Give The Devil His Due

Goodness knows I've been highly critical of obama over the years. So it's only fair that I give him an atta-boy when he finally does something right. Of course, in this case it was a no-brainer.

... a bill to name a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 10 after Medal of Honor recipient PFC Milton A. Lee passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent Wednesday and was signed into law by President Barack Obama...

The stretch of IH-10 so designated is just outside Boerne, Texas, a small town about 10 miles west of where I live. It will be named the “PFC Milton A. Lee Medal of Honor Memorial Highway.”

On April 26, 1968, PFC Milton A. Lee was killed in combat during the Vietnam War at the age of 19. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on April 7, 1970, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” He is buried at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio.  

Shortly after graduating from Harlandale High School, Lee enlisted in the Army in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War. After finishing basic training, Lee went to jump school before being deployed to Vietnam in December that year with the second battalion of the 502nd infantry in the 101st Airborne Division.

Lee served as a radiotelephone operator with the 3rd platoon, Company B. during an intense, surprise hostile attack by North Vietnamese Army fighters. The 3rd platoon maneuvered to a position of cover to treat their wounded and reorganize. Meanwhile, Lee moved through the heavy enemy fire to give lifesaving first aid to his wounded fellow soldiers.

Lee immediately and with great risk to his own personal safety, passed his radio to another soldier and charged through the barrage of fire. Without hesitation he continued his attack, and successfully overran the enemy position, killing all occupants and capturing four automatic weapons and a rocket launcher. Lee continued his one-man assault on another enemy position through a heavy barrage of enemy automatic weapons fire. 

Although wounded, Lee continued to press the attack and crawled forward into a firing position to deliver accurate cover fire for his platoon. This enabled his platoon to maneuver and destroy the position. Not until the position was overrun did Lee falter in his steady volume of fire and succumb to his wounds.

Thoughts, prayers, and gratitude to Milton Lee and his family.

And kudos to barry for doing the right thing. Of course, if PFC Lee had been killed fighting 'islamic extremists' it might have been a different story...