Aleister Crowley: Self-Proclaimed Occultist

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley may very well be the most famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) occultist of all time. He was a self-proclaimed magician and one time prophet; he supposedly engaged in ritual sex with members of both sexes, tried to communicate with the devil, battled in 'magical' duels and tortured and killed animals. He may have done or been all, some or none of these, but he was certainly a strangely mysterious man. At one point, he was known as the "Wickedest Man in the World." He apparently relished his reputation.

Aleister Crowley was born on October 12, 1875 in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. His given name was Edward Alexander Crowley. His father was a wealthy brewer. Both of his parents were staunch Puritans. They viewed sex as a one of the worst sins. How they had children with this view is anyone's guess.

Aleister rebelled against his parents' beliefs for most of his life. His behavior led to his mother referring to him as 'the Beast.' It appears that she truly believed that her son was the antichrist. It is quite possible that his mother's religious beliefs coupled with her name-calling attributed to Aleister's grandiose and boastful nature. Aleister obviously believed himself to be a powerful dark force as an adult. Furthermore, his rebellion against his parents' views regarding sex led him to be an overtly sexual person, some might say to a fault.

Aleister's father died when he was 11 years old. That same year, Aleister supposedly tortured and killed his own cat. There have been rumors of other, more horrible things regarding Aleister's actions as a child. However, hardly anything can be substantiated, including acts mentioned by Crowley himself in his autobiography. We do know that Edward changed his name to Aleister, so as not to have the same first name as is father. We also know that he lost his virginity at a very young age. Rumor has it that he was 14-years old and that it was with a servant girl.

As a boy, Aleister was forced to attend religious schools. In 1892, Aleister Crowley went away to study in Malvern. He reportedly engaged in some sort of shocking homosexual act at that time. He then went on to Tonbridge, were he supposedly contracted gonorrhea from a prostitute. He went to college at Cambridge. There, instead of a sexually transmitted disease, he picked up a love for mountain climbing and the occult. At the age of 21, he inherited his father's money and was able to start traveling, which he continued to do for most of his life.

In 1898, Aleister Crowley joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This order was dedicated to 'white magic.' Aleister was thrown out of the order in 1900. He later claimed that he got into a magical battle with some of the other members, during which his coat caught on fire. Other famous authors of the time were supposedly members of the order. However, only one or two of these names has been confirmed as members, one being William Butler Yeats.

After Crowley's altercation with the Golden Dawn, he spent some time abroad. In 1903, he married a woman named Rose Kelly. Together the couple had two children, one of whiom died at the age of two. In 1904, the couple was vacationing in Egypt. While there, Rose claimed to have a vision of sorts, immediately after which Aleister claimed to have a vision of his own. Aleister's lasted for days while he wrote what would become "The Book of Law" (just one of numerous books penned by Crowley). The following year, he went on a mountaineering expedition in the Himalayas, which ended in death for some of his companions. From there, he went to Canada and the United States. His first daughter died of typhus while he was away.

In 1907, Aleister Crowley founded a magical order known as the Argentium Astrum. Two years later, he divorced his first wife. He reportedly began a relationship with Victor Neuberg around the same time. Three years after that, he joined the Order of the Eastern Templars. It was around this time that he supposedly began experimenting with ritual sex magic. He was known to have casual sex frequently. Women and men alike were drawn to him, despite his failing looks. He spent some time in the U.S. between 1915 and 1919 where he spread anti-British propaganda. He later claimed that he was a British supporter during the war.

Aleister Crowley met Leah Hirsig the same year he left the United States. The pair seemed to be smitten with each other and all kinds of nasty rumors (and later, claims made by Aleister) circulated about their sex life. They had one child together, but they split in 1924. Crowley then spent some time traveling and being kicked out of both Sicily and France. In 1929, he married Maria Ferrari de Miramar. This union would result in no children. Aleister died less than 20 years later. He was seventy-two years old.

Aleister spent the last years of his life chained by the drugs he had used for many years. He was a heroin addict and he was nearly broke. There are several stories regarding his death, one is that he died alone. Another story is that his last words were a curse on his doctor for not giving him any heroin. The story goes on to say that the doctor died on December 2, 1947, one day after Crowley. Yet another story says that his last words were "I am perplexed." All that is certain is that he was cremated and his ashes given to his still loyal followers.

Looking back on Aleister Crowley's life, it is important to note some of the more bizarre claims that have been made by him and others regarding it. So, in closing, here is a list of such claims. You may choose to believe them or not. Either way, it is undeniable that he made quite an impression.

• Aleister Crowley mentioned in his autobiography that he was born with three 'marks of Buddha.' One of these marks was four hairs growing out of the center of his heart in the shape of a swastika.
• Many people believe that Aleister Crowley was a spy for the British government. This is an interesting claim given the amount of travel Aleister put in and the propaganda he spread.
• Another claim made by Aleister was that he was the reincarnation of several famous occultists. One of these men was Eliphas Levi, who died the year that Aleister was born.
• Rumor has it that Aleister convinced his girlfriend Leah to copulate with a goat. Some versions of this story state that the goat was meant to be sacrificed at the moment of climax, but that it didn't cooperate. Its throat was slit anyway.

