Victoria Cross for being black?

Question

Johnson Beharry,the latest recipient of the VC does not deserve the medal.
His convoy was ambushed,he panicked,reversed,crashed ,injured himself.His commander was injured,Beharry correctly pulled him into the vehicle.Beharrys convoy was also ambushed on another occasion.
The point here,Beharrys behaviour was not above and beyond the call of duty.His actions(reversing vehicle during ambush)was inconsistant with procedure(to advance through ambush to avoid obstructing following vehicles).No other actions resulted in the diminishing of enemy forces or equipment.the action of hauling his commander through the hatch was probably brave but no better than any other rescues taking place on a daily basis in Iraq and Afghan theatres.

My question here,in no way intends to show that Beharry is any other than a decent and capable soldier serving our country abroad.
What I do suggest,the award was political and it diminishes the status of all former and worthy recipients.

No dave h,I dont forgive you,you either answer or you dont.Leave it to those with the intelligence to reply sensibly.

Robert c.your lack of intelligence and knowledgedisqualifies you from the discussion.hence the answer.BTW no British soldier fighting what I stand for.So save your emotive speeches for the dummies.Im not impressed.proper answers impress me.

Truth.
the only one jumping to conclusions is you.
My write up is clear ,researched factual and comprehensive.
If he wasnt awarded the VC for the usual reasons then we make logical deductions.Perhaps you dont.

Shevek.
thats gotta be the dumbest answer ever,.
Isnt awarding the VC to someone who doesnt deserve it besmirching the reputation of those awarded before it.
Copying and pasting the official write_up will only impress the dummies,yourself included.Missing the whole point completely,those who pinned the medal are obviously going to give a glowing report.Doh!

ssracuve.
you obviously have never served.you answer is simply to glean 2 points and hopefully some thumbs up for following the crowd.well done.

Dry dreamer.
No he isnt a hero.
Yes they do give medals for those who dont deserve them.Prince andrew is cobered with them.get a grip.
Now can someone with half a brain give this fair and important question the intelligent response it deserves?Or should we stick to CH4 big brother qs?

Apollonia.
Perhaps its you who should need a little intelligence.
because.
You are wrong wrong wrong wrong.
He DID reverse.
agian emotive speeches designed to egt thumbs up from the dummies dont impress me,Now jog on.

Bring me sunshine.
you felt left out.
Ok you got a reply from me and probably a thumbs up from another dummy.


Now someone get me an intelligent answer!

STILL,
no objective debate.

By the way,for the morons.
private Johnson Beharry ,himself,considers the award to be politically motivated.
Perhaps like some of the questionable medals of Rorkes drift.probably awarded to capture public support after defeat at Isandhlwana.Perhaps the award was overdue to bolster waning support for the iraq occupation.All wars need heroes.If hes anything other than white we can dispell whispers of imperialism.The actions of any soldier in action can be spun out to be heroic or reckless or cowardly depending upon the needs of the brass.Are some answerers really so naive?

21.19 in the big dummy house and conrangers just reiterated the standard dummy response.

Come on now,I have seen some intelligent people answering on here.wher are they.
I'm not looking for anyone to agree,just an intelligent,factual and objective response.
Aswell as 10 points ,you will have my respect and the knowledge that you have taught the dummies how to go on.Now thats worth answering for.

22.52 in the big dummy house and still more of the same drivel.
Impatient now.Questions getting old and only the occasional non-argument dummies straggling in.
I will have to vote no best answer.What a tragic end to a fantastic Q.

Ladymoonlight.
Perrleease!.
Save the emotive nonsense about subjects you dont understand for the other dummies.
The Germans never intended to invade England as anyone who has any knowledge of histroy would know.So no one fought to keep them out.Britain was fighting to honour a pact with Poland,to prevent a German dominated Europe and to protect its Empire.Anti Nazism was merely propaganda to rally a country to war.Most western nations were sympathetic to the Nazis before the war and certainly favoured them over the communists.
If you want to lecture someone, make sure youre in charge of the facts first.

Finally,obviously you dont have a sensible answer for the Q either.

Surprise surprise.

edit:
bob
Thanks for a sensible reply from someone who isnt out for thumbs up.
Importantly,no doubt the only answerer who has served.

edit.
taggart.
Thanks for a fair answer.

Of course for many of the reasons mentioned,I still maintain my stance.

the facts are not in question.I accept the account of the incidents.Although,they are presented in such a manner to have copious amounts of"spin".
As I pointed out earlier,the same situatin could have been portrayed in a negative light,should the needs of the brass desired.
At no point did Beharry diminish the will,troops or equipment of the enemy.He did not fire upon the enemy.The award was based entirely upon the fact that he pulled his wounded commander through a hatch.He also disobeyed procedure by reversing from the ambush ,thereby endangering the following convoy.
Alright ,no problem,hes a decent soldier.
But compare this action to the previous winners of the same medal.Your eyes will be opened to the incredible bravery and selflessness of some individuals.
Beharry himself,believes the award to be politically motivated.

ladymoon.
the battle of britain,only recognised by this name by Britain was never really a battle of britain at all.
It was the Luftwaffes attempt to neutralise the RAF so that our cities would be bombed until we sued for peace.
There were no invasion plans.
Yeah,yeah,I know about operation sealion.
Much like the bombing of our airfields,it
was just a sideshow,a smokescreen to hide Germanys intention.Operation Barbarossa.Where Hitlers real intention lay.
Britain declared war on Germany ,not the other way round.Noble as this was ,Hitlers interest lay in the defeat of Bolshevism.

