better link..
The man is typical of those that serve . He stated that he was just doing his duty. Far too many Americans today have little or no concept of duty. Civics is not even taught in schools anymore is it? Instead they teach globalist warming, bisexual/gay-ed and liberal fantasies.-Tyr