6/2/2008

in

Honor awarded to parents for the heroic bravery of their son.

Steve Ruback

President George W. Bush awarded the Medal of Honor to Tom and Romayne McGinnis, the parents of soldier Ross A. McGinnis, on Monday according to the *Los Angeles Times*. Tom and Romayne were awarded the honor for their son's heroic act of selflessness and bravery in Iraq.  
  
According to the *Times*, an insurgent tossed a grenade into the vehicle that McGinnis and four of his fellow soldiers were present at the time. McGinnis, manning the machine gun, witnessed the insurgent throw the grenade. Reacting on sheer bravery and instincts, McGinnis screamed out, "Grenade!" to his comrades, dropped down to where the grenade was located and smothered it with his back in order to absorb the explosion.  
  
This heroic act occurred in December of 2006. President Bush said of McGinnis at the ceremony, "America will always honor the name of this brave soldier who gave all for his country and was taken to rest at age 19. No one outside of this man's family can know the true weight of their loss."