Mike Rowe Honors Medal of Honor Recipient This Veterans Day
By Movieguide® Contributor
This Veterans Day, Mike Rowe is celebrating the inspiring true story of Clint Romesha, an Army veteran who led his platoon through a dangerous battle in Afghanistan.
“It’s election day, and this year, after a lot of soul-searching and careful consideration, I’ve decided to publicly endorse a man who put his life on the line to make our country a better place,” Rowe wrote on Facebook. “His name is Clint Romesha, but he’s not on the ballot. Nor does he possess any political ambition, as far as I know. Which is why my ‘endorsement’ is not a vote in today’s contest.”
He continued, “You see, Clint has already prevailed in another election. An election held a few years after his involvement in one of the most harrowing battles in Afghanistan. A battle in which his fellow soldiers voted unanimously to see him receive The Medal of Honor.”
Rowe explained that Staff Sergeant Romesha and his platoon were “hopelessly pinned down at a command outpost called Fort Keating, in the eastern part of Afghanistan,” when Romesha rallied his troops and led them in a counterattack. The battle lasted 15 hours, and eight members of the platoon lost their lives, but Romesha and his troops “repelled the insurgents, and somehow, lived to tell the tale.”
“Romesha’s actions were critical in suppressing an enemy that vastly outnumbered them,” the U.S. Department of Defense’s website reads. “The Army said he was personally responsible for taking out 10 enemy fighters with small-arms fire, as well as calling in the close-air support that took out 30 more.”
During his appearance on Rowe’s “The Way I Heard It” podcast, Romesha said, “I was just doing my job. Just like my friends who didn’t make it home.”
Romesha was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 for his heroic efforts.
“Throughout history, the question has often been asked, why? Why do those in uniform take such extraordinary risks? And what compels them to such courage?” former President Barack Obama said during the ceremony. “You ask Clint and any of these soldiers who are here today, and they’ll tell you. Yes, they fight for their country, and they fight for our freedom. Yes, they fight to come home to their families. But most of all, they fight for each other, to keep each other safe and to have each other’s backs.”
Romesha shared his story in the 2017 book “Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor,” which a synopsis describes as “the riveting firsthand account of the Battle of Keating, told by Romesha, who spearheaded both the defense of the outpost and the counterattack that drove the Taliban back beyond the wire and received the Medal of Honor for his actions.”
His story is also depicted in an episode of Netflix’s MEDAL OF HONOR.
READ MORE: MEDAL OF HONOR: CLINT ROMESHA REVIEW
