A colonel was presented the second-highest award for valor Aug. 24 for his actions during a furious firefight last year in Iraq when he rallied Iraqi commandos to defend their position against an insurgent assault.
Col. James H. Coffman Jr., who was wounded during the Nov. 14 gun battle at Mosul, received the Distinguished Service Cross in a ceremony in Baghdad.
Last November, insurgents attacked several police stations in Mosul. According to the military’s account of his actions, Coffman was with a group of Iraqi commandos moving to reinforce one police station that was under attack when insurgents ambushed them.
All but one of the commando team’s officers were killed or seriously wounded early in the fight, leaving the Iraqi officer and Coffman, an adviser to the commandos, to direct the battle.
“Coffman exhibited truly inspirational leadership, rallying the commandos and organizing a hasty defense while attempting to radio higher headquarters for reinforcements,” his award citation reads.
During the fight, Coffman was shot in his shooting hand, a shot that wrecked his weapon. But he picked up AK47s from the wounded Iraqis and kept shooting.
The battle lasted four hours, ending only after U.S. armored vehicles and air support arrived. Coffman consented to be evacuated for medical treatment only after all of the Iraqi wounded were evacuated.
"Hero" just isn't sufficient to describe this man's actions. Meanwhile, the mainstream media has largely ignored him.
Here are Yahoo News and Google News search comparisons for Mr. Coffman and anti-war loon Cindy Sheehan:
Yahoo News for James Coffman:
Yahoo News for Cindy Sheehan:
Google News for James Coffman:
Google News for Cindy Sheehan:
Notice the different nature of the coverage too. Coffman's coverage was mostly local news outlets and press releases. Cindy Sheehan has, as we're all well aware of, gotten attention from all the largest media outlets.
There are positive stories about success, victory, and bravery coming out of Iraq. The problem is that our media isn't interested in telling us about them.
(via Peatbog)