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is a young cousin who couldn't wait to serve. He gave all.


Army Times: McGinnis to get Medal of Honor

The article says the Knox soldier will be honored during a ceremony in June.
Spc. Ross McGinnis of Knox, who was killed in Iraq when he smothered a grenade with his body, will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor, according to the Army Times.
The publication, in an article by staff writer Michelle Tan, says that sources who asked to remain anonymous confirmed the information to Army Times. The article says that McGinnis will be honored during a ceremony at the White House that is expected to take place in June.
It’s longstanding Army policy not to comment on the status of Medal of Honor nominations, Army Times said.
McGinnis, a Keystone High School graduate who was 19 when he died on Dec. 4, 2006, would become the second soldier to receive the nation’s highest valor award for actions while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Army Times reported. Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed April 4, 2003, fighting off insurgents in a fierce battle south of Baghdad, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor two years after he died.
McGinnis is credited with saving the lives of four fellow soldiers and sacrificing his own life by throwing his back against a radio mount in a Humvee where the live grenade was lodged. The grenade had been thrown from the roof of a nearby building, according to Army Times.
The grenade exploded, hitting McGinnis on his sides and lower back under his vest, and killed him instantly, Army Times said.
McGinnis, the son of Thomas and Romayne McGinnis of Knox, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.


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Memories of fallen soldier stay strong
By HEATHER LESKANIC
Knox community moved deeply by McGinnis’ sacrifice
KNOX — The mention of Knox hometown hero Ross A. McGinnis still brings tears to the eyes of many in the community as memories of the proud young soldier in uniform come flooding back.
McGinnis, 19, is to be the second soldier to receive the Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest valor award — for actions while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On Dec. 4, 2006, he was manning the turret in the last Humvee of a six-vehicle patrol in northeast Baghdad when an insurgent threw a grenade from the roof of a nearby building.
As he stood up to get ready to jump out of the vehicle as he had been trained to do, officials say McGinnis realized the other four soldiers in the vehicle did not know where the grenade had landed and did not have enough time to escape.
He threw his back against the radio mount and smothered the explosive with his body. McGinnis was killed instantly while the other four men survived.
“I feel so honored to have known him I can’t help but think that he was my teacher in some ways,” Keystone High School teacher Erik Sundling said Tuesday.
The Army Times reported on Monday that sources said McGinnis would receive the Medal of Honor.
McGinnis’ father, Thomas, has declined to comment.
Vicky Walters, the principal at Keystone High School, said she had spoken with the family and that it was always believed McGinnis would receive the honor.
She said she still gets goose bumps when she thinks of McGinnis and his sacrifice.
“It’s still very much on our minds here,” said Walters. “This is a very tremendous honor.”
She said the ceremony to award McGinnis the honor posthumously is planned for June 2 and 3 at the White House.
The family will be able to invite a certain number of guests, she said.
“This news is certainly a proud, yet bittersweet moment for the McGinnis family,” said Keystone teacher Bill Irwin. “I am sure I speak for many of Ross’ former teachers, mentors and friends in saying ‘Thank you Ross! Thank you for representing your family, community, school and nation in protecting our freedoms’.”
Irwin, who teaches American history, said being a soldier was what McGinnis wanted.
He enlisted for military service on his 17th birthday — Flag Day, June 14.
“He was just so proud of what he was doing,” said Walters.
Irwin recalls when McGinnis returned to school wearing his uniform after basic training.
“Ross didn’t say much about his training and what the Army expected of him,” he said. “He didn’t have to. The way he wore that uniform said it all.”
Sundling, an English teacher at Keystone, said McGinnis is only the second person in the history of Clarion County to receive the medal.
“I can’t begin to imagine the extremes of emotion that must be felt by his family, a mixture of profound loss and sadness blended with an intense pride of Ross,” he said.
McGinnis was described as a “100 percent guy or a 0 percent guy” at his memorial service.
“I saw the 100 percent Ross many times and it was impressive,” said Sundling.
Locally, McGinnis’ actions leave a lasting effect as he is remembered with a memorial scholarship, the renaming of the Clarion VFW Post 2145, and the recording of a song.
Destany Hotard, a 14-year-old girl from Jacksonville, Fla., flew to Knox to sing at Keystone’s Veterans Day program last year.
She recorded the ballad that was written by Los Angeles-based songwriter Seth Jackson.
“He was a hero I want you all to know all about one of our best, Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis,” is the refrain contained in the song.
Hotard used her own money to book studio time and sent a CD of the song to McGinnis’ parents, Thomas and Romayne.
McGinnis was posthumously promoted to specialist.
Clarion County Commissioner Donna Oberlander said Tuesday the commissioners were happy to hear news of the approval of the Medal of Honor for McGinnis.
“It’s one that is well deserved,” she said.
The first two recipients of the Ross A. McGinnis Service Scholarship were announced last year.
Ryan Seth, who graduated from Keystone High School in 2005 with the hometown hero, was awarded a $1,000 book scholarship while Michelle Strohmyer received the $2,000 outstanding serviceship award.
The McGinnis awards will be made each year and are based on what a student has done to serve people in their extended community.
It’s the result of self-initiated and self-sacrificing efforts rather than academic grades, SAT scores or attendance.
Seth said he and McGinnis were best friends as kids and played soccer and basketball together.
He recalled the day when McGinnis’ mother told him Ross was putting his life on the line every day.
“Ross was killed three weeks later,” said Seth. “Life is short. You have to live it to the fullest.”
Since 2002, Seth has provided approximately 410 hours of service to his community and country.
In May 2006, he and a group from Koinonia Christian Fellowship of Clarion University traveled to New Orleans to help in the recovery process from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Strohmyer has provided more than 1,000 hours of service to her community.
She has been a volunteer certified nurse’s aide, a volunteer firefighter, and a volunteer at elementary school cheer camp.
“The 9-11 terrorist attacks had a huge impact on the direction of my life,” she said. “As I watched the television screen, I could not believe all the men and women who risked their own lives to save others at this tragic time.”
McGinnis was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed April 4, 2003, fighting off insurgents in a fierce firefight south of Baghdad, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor two years after he died.
The other Clarion County resident to receive the Medal of Honor was Jeremiah Brown, a Civil War veteran who was awarded the citation in June 1896 for action on Oct. 27, 1864, in a battle at Petersburg, Va.
Brown, who entered the service out of Rimersburg, was a captain in Co. K, 148th Pennsylvania Infantry.