Hero Cashe’s grave displays wrong military award
Published: October 3, 2011
WASHINGTON – Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe was awarded the Silver Star six years ago for running into a burning Bradley multiple times to save his fellow soldiers. Friends and family believe that he deserves the Medal of Honor, and have been pushing for that recognition for years.
But amazingly, as top Army officials consider whether to upgrade that honor, Cashe’s grave site doesn’t even reflect the award he did receive. Instead of the Silver Star, his headstone lists only the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Cashe’s family said Army officials had promised to replace the headstone with one acknowledging his Silver Star, but years have passed without any replacement arriving. The mistake is just the latest headache for the hero’s family, who have also struggled to get their deceased soldier’s awards records and medical files, as well as reimbursement for some funeral costs.
Doug Sterner, a historian who has spent years pursuing military fakers and pushing for better awards records, said officials from the National Personnel Records Center said they can not find Cashe’s official Silver Star citation.
That’s not uncommon, since the military’s awards databases are an inconsistent and confusing mash-up of paper and electronic records. But, Sterner said, it’s certainly frustrating.
Army officials are reviewing a proposal to upgrade Cashe’s Silver Star to the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award. That effort has been spearheaded by Cashe’s former battalion commander, but so far no action has been taken.
