This is why the Jessica Lynch and the Pat Tillman lies are so harmful

[trumad]

(CNN) -- President Bush announced on Friday that the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, will be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.

In April 2004, Dunham was leading a patrol in an Iraqi town near the Syrian border when the patrol stopped a convoy of cars leaving the scene of an attack on a Marine convoy, according to military and media accounts of the action.

An occupant of one of the cars attacked Dunham and the two fought hand to hand. As they fought, Dunham yelled to fellow Marines, "No, no watch his hand." The attacker then dropped a grenade and Dunham hurled himself on top of it, using his helmet to try to blunt the force of the blast.

Still, Dunham was critically wounded in the explosion and died eight days later at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/10/medal.honor/index.html

I honestly want to believe that this happened and that this guy is a hero--- but how can I fully believe it when our Government has repeatedly lied about stuff like this. Rummy, Bush and Cheney for political purposes have given us all a grain of salt attitude with stuff like this.

Now I know this has gone on in every war--the movie Flags of our Fathers highlights the power of propaganda. BUT it's different today in this age of instant communication. They blatantly lied, got caught, and will never be trusted again.

AND it's a shame because it casts doubt over heroic deeds.

[Bonobo]

1. I totally agree...

My first thought was that his "buddies" killed him and then lied to cover it up. Probably not true, but about as likely as the bullshit grenade story they came up with.

Sounded like a B-movie from the 50's...

Kind like the "Let's Roll!" line...

[renate]

2. why not give him the benefit of the doubt

He's dead. All the dead troops deserve to be given the highest honors, since they've paid the greatest price. (And many of the wounded troops have had their lives so irrevocably damaged that the same could be said for them, too.)

[SwingVoter2006]

3. Agreed!

Please, regardless of how much people hate Bush, as a uniformed servicemember I would like to think that we still get the benefit of the doubt even if Bush and Co. have lost this luxury.

IMHO they should have given out a LOT of M.O.H., not just the handful of posthumous ones awarded so far.

Each war, the bar for a M.O.H. is different. In this war, it's bizarrely high?