Friday's Internet Edition, September 10, 2010.
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Leader-Press correspondent - Former Copperas Cove resident Nick Bacon is in good position to see what happens to Congressional Medal of Honor winners after they go home.
Bacon is one of 24 MOH winners interviewed in Larry Smith's book, "Beyond Glory," which shows common threads among the men who receive the nation's highest military battlefield award. Bacon is also the president of the Medal of Honor Society, and the subject of a recent "Parade" magazine article about the book, also written by Smith.
Bacon's home is in his native Arkansas where he serves as the state's director of Veteran Affairs. He lived in Cove when stationed at Fort Hood in 1969 to 1973 and again in 1977 and 1978.
Bacon's MOH stemmed from action in Vietnam near Tam Ky on Aug. 26, 1968.
Bacon took out a machine gun nest with hand grenades after the enemy thought they had already shot him down. Bacon also engineered a scheme with a tank to evacuate wounded soldiers under heavy fire. President Richard Nixon presented Bacon the award on Nov. 24, 1969.
"Then you are expected to lead by example," Bacon said of life after the award ceremony. "You represent all those that you fought with.
"I've been told by others that it's a cross to bear and I believe it."
Smith's says his book title is relevant because these men were not seeking glory: it found them.
"They are simple, they are direct, they have humility," Smith said by e-mail. "They seem ordinary but they are not.
"They are the type of individuals who think of others before they think of themselves. They are stubborn as hell; they are risk-takers; and they are problem solvers."
Smith found that several of the MOH combat stories never received much public notice because the winners often did not like to talk about their experiences.
"Even among their peers," Smith said.
Past MOH Society President Harvey Barnum helped Smith select his 24 interviewees from a diverse cross section of soldiers. Smith says 137 MOH winners are alive now and believes their stories equally worth preserving.
Olympic documenter Bud Greenspan has told Smith of his interest in making a film based on the book, and Smith with actor Stephen Lang are working on a stage production.
Bacon has read the book and likes its format of short, easy to read stories, noting only a few technical errors, which only a military person would catch.
Bacon has also read the accounts of many other medal winners of the silver and bronze stars. These medals didn't exist until the 20th century, but many accounts of these combat stories often read just like those who received the MOH.
"You scratch your head and a lot of the silver stars: they were fantastic," Bacon said. "People want and need heroes, and this country needs heroes. We need role models and there are none greater than those who have extended so much for their country. We don't need to worship them, but we damn sure need to praise them."
Bacon believes books like "Beyond Glory" might do well on the market these days with more interest in the military since the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001.
"It's the first time since Pearl Harbor that some have gotten their eyes open," he said.
Bacon, 57, began his military career in 1963 at 17 and retired in 1984. His son James Lee Bacon is currently serving in Baghdad with the 720th Military Police Battalion, 411th MP Company, a unit his father also served in. Daughters Kristy DeKort and Kim Beck also live in the Copperas Cove-area with their families.
Former in-laws George and Doris Magnor live in Kempner.