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Pfc. Ross McGinnis of Knox, Pa., is the ultimate HERO. He is receiving the
nation's highest military honor. McGinnis was perched in the gunner's hatch
of a Humvee when a grenade sailed past him and into the truck where four other
soldiers sat. He shouted a warning to the others, then jumped on the grenade.
The grenade, which was lodged near the vehicle's radio, blew up and killed him.
Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman, said McGinnis easily could have
jumped out of the truck and saved himself. "The instinct is, jump out of the
vehicle, but his four buddies were in the vehicle with him ... and he chose to
place himself on top of the grenade and absorb the impact, and it saved their
lives,"
McGinnis was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd
Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, in Schweinfurt, Germany.
He died on Dec. 4, 2006.
Three others have also been awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for their
actions in Iraq. They are Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, Navy Petty Officer
2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor and Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham.
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CENTCOM sent an email that describes McGinnis on patrol, on December 4th, standing in
the turret. McGinnis was manning his armored humvee's machine gun. His Platoon Sergeant,
SFC Thomas, was the vehicle commander.
From a position above the humvee, an insurgent lobbed a grenade that arced through
McGinnis' hatch and fell to the humvee console lodging in the radio at McGinnis' feet.
McGinnis shouted, "GRENADE! IT'S IN THE TRUCK!"
Nineteen year old Private First Class Ross McGinnis had a choice to make - get the hell
out of the truck through the hatch or...
SFC Cedric Thomas: "I looked out of the corner of my eye as I was crouching down and
I saw him pin it down." McGinnis did so even though he could have escaped.
"He had time to jump out of the truck," Thomas said. "He chose not to."
Ross Andrew McGinnis
Arlington National Cemetery.
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