The EARL PATCH loses a MOH holder

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George H. O'Brien Jr.

George H. O'Brien, Jr., of Midland, passed away Friday, March 11, 2005.

He was born September 10, 1926 to George H. O'Brien, Sr., and Della Cartwright O'Brien in Fort Worth, Texas. George was raised and educated in Big Spring, Texas. He later attended Texas Tech University where he graduated with a B.S. in Geology. George proudly served his country in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War receiving the Medal of Honor in 1952 for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Rifle Platoon Commander of Company H, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced). On July 28, 1979 he married Sandra Rogers Holland in Lubbock, Texas. His memberships include the Medal of Honor Society, AAPG and the Marine Scholarship.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

George is survived by his wife, Sandra O'Brien of Midland, TX; daughter, Terrye O'Brien of Austin, TX; sons, Mike O'Brien and his wife, Susan, of Midland, TX; Robb O'Brien of Fort Worth, TX; Dick Holland and his wife, Jody, of Midland, TX; daughter, Ann Daugherty and her husband, Mark, of Alpine, TX; daughter, Dorothy Stillwell and her husband, Frank, of Dallas, TX; brother, Joe O'Brien and his wife Edith of Fairfax, VA; and numerous grandchildren.

Memorial services have been scheduled for 3:00 P.M. Monday, March 14, 2005 at First Presbyterian Church. Interment will be at 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, March 16, 2005 at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas. Arrangements are under the direction of Ellis Funeral Home.

Memorials may be directed to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 3008, Princeton, NJ 08543-3008.


SEMPER FI MY BROTHER

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I knew Mr. O'Brien since the the '70's and he worked everyday in the PATCH. Not just in the office but the field. I stood at attention everyday I worked with him and after 3 days of ATTENTION I was told to be AT EASE.

[booksbenji]

George O´Brien Jr. was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry in combat half a world away in Korea in 1952, when he overcame a gunshot wound and enemy fire to lead fellow Marines in battle.

On Wednesday, O´Brien was laid to rest with military honors in the Texas State Cemetery.

"He was a great, great soldier," said Michael Thornton, another Medal of Honor recipient and one of six to attend O´Brien´s funeral. "He was an even greater human being."

O´Brien died March 11 in Midland. He was 78. His death leaves just 127 surviving winners of the nation´s highest military honor, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

"Our numbers are dwindling," said Thornton, 56, who has homes in the Dallas and Houston areas and was awarded his medal for service in Vietnam.

Gov. Rick Perry and state Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, attended O´Brien´s funeral. Following a 21-gun salute, Perry presented O´Brien´s family with a Texas state flag. The family was also presented with the American flag that was draped over O´Brien´s casket.

"It´s a great honor for me to be here to honor a Marine who served in harm´s way," Patterson said.

Born in Fort Worth and raised in Big Spring, O´Brien was a second lieutenant when he led his platoon to take a strategic hill position. Although shot through the arm, he led the assault on bunkers and killed at least three soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

He refused to be evacuated for treatment and continued to lead his platoon for nearly four hours, according to his medal citation, which acknowledged his exceptional "daring and forceful leadership."

Retired Army Col. Robert Howard of San Antonio, who was awarded the Medal of Honor during Vietnam, said O´Brien was most proud of his duty as a liaison officer for the transfer of American prisoners of war.

"Being able to bring those American boys home," Howard said. "That meant a lot to him."

Howard said he and O´Brien had been friends for more than 30 years but once went 10 years without speaking after the two bickered about their respective services. They eventually reconciled and enjoyed a long friendship, Howard said.

"I was a mean Army soldier. He was a mean Marine," Howard said. "He told me, ´I´ll make a Marine private out of you, Colonel.´"

Thornton said burying a Medal of Honor winner while the country has soldiers engaged in Iraq is a stark reminder of the sacrifices made by those in the armed services.

"Today we put to rest a great American hero," Thornton said. "I will never let George O´Brien´s memory be lost."


http://www.medalofhonor.com/GeorgeHOBrien.htm


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REST IN PEACE, MY BROTHER MARINE

SEMPER FI

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[booksbenji]

Our CIC gave the MOH to a :


TEXICAN native receives Medal of Honor


WASHINGTON – Outnumbered and exposed, Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith stayed at his gun, beating back an advancing Iraqi force until a bullet took his life.

