Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35669

I was set to thinking by that thread in TLF about PFC Lynch and looked up some Victoria Cross stories. I don't know anything about the Medal of Honor or other nation's gallantry awards, but I guess that other posters will. I found this story about a gurkha, which seems pretty hard core; he certainly didn't like tanks much, because he had gotten the Military Medal the month before for taking out two tanks at that time. The story says that the probability of death for an action for which the VC is awarded is supposed to be in the region of 90-100% (which would explain why so many are awarded posthumously, I imagine, and why only three people have won the VC and bar, i.e., won the VC twice, for actions on the battlefield); 3 witnesses are also needed.

More gurkha nuttiness.

Lachimann Guring was the guy that I saw interviewed on a program about the gurkhas (he has since died), which was why I was looking for Gurkha VCs. This from here :

quote:

---

Digest of Citation reads:

On 12/13 May 1945 at Taungdaw, Burma, Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung was manning the most forward post of his platoon which bore the brunt of an attack by at least 200 of the enemy. Twice he hurled back grenades which had fallen on his trench, but the third exploded in his right hand, blowing off his fingers, shattering his arm and severely wounding him in the face, body and right leg. His two comrades were also badly wounded, but the rifleman, now alone and disregarding his wounds, loaded and fiired his rifle with his left hand for four hours, calmly waiting for each attack which he met with fire at point-blank range.


Additional information: He had only been with his battalion for two months when he was involved at Taungdaw as a member of the 9th Platoon of C company.
87 of the enemy dead were killed by C company. 31 were dead in front of Lachhiman Gurung's position. He is reported as shouting "Come and fight. Come and fight. I will kill you." At the end of the battle, exhausted, he said, "I wanted to kill some Japanese before I Died on."

---

Last edited by Smug Git on 04-03-2003 at 01:08 PM

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7504

The Congressional Medal of Honor is the US military equivalent; there are some pretty impressive stories behind the winners, with Audie Murphy's being perhaps the standout.

The highest civilian award bestowed by the US government is the Presidential Medal of Freedom; it doesn't involve much in the way of impressive stories.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35669

Just seen a glowing account (on channel 5) of Colonel H Jones' one man charge on the Argentinians (who outnumbered the paras 3 to 1) at Goose Green, in which he was killed and then 2 para went apeshit and killed 250 Argentinians and captured 1000. However, all I have ever heard about his charge is that he was a tit for doing it. 'He realised that only a charge led by the commanding officer would carry the day' is not what you hear from paras. He might have given them some warning, too, given that he was halfway there before the paras moved (or alternatively, they were prepared to let him find out where the machine guns were).

It does seem like a weak Victoria Cross, to be honest.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35669

And on the subject of the George Cross, it seems that is of lower precedence than the VC (although higher than every other medal) but as no one has ever won both the point is moot (certainly as regards the order in which they should be worn). A lot of George Crosses have in fact gone to military servicemen, doing non-military stuff.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35669

Just seen a set of living VC winners and they all said 'I was doing my job' (one said 'we were told to hold and we held'); two of them said that they didn't deserve it. I guess that being alive is enough (I personally think that the ones who don't come back are the ones deserving the great reverence, whether or not they were heroic in the manner of their death).

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 13002

Funny that you should post this thread Smug. I was thinking about 'war heroes' last night as well, although not in terms ofmedals. I don;t want to take you're thread off course but I just want to ask a question to the yanks.

Basically over here we have shitloads of war memorials as Mugtoe has said a number of times. On pretty much all of our it say's something like 'Our Glorious Dead'. Does it say that on American war memorials?

The reason I ask was because of the way Mug was apparently so moved by the war-liked nature of Britain. And it occured to me whilst watching tv and seeing a war memorial that the phrase 'Our Glorious Dead' is indeed very war like.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged