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Matthew O. Williams
Matthew O. Williams (born October 3, 1981) is a sergeant major in the United States Army. He received the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump on October 30, 2019, for his actions on April 6, 2008, as a member of Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, Special Operations Task Force 11, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan in the Battle of Shok Valley. Early life Williams was born October 3, 1981, and spent most of his childhood in the small town of Boerne, Texas. He initially wanted to be a detective or work for the FBI when he grew up, so he obtained a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. After 9/11, Williams started rethinking how he could serve his country. He researched Special Forces programs and, in September 2005, joined the United States Army. Military career In 2007, two years after he had joined the army, Williams became a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant (18B) with the 3rd Special Forces Group. Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boerne, Texas
Boerne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kendall County, Texas, in the Texas Hill Country. Boerne is known for its German-Texan history, named in honor of German author and satirist Ludwig Börne by the German Founders of the town. The population of Boerne was 10,471 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 18,232. The city is noted for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case ''City of Boerne v. Flores''. Founded in 1849 as "Tusculum", the name was changed to "Boerne" when the town was platted in 1852. Boerne is part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Boerne came into being as an offshoot of the Texas Hill Country Free Thinker Latin Settlements, resulting from the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. Those who came were Forty-Eighters, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin and who believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. Freethinkers Association of Centra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Plumlee
Earl D. Plumlee (born April 6, 1980) is a Master Sergeant in the United States Army. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Afghanistan that took place on 28 August 2013. His Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, and presented to him by President Joe Biden on December 16, 2021; awarded the same day, posthumously, were Alwyn Cashe and Christopher Celiz. Medal of Honor action On August 28, 2013, Plumlee served as a weapons sergeant assigned to Charlie Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, when the complex was attacked. Plumlee instantly responded to a massive explosion that caused a 60-foot breach in the base’s perimeter wall. Ten insurgents wearing Afghan National Army uniforms and suicide vests poured through the breach. Plumlee and five other special operations soldiers, including Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Busic and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mark Colbert, intent on defending the base, mounted two vehic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
The Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004, and became available for general distribution in June 2005. The medal was designed by the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry. The Afghanistan Campaign Medal is awarded to any member of the United States military who has performed duty within the borders of Afghanistan (or its airspace) for a period of thirty consecutive days or sixty non-consecutive days. The medal is retroactive to October 24, 2001, and was active until the conclusion of Operation Allies Refuge on August 31, 2021. Personnel who have been engaged in combat with an enemy force, or personnel who have been wounded in combat within Afghanistan, may receive the ACM regardless of the number of days spent within the country. The medal was also awarded posthumously to any service member who died in the line of duty within Afghanistan, incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four specified periods of armed conflict or national emergency from June 27, 1950 through the present. Combat or "in theater" service is not a requirement for the award. History The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) was first intended to be a "blanket campaign medal" awarded to service members who served honorably during a designated time period of when a "national emergency" had been declared during a time of war or conflict. It may also be issued to active military members for any other period that the Secretary of Defense designates. To date, the NDSM has been awarded for four specific time periods, which roughly correspond to the Korean (1950-1954), Vietnam (1961-1974), Gulf (1990-1995), and the Global War on Terrorism (2001 to 2022). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Good Conduct Medal
The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Army version in 1941, and the Air Force version in 1963; the Air Force Good Conduct Medal was temporarily discontinued from February 2006 to February 2009, followed by its subsequent reinstatement. Criteria The criteria for a Good Conduct Medal are defined by Executive Orders 8809, 9323, and 10444. The Good Conduct Medal, each one specific to one of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, is currently awarded to any active duty enlisted member of the United States military who completes three consecutive years of "honorable and faithful service". Such service implies that a standard enlistment was completed without any non-judicial punishment, disciplinary infractions, or court martial offenses. If a service member commits an offense, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Achievement Medal
The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher Commendation Medal or the Meritorious Service Medal. Each military service issues its own version of the Achievement Medal, with a fifth version authorized by the U.S. Department of Defense for joint military activity. The Achievement Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement or meritorious service not of a nature that would otherwise warrant awarding the Commendation Medal. Award authority rests with local commanders, granting a broad discretion of when and for what action the Achievement Medal may be awarded. History U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM), is the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps' version of the Achievement Medal. The U.S. Navy was the first branch of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Commendation Medal
The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth version existing for acts of joint military service performed under the Department of Defense. The Commendation Medal was originally only a service ribbon and was first awarded by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard in 1943. An Army Commendation Ribbon followed in 1945 and in 1949 the Navy, Coast Guard, and Army Commendation ribbons were renamed the "Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant". By 1960 the Commendation Ribbons had been authorized as full medals and were subsequently referred to as Commendation Medals. Additional awards of the Army and Air Force Commendation Medals are denoted by bronze and silver oak leaf clusters. The Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Coast Guard Commendation Medal are authorized gold and silver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oak Leaf Cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a specific set of decorations and awards of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and Department of the Air Force. The bronze oak leaf cluster represents one additional award, while the silver oak leaf cluster is worn in lieu of five bronze oak leaf clusters. Criteria and wear Oak leaf clusters are worn with the stems of the leaves pointing to the wearer’s right. For medals, oak leaf clusters are worn on the medal's suspension ribbon. For service ribbons, oak leaf clusters are worn, with no more than four oak leaf clusters being worn side by side. If the number of authorized oak leaf clusters exceeds four, a second ribbon is authorized for wear and is worn after the first ribbon. The second ribbon counts as one additional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze Oakleaf-3d
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such as arsenic or silicon. These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as strength, ductility, or machinability. The archaeological period in which bronze was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the Bronze Age. The beginning of the Bronze Age in western Eurasia and India is conventionally dated to the mid-4th millennium BCE (~3500 BCE), and to the early 2nd millennium BCE in China; elsewhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting from about 1300 BCE and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BCE, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it is in modern times. Because historical artworks wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. History The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the successor award to the "Citation Star" ( silver star) which was established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918, during World War I. On July 19, 1932, the Secretary of War approved the conversion of the "Citation Star" to the SSM with the original "Citation Star" incorporated into the center of the medal. Authorization for the Silver Star Medal was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U.S. Navy on August 7, 1942, and an Act of Congress for the U.S. Army on December 15, 1942. The current statutory authorization for the medal is Title 10 of the United States Code, for the U.S. Army, for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