Sgt. Smith is credited with protecting scores of lightly armed American soldiers in a battle April 4, 2003, near the gates of Baghdad International Airport.

On Monday, exactly two years after Sgt. Smith's death, President Bush delivered the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor for valor, to the slain soldier's 11-year-old son in an emotional White House ceremony.

"We are here to pay tribute to a soldier whose service illustrates the highest ideals of leadership and love of our country," Mr. Bush said in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

Sgt. Smith's widow, Birgit, decided that the couple's 11-year-old son, David, would accept the medal on behalf of his father, a native of El Paso.

"It was a very easy decision for me because, after all, he's the man of the house now," she said Monday.

She said she often hears from the men her husband saved, as well as their families. "They're so grateful for what Paul did that day," she said on ABC's Good Morning America.


Sgt. Smith, 33, was the senior sergeant in a platoon of engineers during the 3rd Infantry Division's northward sprint toward Baghdad.

By the morning of April 4, elements of the division had reached Baghdad and captured Baghdad International Airport, a key objective. Encircled Iraqi militiamen and Special Republican Guard forces inside launched counterattacks.

Near the eastern edge of the airport, Sgt. Smith, a veteran of the first Gulf War, had been put in charge of his unit – 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion – while his lieutenant went on a scouting mission.

Sgt. Smith's mission was mundane enough – turn a courtyard into a holding pen for Iraqi prisoners of war. The courtyard, just north of the main road between Baghdad and the airport, was near an Iraqi military compound.

Soon after Sgt. Smith and some of his platoon began work, records show, one trooper spotted dozens of armed Iraqis approaching from beyond the gated walls of the courtyard. Another group of Iraqis occupied a nearby tower.

Sgt. Smith summoned a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and he and his troops gathered near the courtyard gate to fight the counterattack. An M113 armored personnel carrier joined the fray.

The Iraqis, perhaps as many as 100, attacked with rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs. Sgt. Smith threw a grenade over a wall to drive back some of the Iraqis, then fired a rocket.

Incoming RPGs battered the Bradley, which retreated. Then a mortar struck the M113, wounding the three soldiers inside and leaving its heavy machine gun unmanned. After directing another soldier to pull the wounded M113 crewmen to safety, Sgt. Smith climbed into the machine gun position and began firing at the tower and at the Iraqis trying to rush the compound. His upper torso and head were exposed as he manned the gun.

"This wasn't a John Wayne move," said Command Sgt. Maj. Gary J. Coker, the top enlisted man in the 11th Battalion, who was near the battle. "He was very methodical. He knew he had the gate and he wasn't going to leave it and nobody was going to make him leave it."

During a stretch of 15 minutes or longer, Sgt. Smith fired more than 300 rounds as Pvt. Michael Seaman, protected inside the M113, passed him ammunition.

Then he was struck by enemy fire and mortally wounded.

Sgt. Smith and his comrades are credited with killing between 20 and 50 Iraqi soldiers.

Beyond his position were American medics, scouts, a mortar unit and a command post – all lightly armed and vulnerable.

"Sgt. 1st Class Smith's actions saved the lives of at least 100 soldiers," according to an Army narrative.

Sgt. Smith was born in El Paso and moved to Tampa, Fla., when he was 9. He enlisted in the Army in 1989.

In a heavy German accent, Birgit Smith described her husband as a "very tough and passionate soldier" with a kind heart.

"For that was simply the man Paul truly was – always putting others before himself," she said.

MEDAL OF HONOR

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the armed services of the United States. More than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been awarded to soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen since the decoration's creation in 1861. Some statistics:

3,460 – Medals of Honor awarded

3,441 – Number of Medal of Honor recipients

19 – Number of double recipients

127 – Number of living Medal of Honor recipients

47 – Number of living recipients from World War II, more than 35 of whom are over age 80

17 – Number of living recipients who earned their medals while serving in Korea

63 – Number of living recipients from Vietnam, fewer than 30 of whom are under age 60

0 – Medals of Honor awarded for valor in Grenada, Panama, Lebanon and Desert Storm

SOURCE: Congressional Medal of Honor Society


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