As many of you know, my son Chris works on base at Fort Lewis in Washington. As a result his son is delivered to their after school rec center each weekday. This week Chris was locked in for long hours for all sorts of "secure" things that he doesn't talk about and I don't ask. As a result, I had pick up duty for David all this week.In order to fill the time until the bus arrives, I usually sit in the waiting area and read the Northwest Guardian until he arrives. It is a small weekly paper issued every Friday that is totally devoted to Fort Lewis, the families that live there and the men and women who serve there and all around the world. I'm used to reading about everything from heroic battle action to athletic competion to the latest family picnics or outings.
Yesterday's reading was a little bit different: On March 17, Pfc. Seth Manderscheid went home and explained to his wife Whitney why he was late and then thought nothing more about the events of an otherwise normal day. All he had done was what he had been trained to do and did it when necessary. At least he thought nothing more about it until he was notified that others had taken notice of his actions and that General Casey would be speaking to him. You can read the whole story on the link above, but because of this rather quiet and modest young man, a child is still alive and that is about as good as it gets.
General George W. Casey, Jr. presents Army Commendation Medal to Pfc. Seth Manderscheid
