No Greater Honor For No Greater Sacrifice

Army Pfc. Ross McGinnis will receive the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Honor. There is no greater honor for a service member of the US Armed Forces but for Pfc. McGinnis, this honor will come posthumously:

McGinnis was perched in the gunner's hatch of a Humvee when a grenade sailed past him and into the truck where four other soldiers sat. He shouted a warning to the others, then jumped on the grenade. The grenade, which was lodged near the vehicle's radio, blew up and killed him.

Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman, said McGinnis easily could have jumped out of the truck and saved himself.

'It saved their lives'
"The instinct is, jump out of the vehicle, but his four buddies were in the vehicle with him ... and he chose to place himself on top of the grenade and absorb the impact, and it saved their lives," Edgecomb said.

Memorial Day is Monday, and it's a good time to remember to thank those who served, along with remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice.

Thank you.

UPDATE:
More on McGinnis' heroism from Stars and Stripes, which notes that he was posthumously promoted to Specialist and that he was also awarded the Silver Star for his actions. The honor will be presented to his parents in a White House ceremony on June 2. McGinnis joins three others who served in Iraq in receiving the Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor (posthumously) and Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham.

US Navy SEAL, Lt. Michael P. Murphy was honored with a Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan.