Ross A. McGinnis
Encyclopedia
Ross Andrew McGinnis was a soldier
who served in the United States Army
during the Iraq War and was posthumously awarded the United States' highest decoration for bravery, the Medal of Honor
. While serving as the gunner in a HMMWV, his convoy was attacked and a hand grenade
was thrown into his vehicle. McGinnis was subsequently killed in action
when he threw himself on the grenade
, saving the lives of at least four other soldiers in the vehicle. He was the fourth soldier to receive the Medal of Honor during the Iraq War, which was presented to his family following his death.
on June 14, 1987 to Romayne and Tom McGinnis. Although he was born in Meadville he grew up in Knox
, 90 miles north of Pittsburgh, after his family moved there when he was three. When he was in kindergarten
, his teacher gave him a paper that at the top said "When I grow up, I want to be __________" and he wrote an "Army Man". When he was growing up he became involved in the Boy Scouts of America
, enjoyed working on cars, and was an athlete playing multiple sports. He played basketball
and soccer through the YMCA
, and Little League baseball
. He attended Clarion County public schools and graduated from Keystone Junior/Senior High School
in 2005. He has two sisters, Becky and Katie.
through the Delayed Entry Program
on his 17th birthday, on June 14, 2004. Following basic training at Fort Benning
, Georgia
, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in Ledward Barracks, in Schweinfurt
, Germany
.
In August 2006, aged 19, the regiment was deployed to eastern Baghdad
and he was serving as a .50 caliber machine-gunner in a Humvee
during operations against insurgents
in Adhamiyah
. On December 4, while his platoon
was on mounted patrol in Adhamiyah, a grenade was thrown into his vehicle. He told the other four men about it, so they could prepare for the blast. Instead of jumping out of the gunner's hatch, he threw his back over the grenade, absorbing the bulk of the blast. He was killed instantly, but the other occupants were able to survive with only minor injuries.
He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
in Virginia
and his grave can be found in section 60, site 8544. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, he is one of four known United States servicemembers who have thrown themselves on a live grenade. The other personnel known to have done this are Marine Corporal
Jason Dunham
, Navy SEAL Petty Officer 2nd Class
Michael A. Monsoor
, and Marine Sergeant
Rafael Peralta
. McGinnis was the fourth recipient of the Medal of Honor in the course of the Iraq War.
A ceremony was held in the east room of the White House
on June 2, 2008 in which the medal was presented to his family by President
George W. Bush
. In addition to his family and the President a many other notable people attended the ceremony, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake
, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren
, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne
, General
Jim "Hoss" Cartwright, and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Several members of congress also attended as did members of McGinnis' unit from Iraq, including the other soldiers from the vehicle he sacrificed his life to save.
as well as the Silver Star
, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart
.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Special Report chronicled the life of McGinnis as told by his parents, friends and the people of his hometown of Knox, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
who served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the Iraq War and was posthumously awarded the United States' highest decoration for bravery, the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. While serving as the gunner in a HMMWV, his convoy was attacked and a hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
was thrown into his vehicle. McGinnis was subsequently killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
when he threw himself on the grenade
Falling on a grenade
Falling on a grenade refers to the deliberate act of using one's body to cover a live time-fused hand grenade, absorbing the explosion and fragmentation in an effort to save the lives of others nearby...
, saving the lives of at least four other soldiers in the vehicle. He was the fourth soldier to receive the Medal of Honor during the Iraq War, which was presented to his family following his death.
Early life
McGinnis was born in Meadville, PennsylvaniaMeadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
on June 14, 1987 to Romayne and Tom McGinnis. Although he was born in Meadville he grew up in Knox
Knox, Pennsylvania
Knox is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,176 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Knox is located at ....
