Here are ten men who have inspired us at America’s North Shore Journal in 2008.

1. PO2 Michael A. Monsoor: Awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his courage during combat in Iraq. Navy SEAL.
2. Spc. Ross McGinnis: Awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his courage during combat in Iraq. Dove on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers.
3. Master Sgt. Brendan O’Connor: Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his courage in combat in Afghanistan. Green Beret.
4. Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips: Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his courage in combat in Afghanistan. Paratrooper.
5. Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Nein: Lead the Raven 42 unit and earned a DSC there. Returned to Iraq for another tour.
6. Sgt. Gregory S. Ruske: Awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his courage in combat in Afghanistan. Army Reservist.
7. Staff Sergeant Kenneth Thomas, Jr.: Awarded the Silver Star for his courage in combat in Iraq. Ambushed while on river patrol in a boat.
8. Lance Cpl. Moses Cardenas: Awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his courage in combat in Iraq. Rescued fellow marine under heavy fire.
9. Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller: Miller’s story has not yet been told nor have any awards been announced. Insiders tell ANSJ that his actions were the stuff of legend.
10. Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale: UPDATE: Navy Cross. No awards for these two marines announced yet. Killed while preventing a massive truck bomb from reaching their fellow Marines.

Thanks to Cassy Fiano and Drew at Ace for the update on Haerter and Yale.

Capt. Zaor Makaradze, the 1st Georgian Infantry Brigade civil-military affairs officer, gives snacks to residents of a village near Shaykh Saad, Iraq. The 214th Fires Brigade, the 1st Georgian Infantry Brigade, and El Salvador’s Cuscatlan Battalion work together to identify civil-military projects that will have an immediate impact on the villages surrounding coalition checkpoints.

DVIDS
Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles, 214th Fires Brigade PAO

Passable roads are something that are taken for granted in developed countries, but in Iraq’s rural countryside, road conditions can mean the difference between life and death.

With the onset of winter rains, many of Iraq’s roads become too muddy to navigate. In the villages surrounding a coalition checkpoint near Shaykh Saad, at least two residents died in recent months after impassible road conditions kept them from accessing medical treatment.

Now, after consulting with local Iraqi leaders to establish priorities under a general community-development plan, coalition Soldiers are undertaking improvements to the road system serving the Shaykh Saad area.

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