3rd Row for Medal Of Honor

[psijac]

An important look into the true Nature of Congressional Critters

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=hxlcVAEj0sM[/youtube]

[McKnife]

Interesting point and I agree with it.

[ScottDLS]

A couple years ago I was in Washington, DC for business. Was staying across the river in Arlington (Crystal City), VA at the Marriott. There was some gathering in DC of surviving Medal of Honor recipients, and a number of them were staying at the hotel. I saw men who must have been WWII vets...and Vietnam...and Korea... Many were wearing uniforms...retired military are entitled to wear the uniform. Some were in jackets. A few were wearing the Medal, as it appeared they had just returned from the ceremony that they were at. That's how I knew they were recipients. A few were removing the Medals, I think out of humility, not embarrassment.

I got on the elevator with another guy a few years older than me (I was 42). We were both wearing business suits and obviously in town for work. I said "Wow, did you see that!?". He said, "Yeah...Amazing...".

Now granted, we're 2 miles down the road from the Pentagon and I was working for a defense contractor, and I am former Navy, but I wonder if anyone else would have even noticed...

[TexasGal]

As the commenter described, I think the third row was insulting. Obviously those bloated self important "leaders" of our nation had no shame.

It makes me both angry and sad. My heart goes out to those families who have lost loved ones and those whose burden of grief for fallen comrades will always be heavy no matter how many years may pass.

[bigred90gt]

It is a damn shame that they were on the 3rd row. Rather disrespectful of the entire situation and everyone involved.

My question is, who decides the seating arrangements at such an event? The voice in the video seems to want to blame Obama, but I have serious doubts that El Jefe himself has anything to do with who sits where.

[74novaman]

It is a darn shame that they were on the 3rd row. Rather disrespectful of the entire situation and everyone involved.

My question is, who decides the seating arrangements at such an event? The voice in the video seems to want to blame Obama, but I have serious doubts that El Jefe himself has anything to do with who sits where.

So true, but consider this: If the person making the arrangements thought for an instant that Obama would be bothered by putting congresscritters in front of Medal of Honor winners, they wouldn't have done it. Job security and all that.

[bigred90gt]

I'm not saying that the president couldn't have done anything to remedy the situation when/if he even noticed. He should have asked the congressmen/women to give way to the family and unit members, but along with Obama, I dont know of any other president in recent history who did or would have done such a thing. I tried looking up photos or articles on Bush giving the MOH to see if it was the same, but could find nothing written, and the photos were inconclusive to me. It could have been that either a) his people knew better and the recipient family was already in the front row, or b) nothing was said amongst the conservatives because they did not have a (figurative, of course) target on his back like they do for Obama. The liberals had the same target on Bush that the conservatives have on Obama (as I'm sure can be said for many of the past presidents), but given that most people on this board are of the conservative leaning bunch, I doubt any videos or blog posts about it would have been passed to them if they were made. I'm just saying that unless you know that he is the one who determined the seating arrangements, it seems a bit out of line to blame him for it. I'm not saying you in particular, just in general.

[psijac]

There are videos of bush handling out MoH but always posthumously. Crongress sat in front row, but only because family members waited just off stage to accept the medal in the name of their loved one

[Mack]

I thought that he was the first living person to recieve the award since the Vietnam war. But I could be wrong on that.

[bigred90gt]

Correct, that is why I said "his people knew better and the recipient family was already in the front row".

It should have been "recipients family". I tend to type fast, and occasionally leave out a letter. I try to proof read everything before I submit it, but occasionally that fails me as well.

[anygunanywhere]

If a revolution was to start we know who the first ones to be removed are.

Anygunanywhere

[powerboatr]

obama could have simply walked on stage and told barney and dodd to move it.
and bring the awardee to the front

in all my formations......awardees were first in line no iffs ands or butts

[mgood]

My question is, who decides the seating arrangements at such an event? The voice in the video seems to want to blame Obama, but I have serious doubts that El Jefe himself has anything to do with who sits where.

Probably some white house protocal person. They have professionals whose full time jobs are deciding who sits where at dinner parties and stuff like that.
So, probably not Obama, but someone who works for him - someone who works for US (supposedly), under his supervision.

I thought that he was the first living person to recieve the award since the Vietnam war. But I could be wrong on that.

Fellow Texan Roy Benavidez was alive when he recieved the Medal from President Reagan in 1981. But it was for things which happened many years earlier in Vietnam.
(I met him several times. He spoke at our school a couple times and to our Boy Scout troop once. He had several cousins in my Boy Scout troop.)