Report: Navy SEAL to receive Medal of Honor

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO – A Navy SEAL who sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade will be posthumously awarded the nation's highest military honor.

The family of Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor will receive the Medal of Honor on his behalf during a White House ceremony, according to a Marine Corps Times report Monday.

The report, which cited an anonymous Department of Defense official, said it was not clear when the medal would be presented.

Monsoor was part of a sniper security team on Sept. 29, 2006, in Ramadi with three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers, according to a Navy account. An insurgent fighter threw the grenade, which struck Monsoor in the chest before falling in front of him. Monsoor, according to the account, then threw himself on the grenade.

Monsoor, a platoon machine gunner, had received the Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for his actions pulling a wounded SEAL to safety during a May 9, 2006, firefight in Ramadi.

Monsoor, of Garden Grove, Calif., was 25.

Monsoor will be the second member of the Navy to receive the Medal of Honor since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, and the first sailor to receive it for combat in Iraq.

Ellie