Hats Off to Former Marine Lance Corporal Ned Seath

At nine A.M. Eastern time this morning, ex-Marine Ned Seath received the Navy Cross in honor of his "extraordinary heroism" during the Vietnam War.

Here's the blurb I got from POLITICO this morning that told me about it:

BRAVO ZULU to former Marine Lance Cpl. Ned Seath, who receives the Navy Cross today for heroism in a battle almost 45 years ago. On July 16, 1966, Seath was in Vietnam with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, when one of his unit's machine-gunners was hit. Seath dashed through enemy fire to retrieve the man's weapon and was wounded by mortar rounds dropping around him. But he cobbled together a working M60 from parts of two broken guns and "stood up, fully exposed to the enemy," to deliver "withering fire, ultimately repelling the enemy's assault," his citation reads.

 Seath also has four Purple Hearts from wounds in Vietnam, and according to this article plucked from the Grand Rapids Press, he was also presented with a Bronze Star that he had earned in Vietnam but never received.

Apparently, his case lay fallow until 2003, when a fellow Marine who was with him on July 16th looked Seath up and discovered that he'd never been formally recognized for saving the lives of the men under his command. Eight years and some hassle later (although the article skips over that part), here we are. Some more details on the process can be found in this article.

Wow. I'd salute him if I'd earned the right to do so. As it is, thank you, Corporal Seath. Thank you very much.