Answer 1

Disgraceful. I have friends who've done two Telics and taken rounds to the body (luckily the armour held out).
I've seen photos of them in action- and they along with the other soldiers are heroes- not this dosy git who pulled a fire-extinguisher handle, smashed his motor and copped a round to the helmet. That's just par for the course.

Very unimpressed with this 'bravery'.
My Grandad only got a DS for what he did in Belgium.
Why should this idiot get a VC?

Taggart answers the question superlatively- it is the commander who gives the recommendation. NO doubt some snotty nosed git wit PC drilled into them from years of buggery at Harrow. I hated these shites then and I hate them more now.
For every Beharry- therre is at least 10 unsung heroic Northerner squaddies getting their **** shot off and we never hear about them because they are less PR attractive- Scousers and Manckies less photogenic than Johnny Foreigner in PC Blair-tannia. I think the only part missing from the prize catch was if Beharry was a Muslim.
"He's English too- first Black Muslim VC winner."
God- can you imagine the prolefeed?

I still remember what we called Beharry's kind in the services and it weren't pretty.
What a Walt.

Answer 2

Perhaps it is not exceptionally above and beyond the call of duty, but the person who determines the level at which a medal should be awarded has the final say in whether the soldier in question (Beharry in this instance) deserved it. You obviously don't think he did, and I'm not sure if you are/were an active duty soldier in Iraq, but perhaps what he achieved did really meet the criteria in the eyes of the commanders. Maybe there was important information to be passed on, and Beharry ensured that it happened. As for diminishing the status of former and worthy receipents, so long Beharry doesn't boast about it, I'm sure he's worthy enough to receive the medal. I know there are many other soldiers out there doing the same, even more, but not every soldier's heroic feats are rewarded, just those who are seen by the commanders.

Answer 3

You are wrong, wrong, wrong! IF you have the intelligence to read and understand the citation then you should know that he DID NOT reverse, he drove FORWARD through the ambush area and FORWARD through a barricade.

Were you there? Did you witness Beharry's actions? The citation was written from witness statements and serving military personnel have nothing but respect for this young man.
What do you do with your time? No, really, I'd like to know if you have done anything honourable or good with your life or if you just slate others because they can do what you cannot.

Answer 4

You are the worst form of commentator on these sorts of sites. You clearly have never served or if you have not in a combat zone. You have no right to comment on the citation of the soldier in question. The young man displayed uncommon valour and frankly your inference that the award of any gallantry decoration is done out of political correctness frankly insults the likes of Honorary Lieutenant Pun and other surviving VC holders and those that received the award posthumously. Your opinions are so misinformed that they beggar belief.

Answer 5

OK Mr Nazi, when did you last rescue some of your comrades under heavy fire whilst severely injured?

BTW your icon is an insult to the memories of the brave men and women who died in WWII fighting to keep the Nazis OUT of this country. Including my dad.

EDIT: The Germans never planned to invade England? OH yeah - so what was the Battle of Britain fought for then?

Answer 6

I must admit your question had me puzzled at first glance!Also your answers,( so far)!
Your response to these answers are far from pleasing, so far!
I was an active army man UK (and on active service) so we can delete that from your list of objections in your responses , cant we?
I was attached to many folk from the UK black , white, you name it, we were all there together!
No one I know was given the VC, but if anyone had I would have been very proud of the fact, had they been black white or pink!!!
The last thing that would have crossed my mind would have been 'what colour was this feller'?
The thing that really amazes is that you think that the VC would be awarded to some one based on his colour?
Very sad!!

Answer 7

Yeah well there seems to be a lot of diminishing of status going on lately.
Get use to it.

Answer 8

Looking at your avatar you obviously have a racial issue.

The man did his job and got his reward, the recommendation is made by the British military and not politicians.

Where have you the evidence he panicked??

And, if the way forward, was blocked, he would have to reverse back, then go forward, to get around the obstruction.

You were not there, so you really do not deserve to comment and you are really ignorant on the facts of British Military History.

Answer 9

Unless you were there when it happened, then you have no right to dismiss it so lightly.
I take it that you have served in the military?
I too also served and was wounded twice. I believe I have the right to answer this question and say you are wrong.
My belief, my view, my opinion.

Answer 10

You are a very hefty fellow to be taunting people that way!
Sixteen and a half stone? Isn't that like 230lbs?