Bob,

I don't think the awards officiers of the 119th were to blame. I believe it depended on which unit wrote up the award. I received a DFC that was written up by the 4th Infantry and another which was submitted by the 5th Special Forces. I know that I was written up several times by the company for awards and they were either down graded or fell by the way side.

The military used the awards system to help its own. We have all had the rumors about the C&C commander getting the medal while flying 7,000 ft. above the landing zone while the assault ships were blasted to hell. Awards only have value if they merit the deed. Everyone that knows the story of Croc 594 realizes what those individuals did that day. They have the highest respect of their brothers-in-arms which is greater then any medal. Those types of awards are to help the family with the loss of their loved one. The highest award we can give them is not to forget them as the men and brothers that they were to each of us. "Least We Forget" is not just a catchy phrase, it is the creed of all of us who have lost conrades during a time of conflict.