Why haven't any Congressional Medals of Honor been given out in the war in Iraq and/or Afghanistan?

Question

Thanks Wayne, I had heard that none had been given, I was mistaken! We should hear more about these men.

Answer 1

It took all of 30 seconds to find this. He was with the 3rd ID

Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously during a White House ceremony April 4, 2005.

Spouse: Birgit Smith
Children: David A. Smith, Jessica M. Smith
Parents: Donald and Janice Pvirre
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Graduated Tampa Bay Technical High School

Enlisted: October 1989
Completed Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO

Assignments: 82nd Engineer Battalion (Bamberg, Germany), 1st Engineer Battalion (Fort Riley, Kansas), 317th Engineer Battalion (Fort Benning, Georgia), 9th Engineer Battalion (Schweinfurt, Germany), 11th Engineer Battalion (Fort Stewart, Georgia)

Deployments: Persian Gulf War, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Operation Iraqi Freedom

The personal character of Sgt. 1st Class Smith is best described through some anecdotes his sister related in a speech about her brother:

Paul Ray had an incredible love for the troops under his command. One Christmas, the wife of a Soldier in Paul Rays platoon had just had surgery and the Soldier and his wife were unable to provide a Christmas for their family. So, Paul Ray collected food from the company Christmas party, and he and Birgit bought presents for the children, and they took them to the Soldiers home. Paul Rays family never heard of this until recounted to them by friends after his death. Another..very descriptive event that showed Paul Rays concern for his men involves another Soldier whose baby daughter was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital with a serious illness. Paul Ray would drive an hour out of town every night to give his support to this Soldier and his wife. In the last letter that Paul Ray wrote to the parents from Iraq, he told them ..now that he was a father himself, he realized just how much they had sacrificed to make his life a good life and he thanked them for that special effort. He spoke of being prepared to giveas he saidall that I am, to ensure that all my boys make it home. In that same letter, he told our parents how proud he was of the privilege to be given 25 of the finest Americans we call Soldiers to lead into war and he recognized their fears and his responsibilities for their welfare.

Paul Ray Smith was born on September 24, 1969, in El Paso, Texas. At the age of nine, his family moved to South Tampa, Florida, where he attended public schools. He enjoyed sports, liked cats, skateboarding, riding bicycles, and playing pranks with friends and his younger sister Lisa. He particularly enjoyed football, which instilled the importance of being part of a team and motivated his natural leadership abilities.

He developed an interest in carpentry while in high school and was employed part-time as a carpenter assistant. Paul Ray had an interest in old cars--he enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked. He restored a dune buggy with a friend. He liked to collect things from the sea, rocks in general, marbles. His family remembered that as far back as they could recall, when anyone would ask what he wanted to do as an adult, he always said, "I want to be a Soldier, get married, and have kids."

Upon graduating in 1988 from Tampa Bay Vocational Technical High School, he joined the Army and attended Basic Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. As his mother wrote in his biography for a dedication ceremony in Orlando, he had begun living his dream...he was assigned to Germany, met and married his wife, Birgit, had two children, and was "doing what he was born to do.... Lead American Soldiers...." Sgt. 1st Class Smith served as a combat engineer and was deployed to Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and finally to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class Smith joined the 11th Engineer Battalion in 1999 and immediately became an integral part of Bravo Company. When he deployed with his platoon to Kosovo in May 2001, as part of the KFOR 3A rotation, Smith was responsible for daily presence patrols in the highly populated town of Gnjilane. In the spring of 2002, he was promoted to sergeant first class and completed the Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course in August 2002.

In January 2003, Sgt. 1st Class Smith returned from leave to prepare his men for rapid deployment to Kuwait as part of the 3rd Infantry's Divisions buildup for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Smith took a strict approach to training his men, ensuring that his platoon was proficient in handling weapons and prepared for urban combat.

Bravo Company crossed the border on March 19th and traveled more than 300 kilometers in the first 48 hours of the war as part of the lead company in support of Task Force 2-7 Infantry. Passing through
the Karbala Gap, Smith and his men pushed through the night of of April 3, 2003, towards Baghdad Airport where Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion of Task Force 2-7 were involved in a firefight with Iraqi forces. Sgt. 1st Class Smith's heroic actions and tragic death are described in more detail in the battlescape section of this website and in his Medal of Honor Citation.

Awards: Medal of Honor, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, South West Asia Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Valorous Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, German Marksmanship Badge, French Armed Forces Commando Badge

Answer 2

I thought one or two were given out earlier on. See the link below.

Part of the reason there are not more, is that the enemy is either small in number or elusive.

Traditionally, you earn this medal when outnumbered and fighting bravely against impossible odds. But in this new kind of war, this shadow war of insurgency, it is probably more difficult to recognize uniquely heroic actions.

But our soldiers are just as brave as any other generation's.

Answer 3

No. The United Nations has no jurisdiction over any sovereign nation. Iraq was invaded fully in compliance with United States law.

Answer 4

There are 2 recipents of Medal of Honor for their actions during OIF.

January 11th, 2007
Cpl Dunham- USMC

April 4th, 2005
SFC Smith- US Army

Answer 5

Maybe no CMH but i know around here a few silver stars have been given out. I know they were pretty chewed up so I would hate to be the one to get a CMH if a star cost that much what would the CMH cost them? That is in not money but physical since. My understanding they were down graded to this. They pass through a lot of hands so they can have all the approvals.

Answer 6

They are the highest medals you can get u have to go beyond a regular soldier risking ur life basically such as in the line of fire or w/e

Answer 7

Everyone of our troops who have served honourably deserve the medal. Thank-you for asking. They are all Heroes, First Class!
I Cr 13;8a

Answer 8

Kimmy, how much research did you do before throwing out that assumption? There have been a few medals awarded post- 9/11. Look up the facts before you start flapping your liberal lips...

Answer 9

You're Wrong, there have been two citations awarded for Iraq,

Jason Dunham, USMC

Paul Smith, USAR

Answer 10

Well that just shows how stupid you libs are...
There have been CMH's given out.

You need to start thinking for yourself.

Answer 11

See above, there have been 2.

SFC Smith - US Army

CPL Dunham - USMC