William Swenson’s valor at Ganjgal not recognized - Air Force Community - Air Force Times

William Swenson’s valor at Ganjgal not recognized

By his own account, Dakota Meyer would be dead if it weren’t for William Swenson.

As hell rained down upon them two years ago in eastern Afghanistan, the two men — Meyer, a Marine corporal, Swenson, an Army captain — worked side by side to retrieve the bodies of four fallen comrades.

Meyer will receive the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, joining at least eight others from that battle at Ganjgal who have received valor awards for bravery that day.

Swenson has received nothing.

Meyer sums it up bluntly: “Ridiculous.”

Pinned down on a hillside with several wounded U.S. and Afghan troops, Swenson helped defend the group from advancing Taliban fighters, killing at least two with a grenade at close range and then working to evacuate more casualties under fire.

After Meyer charged through enemy fire alone and on foot to find the missing four-man team, Swenson joined him in the chaos to load their bodies and gear onto a Humvee and take them home.

The Army will say only that Swenson is “up for some kind of valor award,” but offers nothing about what level or when the award might be finalized.

That raises two questions:

• Why is this taking so long?

• And is Swenson being ignored as payback for criticizing higher-ups for refusing to provide fire support during the battle? After all, two Army officers were reprimanded for their failures that day.

Given that the notoriously stingy Marine Corps managed to clear a Medal of Honor citation all the way past the White House, it’s hard to see what is taking the Army so long in Swenson’s case – except, perhaps, intentional delay somewhere along the line.

Like Meyer, Swenson is now out of the service. He has avoided attempts to reach him, but according to those who know him, remains bitter about the mistakes that led to so many deaths.

Swenson may not want any recognition, and that’s his prerogative. But the bottom line is that he deserves recognition — and whether or not Swenson intends to accept it, the Army is duty bound to make it happen.