nanajoanie

I truly hope this encourages everyone to pray for and support our troops. My son has even brought Chris here for dinner and he is a wonderful fellow. You might need a tissue for this one. Huggles, Nanajoanie



(Originally written by Bob Lonsberry)

Maybe you'd like to hear about something other than idiot Reservists
and naked Iraqis

Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored
the uniform he wears.

Meet Brian Chontosh.

Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of
the Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband and about to be
father. First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

And a genuine hero.

The secretary of the Navy said so yesterday.

At 29 Palms in California, Brian Chontosh was presented with the Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery the United
States can bestow.

That's a big deal.

But you won't see it on the network news tonight, and all you read
in Brian's hometown newspaper was two paragraphs of nothing.
Instead, it was more blather about some mental defective MP's who
acted like animals.

The odd fact about the American media in this war is that it's not
vering the American military. The post plugged-in nation in the
world is recieving virtually no true information about what its
warriors are doing.

Oh, sure, there's a body count. We know how many Americans have
fallen. And we see those same casket pictures day in and day out.
And we're almost on a first-name basis with the pukes who abused the
Iraqi prisoners. And we know all about improvised explosive devices
and how we lost Fallujah and what Arab public-opinion polls say
about us and how the world hates us.

We get a non-stop feed of gloom and doom.

But we don't hear about the heros.

The incredibly brave GI's who honorably do their duty. The ones our
grandparents would have carried on their shoulders down Fifth Avenue.

The ones....we completely ignore.

Like Brian Chontosh.

It was a year ago on the march into Baghdad. Brian Chontosh was a
platoon leader rolling up Highway 1 in a humvee.

When all hell broke loose.

Ambush City.

The young Marines were being cut into ribbons. Mortars, machine
guns, RPG's. And the kid out of Churchville was in charge. It was do
or die and it was up to him.

So we moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his
men to saftey. As he tried to poke a hole through the Iraqi line,
his humvee came under direct enemy machine gun fire.

It was fish in a barrel and the Marines were the fish.

And Brian Chontosh gave the order to attack. He told his driver to
floor the humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was
firing at them, and he had the .50 cal on top unload on them.

Within moments there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and
Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the
humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his
Marines. Over into the battlement the humvee went and out the door
Brian Chontosh bailed, carring an M16 and a Beretta and 228 years of
Marine Corps pride.

And he ran down the trench.

With its mortars and riflemen, machineguns and grenaders.

He killed them all.

He fought with the M16 until he was out of ammo. Then he ought with
the beretta until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up a dead man's
AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. Then he picked
up another AK47 and fought until THAT was out of ammo.

At one point he even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy
cluster, sending attackers flying with its grenade explosion.

When he was done, Brian Chontosh had cleared 200 ards of entrenched
Iraqis from his platoon's flank. He had killed more than 20 and
wounded atleast as many more.

But that's probably not how he would tell it.

He would probably merely say that his Marines were in trouble, and
he got them out of trouble. Hoo-ah, and drive on.

"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited
courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to
duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and
upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United
States Naval Service"

That's what the citation says.

And that's what nobody will hear.

That's what doesn't seem to be making the evening news. Accounts of
American valor are dismissed b the press as propaganda, yet accounts
of American difficulties are heralded as ojectivity. It makes you
wonder if the role of the media is to inform, or to depress - to
report or to deride. To tell the truth, it feeds us lies.

But I guess it doesn't matter.

We're going to turn ou all right.

As long as men like Brian Chontosh wear our uniform.

.....So true
-Chris

__________________
Toodles, Nanajoanie

Tasha405

My heart goes out to all of the troops over there. Thanks for sharing that letter.

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DBackFan

Thank you so much for sharing that. I just read the whole thing to my husband.

__________________
Be who you are and say what you feel, those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

bell_peaches

Thank You for sharing. I cut and paste it for my friends so they can send it on

Angel Lips

thanks for sharing that nana. I keep all our troops in my prayers everynight.

nanajoanie

Thank you for your supporting comments. What Chris says is so true, the news reports the bad, horror stories. Guess it helps ratings. Wish they would tell more heroic or good things the soldiers do 24/7. If they did more folks would support the troops................

__________________
Toodles, Nanajoanie

tiffany21

Thank you so much for sharing

janelle

Thanks Nana. Who needs Hanoi Hannah or the other gal in WWII when we have out own wonderful media to do their jobs for them. I bet in WWII if the media acted like it does not they would have to answer for their shamful conduct. Propaganda against our own Army if you ask me. Puts our forces in danger.

justme23

I just wanted to say... I was the untrusting one who went and searched this out on www.snopes.com ... and I am happy to say that there is a letter circulating that IS true... Thank you so much for posting this, nana! Prayers always for our Troops and their families at home.

__________________
Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.

An 'eye for an eye' leaves the whole world blind. -Mahatma Gandhi

hotdoglove

thanks for sharing

__________________
"ONLY GOD CAN DETERMINE THE FUTURE"


R.I.P. MOM 7-24-54 TO 5-27-09
I LOVE YOU.

MsLynn

hope you don't mind I passed it on as well, - and left everything including what you wrote, wanted to give proper credit where credit is due