Ok, so we've got debates about this, that and the other thing to attend to...but let us never forget the brave men and women who are fighting on our behalf on the other side of the world:

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester of the 617th Military Police Company, a National Guard unit out of Richmond, Ky., received the Silver Star, along with two other members of her unit, Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein and Spc. Jason Mike, for their actions during an enemy ambush on their convoy. Other members of the unit also received awards.

Hester's squad was shadowing a supply convoy March 20 when anti-Iraqi fighters ambushed the convoy. The squad moved to the side of the road, flanking the insurgents and cutting off their escape route. Hester led her team through the "kill zone" and into a flanking position, where she assaulted a trench line with grenades and M203 grenade-launcher rounds. She and Nein, her squad leader, then cleared two trenches, at which time she killed three insurgents with her rifle.

When the fight was over, 27 insurgents were dead, six were wounded, and one was captured.

This is the first time since World War Two that a female servicemember has been awarded the Silver Star. We cannot, as a nation, possibly do enough to actually repay these magnificent men and women...but we've got to try.

Hat Tip: Best of the Web Today