We don't deserve them ...

Most days the headlines are full of crime and dishonesty. Much of our society is corrupt and too many of our leaders and celebrities are moral failures. But some Americans still stand tall and true. Example: Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army Special Forces. 

Sgt. Miller, in Afghanistan, found himself and his unit

    Surrounded on three sides by more than 100 enemy soldiers armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles, the Afghan troops broke and fled. The U.S. soldiers, part of an Army special forces unit on a reconnaissance mission, were pinned down.
    Staff Sergeant Robert Miller had been walking point and was separated from his unit. He was armed with a lightweight machine gun that could fire up to 1,000 rounds per minute.
    Miller made a quick decision.
    He charged.

    Miller ran toward the enemy, where machine guns and assault rifles were cutting down the retreating troops. He killed or wounded 10 enemy soldiers.
    But in the darkness of the valley, the sound and muzzle flash of Miller's weapon pinpointed his position. With every burst of fire, insurgents trained their aim on him.
    Miller continued charging forward, tossing hand grenades and firing at the enemy soldiers hidden in the hills overhead. His comrades say Miller's charge kept them from being flanked.
    Miller kept moving, tossing grenades, killing or wounding four more, destroying their firing positions.
    Seeing that his team was safe for the moment, Miller finally moved for cover.
    As he ran, a bullet hit him in the chest. At about the same time, his commander, Cpt. Robert Cusick, was hit, also in the chest.
    Still alive and armed with the unit's only machine gun, Miller kept firing as his team bounded back.
    Even as his unit fell back, Miller continued forward, crawling in the snow. His unit couldn't see him but the dust and debris from enemy grenades and bullets made it easy to know where he was.
    During the next 25 minutes, Miller was shot again in the chest.
    Now mortally wounded, he continued to give reports of the insurgent positions. He threw his final grenade and fired the last of his ammunition.

His official citation for the Congressional Medal of Honor describes the action:

As the group neared the small, steep, narrow valley that the enemy had inhabited, a large, well-coordinated insurgent force initiated a near ambush, assaulting from elevated positions with ample cover. Exposed and with little available cover, the patrol was totally vulnerable to enemy rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapon fire. As point man, Staff Sergeant Miller was at the front of the patrol, cut off from supporting elements, and less than 20 meters from enemy forces. Nonetheless, with total disregard for his own safety, he called for his men to quickly move back to covered positions as he charged the enemy over exposed ground and under overwhelming enemy fire in order to provide protective fire for his team. While maneuvering to engage the enemy, Staff Sergeant Miller was shot in his upper torso. Ignoring the wound, he continued to push the fight, moving to draw fire from over one hundred enemy fighters upon himself. He then again charged forward through an open area in order to allow his teammates to safely reach cover. After killing at least 10 insurgents, wounding dozens more, and repeatedly exposing himself to withering enemy fire while moving from position to position, Staff Sergeant Miller was mortally wounded by enemy fire. His extraordinary valor ultimately saved the lives of seven members of his own team and 15 Afghanistan National Army soldiers.

And his citation from the highest Authority, 

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

We do not deserve to be blessed with such men, but I thank God for them.  To the family and friends of Sgt. Miller, I pray God's peace. To my father and all the other men and women who have so proudly defended us, I say, "Thank you and God bless."