, 90 miles north of Pittsburgh, after his family moved there when he was three. When he was in kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
, his teacher gave him a paper that at the top said "When I grow up, I want to be __________" and he wrote an "Army Man". When he was growing up he became involved in the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, enjoyed working on cars, and was an athlete playing multiple sports. He played basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and soccer through the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, and Little League baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. He attended Clarion County public schools and graduated from Keystone Junior/Senior High School
Keystone Junior/Senior High School
Keystone High School is a high school in Knox, Pennsylvania. There are about 600 students and 40 faculty members at the school. The school is one of seven public high schools in Clarion County. Students, if they wish to pursue a vocational trade, may attend the Clarion County Career Center in...
in 2005. He has two sisters, Becky and Katie.
Military service
McGinnis had wanted to be a soldier since kindergarten and joined the ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
through the Delayed Entry Program
Delayed Entry Program
The Delayed Entry Program, also called the Delayed Enlistment Program, is a program where individuals going into active duty in the United States Armed Forces enlist first into the DEP before they ship out to Basic Training, or "boot camp". This is not a legally binding contract, but an agreement...
on his 17th birthday, on June 14, 2004. Following basic training at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in Ledward Barracks, in Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In August 2006, aged 19, the regiment was deployed to eastern Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and he was serving as a .50 caliber machine-gunner in a Humvee
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle , better known as the Humvee, is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller Jeeps such as the M151 MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV,...
during operations against insurgents
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
in Adhamiyah
Adhamiyah
Al-Adhamiyah , also Azamiya, is a neighborhood and east-central district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq....
. On December 4, while his platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
was on mounted patrol in Adhamiyah, a grenade was thrown into his vehicle. He told the other four men about it, so they could prepare for the blast. Instead of jumping out of the gunner's hatch, he threw his back over the grenade, absorbing the bulk of the blast. He was killed instantly, but the other occupants were able to survive with only minor injuries.
He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and his grave can be found in section 60, site 8544. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, he is one of four known United States servicemembers who have thrown themselves on a live grenade. The other personnel known to have done this are Marine Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Jason Dunham
Jason Dunham
Jason Lee Dunham was a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps who earned the Medal of Honor while serving with 3rd Battalion 7th Marines during the Iraq War. While on a patrol in Husaybah, his unit was attacked and he deliberately covered an enemy grenade to save nearby Marines...
, Navy SEAL Petty Officer 2nd Class
Petty Officer 2nd Class
Petty officer, 2nd class, PO2, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of master seaman and its equivalents, and junior to petty officer 1st-class and its equivalents...
Michael A. Monsoor
Michael A. Monsoor
Michael Anthony Monsoor was a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during the Iraq War and posthumously received the Medal of Honor. Monsoor enlisted in the United States Navy in 2001 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in 2004...
, and Marine Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Rafael Peralta
Rafael Peralta
Sergeant Rafael Peralta assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, was a United States Marine killed in combat during Second Battle of Fallujah in the city of Fallujah, Iraq...
. McGinnis was the fourth recipient of the Medal of Honor in the course of the Iraq War.
A ceremony was held in the east room of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on June 2, 2008 in which the medal was presented to his family by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. In addition to his family and the President a many other notable people attended the ceremony, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake
James Peake
James Benjamin Peake is a former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving from 2007 to 2009. In 2004, he retired from a 38-year United States Army career. He also served as the 40th Surgeon General of the United States Army....
, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren
Pete Geren
Preston M. "Pete" Geren, III served as the 20th United States Secretary of the Army from July 16, 2007 to September 16, 2009...
, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne
Michael Wynne
Michael W. Wynne is an American business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation Michael W. Wynne (born September 4, 1944) is an American business executive and was the 21st United States...
, General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Jim "Hoss" Cartwright, and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Several members of congress also attended as did members of McGinnis' unit from Iraq, including the other soldiers from the vehicle he sacrificed his life to save.
Honors and awards
In addition to the Medal of Honor he also received a posthumous promotion to specialistSpecialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...
as well as the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
.
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Medal of Honor citation
Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on December 4, 2006.
That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled "grenade," allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.
Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Other honors
A PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
Special Report chronicled the life of McGinnis as told by his parents, friends and the people of his hometown of Knox, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients