European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                              June a stars and stripes Mideast edition herpes Pace 31 fallen heroes by Peter Collier behind the men in this All the men and women who have served our an army of fallen heroes who have died defending our we take their sacrifice for As we take for granted our Liberty we know that there always have been and always will be Ameri cans who will give up All their tomorrows for our most medals of More than 60 percent since world War ii have been awarded to men who never came their Reward is sparse the ride less the lonely Echo of butlers the last Salute of a Rifle teams gunfire the folded american Flag handed to those who now have Only memories to a few of them become celebrated on october for in Delta Force sergeants Randall Shugart and Gary Gordon were involved in an assault on a rebel Force in the Soma Lian capital of Mogadishu when two Black Hawk helicopters went from their own Helicon they were providing protective fire at the crash Sites when they Learned that ground forces would not be Able to Rescue one of the Shugart and Gordon volunteered twice to go Down and help protect the their commanding officers denied the re quests because they knew How great the Odds were against the two Shugart and Gordon knew but they insisted on going anyhow and were inserted near the each armed Only with a sniper Rifle and a As dramatized in the Book and film Black Hawk they fought their Way through heavy fire to the downed helicopter and gave their lives saving the injured most posthumous recipients Are More earning Only a Brief mention in the news when they receive their medals from a grateful sergeant first class Paul for was at the Baghdad Airport on april engaged in the construction of a prisoners War holding area when his Small task Force was attacked by an enemy Force numbering More than one Smith immediately organized a defense with grenades and antitank weapons and then directed the evacuation of three wounded fearing that his unit would be Over Smith moved under withering fire to a Cal Iber machine gun mounted on a damaged armoured personnel Carrier and engaged the killing dozens of them before he himself was Smith saved his the Story of another such Marine Lance Corporal Jason is recounted in this these four men and All the than 500 since the beginning of world War ii who fell on grenades to save their single hand edly charged enemy machine or fought on Long after Ordinary bravery should have been exhausted would not have suffered in the eyes of their com rades if they had decided to live to fight another but for reasons that Are beyond our reasons having much to do with country and Honor and Little to do with Fame and made a differ ent decision to look unflinchingly into the face of each of them is now a chapter in the still unfinished Book of our a stilled voice in the Long Battle cry of As members of an army of fallen they protect us still by their what each of them did challenges us to assert the Power of memory and continue to learn from their the Les son is As dear As u us compelling we Are the land of the free for one reason and one reason we Are also Home of the Brave photograph by Nick Del Cairo