A True American Hero: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/monti/index.html - Shelly Palmer - MediaBizBloggers

It39s just a typical day with a typical news cycle We have a plethora of opinions shrouded as facts dozens of stories based upon selfserving manipulated statistics and a healthy dose of FUD fear uncertainty and doubt served up by ratingsstarved news organizationsThe hottest trending topics this week included Joe Wilson39s rude and inexcusable outburst Kanye39s drunken rude and inexcusable outburst Serena Williams selfdefeating rude and inexcusable outburst and several other virtually meaningless OMG moments that diverted us from things we really should be paying attention to As I am writing this the trending topics on Twitter include JayZ Andy Richter and a bunch of TV shows like Survivor and BonesI was hoping that one other name or hashtag would become a trending topic today It didn39t I checked everywhere Twitter Facebook MySpace Flickr Google YouTube all the social bookmarking sites It wasn39t on the radar Jim Miklaszewski covered it for NBC Nightly News but Brian didn39t mention it in the opening tease or the first bumper No promos no hype no setup just a story you39d miss if you weren39t paying attention It did get a little coverage on some of the cable news networks but it will be out of the news cycle completely by tomorrow replaced by trending topics and new celebrity outbursts that divert us from things we really should be paying attention toI want to introduce you to someone His name was Staff Sergeant Jared C Monti On Thursday September 17 2009 The President of the United States posthumously presented him with The Medal of Honor our nation39s highest medal for valor in combatDuring his remarks President Obama said quotDuty Honor Country Service Sacrifice Heroism These are words of weight But as people amp8212 as a people and as a culture we often invoke them lightly We toss them around freely But do we really grasp the meaning of these values Do we truly understand the nature of these virtues To serve and to sacrifice Jared Monti knew The Monti family knows And they know that the actions we honor today were not a passing moment of courage They were the culmination of a life of character and commitmentquotWhen you are finished reading this I39d like you to consider putting out news updates on all of your social media profiles The URL is httpwwwarmymilmedalofhonormontiindexhtml Here39s a bitly httpbitly2We4na I want you decide whether this story is newsworthy or not If you think it is you have the power to tell everyone you know about this remarkable young manI would ask you to help remember honor and fight for him as he remembered honored and fought for us I don39t mean metaphorically I mean take action Make him famous Laud his heroism and hold him up as an example of what it means to be a man of admirable character and an enduring example of true American valuesWe are the media we all of us decide what is worthy of our attention How is it possible that a drunken outburst from a rapper a temper tantrum from a tennis player or even an emotional outburst from a congressman is more worthy of attention than a ceremony honoring a man who gave his life for quotconspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of dutyquotThe question is obviously rhetorical and I know the answer as well as you do But I39d like to think that as the media business transforms into a hybrid realtime network with atomized communities of interest trusted brands selfassembled trust circles and other social networking components we as a collective group can strive for a higher level of discourseAlthough I never met SFC Monti I am proud of him I am in awe of his actions and I know you will be too Together we will mourn his death and through his actions we will have learned what it means to be a true American heroHere is an excerpt from President Obama39s remarksIt was June 21st 2006 in the remotest northeast of Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan Sergeant Monti was a team leader on a 16man patrol They39d been on the move for three days down dirt roads sloshing through rivers hiking up steep mountain trails their heavy gear on their backs moving at night and in the early morning to avoid the scorching 100degree heat Their mission to keep watch on the valley down below in advance of an operation to clear the area of militantsThose who were there remember that evening on the mountain a rocky ridge not much bigger than this room Some were standing guard knowing they had been spotted by a man in the valley Some were passing out MREs and water There was talk of home and plans for leave Jared was overheard remembering his time serving in Korea Then just before dark there was a shuffle of feet in the woods And that39s when the treeline exploded in a wall of fireOne member of the patrol said it was quotlike thousands of rifles cracklingquot Bullets and heavy machine gunfire ricocheting across the rocks Rocketpropelled grenades raining down Fire so intense that weapons were shot right out of their hands Within minutes one soldier was killed another was wounded Everyone dove for cover Behind a tree A rock A stone wall This patrol of 16 men was facing a force of some 50 fighters Outnumbered the risk was real They might be overrun They might not make it out aliveThat39s when Jared Monti did what he was trained to do With the enemy advancing so close they could hear their voices he got on his radio and started calling in artillery When the enemy tried to flank them he grabbed a gun and drove them back And when they came back again he tossed a grenade and drove them back again And when these American soldiers saw one of their own wounded lying in the open some 20 yards away exposed to the approaching enemy Jared Monti did something no amount of training can instill His patrol leader said he39d go but Jared said quotNo he is my soldier I39m going to get himquotIt was written long ago that quotthe bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them glory and danger alike and yet notwithstanding go out to meet itquot Jared Monti saw the danger before him And he went out to meet itHe handed off his radio He tightened his chin strap And with his men providing cover Jared rose and started to run Into all those incoming bullets Into all those rockets Upon seeing Jared the enemy in the woods unleashed a firestorm He moved low and fast yard after yard then dove behind a stone wallA moment later he rose again And again they fired everything they had at him forcing him back Faced with overwhelming enemy fire Jared could have stayed where he was behind that wall But that was not the kind of soldier Jared Monti was He embodied that creed all soldiers strive to meet quotI will always place the mission first I will never accept defeat I will never quit I will never leave a fallen comradequot And so for a third time he rose For a third time he ran toward his fallen comrade Said his patrol leader it quotwas the bravest thing I had ever seen a soldier doquotThey say it was a rocketpropelled grenade that Jared made it within a few yards of his wounded soldier They say that his final words there on that ridge far from home were of his faith and his family quotI39ve made peace with God Tell my family that I love themquotShelly Palmer is the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology media ampamp entertainment He is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2008 New York House Press and the upcoming Get Digital Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the 21st Century Economy 2009 Lake House Press Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy Awards For information about Get Digital Classes visit httpwwwshellypalmercomseminarsRead all Shellyamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer MediaBizBloggers

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A True American Hero: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/monti/index.html - Shelly Palmer - MediaBizBloggers

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