One medal I'd rather not have

We presented our first Purple Heart the other day. Hopefully it's our last. The impetus for this particular award was for an event I chronicled back in February. (Yes, it takes that long to process the paperwork). As you can see by the pics below, the soldier is fine now. He was pretty banged up by the IED that hit his vehicle, but thankfully he and his crew members are back on the prowl.

I find it amazing to look at this kid and consider what he has been through at such a young age. He barely looks old enough to vote and yet he's taking enemy fire in a combat zone. Just a few short years ago he was probably conemplating what pretty girl he was going to take to prom. Now his only girlfriend is his M4 rifle that is always by his side.

It was a good day for a ceremony. The weather was pleasant and the soldier's brother, who is a contractor in Baghdad, was able to attend. He's a quiet and humble kid and he didn't want to have the ceremony, but we all wanted him to know we were proud of him, and most of all...that everything turned out okay.