Spc. Ross A. McGinnis has been nominated by his commanders
for the Medal of Honor, said Maj. Sean Ryan, a spokesman for
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
On Dec. 4, while on duty in Baghdad, Iraq, McGinnis used his
body to smother a grenade, saving the lives of four fellow
soldiers. McGinnis died from the blast.
McGinnis, 19, was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th
Infantry Regiment, which is attached to 2nd BCT.
Only one soldier and one Marine have received the Medal of
Honor since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
and there has been debate about why there have been so few
recipients of the nation’s highest award for valor.
McGinnis’ family will have a memorial service for him at 2 p.m.
Sunday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Knox, Pa. His remains
will later be transferred to Arlington National Cemetery.
According to information provided Tuesday by Multi-National
Division-Baghdad, McGinnis was manning the gunner’s hatch
when an insurgent tossed a grenade from above. The grenade
flew past McGinnis and down through the hatch before lodging
near the radio.
His platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Cedric Thomas, was in the
vehicle at the time.
McGinnis “yelled, ‘Grenade. … It’s in the truck,’” Thomas said.
“I looked out of the corner of my eye as I was crouching down
and I saw him pin it down.”
McGinnis could have escaped the blast, Thomas said. “He had
time to jump out of the truck,” he said. “He chose not to. He
gave his life to save his crew and his platoon sergeant. He’s a
hero.”
Three of the soldiers in the vehicle with McGinnis suffered
minor injuries. Two of them have returned to duty. The fourth
soldier is recovering in Germany.
McGinnis was approved Monday for a Silver Star, the nation’s
third highest award for valor, according to a press release from
MND-B. In it, he was referred to as a private first class. His
company commander, Capt. Michael Baka, had signed a waiver
to promote McGinnis the morning he died. McGinnis was
posthumously promoted to specialist, Baka said.