SFC Celiz and MSG Plumlee clearly deserved it as well, but I hadn’t been tracking their statuses. SFC Cashe I had known about. The awardees performed acts of pure heroism and wartime valor. If an award like the MoH exists and is distributed honestly, they should get it. I’m glad they did.
The family of SFC Cashe has also behaved honorably in the face of what must have been immense frustration. They didn’t get drawn into politics or side issues; they stayed focused on the matter. The nature of the Army lends itself to bureaucracy, and SFC Cashe’s family did themselves and him proud by staying on target.
It’s worth pointing out how important things like the MoH are to bereaved families. Medals like this matter. They matter to people like me, watching from the silent majority, and the families who want recognition of what went into their loss. They don’t have Alwyn Cashe anymore, and they deserve some recognition that what happened, the events that took SFC from them, mattered, and his going was as important as it felt. It’s simple affirmation of sacrifice, and sacrifices like this earn it. People, the departed, the survivors, and the bereft, need that kind of affirmation.
This is a good thing, and credit to the Biden administration for getting it done.