Sources

Deese, Patrick, Aleister Crowley, the Great Beast, retrieved 4/28/10, popsubculture.com/pop/bio_project/aleister_crowley.html

Idi Amin: The Self-Proclaimed "Last King of Scotland"

Caricature of Idi Amin
by Edmund S. Valtman

Idi Amin Dada Oumee, or simply Idi Amin, was one of the most monstrous rulers to come out of Africa in the 20th century. He is known for having been absurdly self-indulgent, cruel and unwise. He was a liar, a thief (in that he grew richer while his people grew poorer) and a murderer. Uganda was the place of his birth and the country he ruled for nearly a decade. He claimed to place it on a pedestal above all else, but he was really driving it into the ground. He was killing Uganda's people and their means of earning a living. Along the way, he killed his chances of becoming all of the things he declared himself to be.

Idi Amin was born sometime around 1925 in Kokoba, Uganda. He was raised in Lugazi, Uganda, without his father. Idi led a simple life, raising goats and getting minimal education. It is said that he only attended school until the fourth grade and was functionally illiterate.

What Idi Amin lacked in intelligence, he made up for with his skill and strength in sports. Later in life, he was overweight and unhealthy, but as a young man and during his time with the military he was fit. Amin enlisted in the British colonial army in 1946. He played rugby, boxed and swam in the military and he excelled in these areas. In fact, he held the title of heavyweight boxing champion in Uganda for nearly ten years.

Idi Amin climbed the ranks steadily. Within fifteen years of becoming a soldier, he became one of the first lieutenants in Uganda. His propensity for cruelty and violence became evident during this time, but it was largely ignored until 1962, when the British authorities asked the Prime Minister of Uganda to arrest Idi and make him stand trial for his crimes. That year, Uganda became independent of Great Britain. Instead of making Idi Amin stand trial, Prime Minister Apolo Milton Obote promoted Amin to captain. By 1967, Idi Amin was a major general. Obote would soon regret his leniency.

In 1972, Idi Amin staged a successful, but arguably cowardly, coup and took control of Uganda. He waited until Obote was out of the country and then positioned his military followers so that Obote could not return. Oblivious of what was to come, the people of Uganda embraced Idi Amin. He gave the appearance of a man who understood the people and wished to give them control of the country. He spoke as if he was but a humble soldier who hoped to keep the country safe until a new, better government could be established. He could not have lied more if he had said he was purple. He was skilled at deception, but only for a short time. His true self became evident rather quickly.

During his time as President of Uganda, Idi Amin was responsible for an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 people. He banished all Asians from Uganda, roughly 50,000 individuals, thus crippling the economy. He attacked Israelis and the British because they would not sell him weapons. He reportedly killed two of his wives or had them killed. It is rumored that he propped his dead wives up at the dinner table and made his children dine with the dead body present. This may not be true. It would have been difficult to do this with Kay Amin, whose body was found horribly mutilated.

Among all the examples of Idi Amin's hubris, the following are the most telling. There was a movie made about Idi Amin called "The Last King of Scotland." It was named thus because Idi said he would become King of Scotland if they asked him. He even took to calling himself the King of Scotland. (He was no such thing.) The title he gave himself was "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland Lord of All Beasts on Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in particular." As if that weren't bad enough, he forced the paper to refer to him as "His Excellency, Al Hadji, Dr. Idi Amin Dada, Life President of Uganda, conqueror of the British Empire, distinguished service order of the Military Cross, Victoria Cross and Professor of Geography."

Like many men who went mad with power before him, Idi Amin was paranoid, suspicious and superstitious. He behaved erratically and made decisions that were extremely ill advised. His lunacy was such that he did not realize he was his own worst enemy. Thinking it would embarrass Great Britain, he had four British men carry him around in a sedan chair at a rally in 1975. In 1978, he finally made the decision that would ruin his career in politics. He invaded Tanzania. Tanzanian troops and Ugandan rebels drove him out of Uganda shortly thereafter.

Idi Amin left Uganda with some of the wealth he had accumulated during his reign of terror. First, he went to Libya, then on to Saudi Arabia. He lived a comfortable life in Saudi Arabia until his death in 2003. He was never tried for his crimes.

Deborah Sampson: Undercover Female Soldier of the Revolutionary War

Engraving of Deborah Sampson

Deborah Sampson is one of the rare women who literally fought the British during the Revolutionary War. While other women were doing their part by caring for their families, standing behind their husbands and tactfully lending their opinion on political issues, Deborah Sampson was donning men’s clothing and carrying a rifle. She wasn’t a feminist and she wasn’t railing against injustice; she was simply doing what she could for her country. Aside from her bravery and skill as a soldier, there was nothing particularly unique about her. Perhaps that is what made her such an admirable individual.

Deborah Sampson was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. She was the oldest of six children born into an impoverished family. She had two sisters and three brothers. Her parents were Jonathan and Deborah Sampson (originally spelt Samson). Before Deborah was five-years-old, her father left his family to seek his fortune at sea. It was later learned that he likely died there. Dead or not, he never returned to his wife and children. Deborah’s mother had no means to care for her children and so she sent them all to stay with friends, relatives and neighbors. Her namesake was sent to stay with a female relative, who unfortunately died three years later.

After the death of Deborah’s foster mother, she went to live with another family for a couple of years. When her time there was up, a deacon named Jeremiah Thomas took her on as an indentured servant. It would seem that Jeremiah was good to Deborah, but she certainly worked very hard in both the fields and in the home, becoming a skilled laborer during her time there. She was also allowed to attend school when work around the farm was scarce. This enabled her to become a teacher at the age of 18 when her servitude was over. She stayed with the deacon for a little while longer, but then Deborah Sampson began leading a very different life.

Soon after Deborah Sampson left her longtime home, she began dressing as a man and enjoying freedoms she couldn’t have in women’s clothing. She also attempted to enlist with the Continental Army, but was soon found out. Undeterred, she tried again and on May 20, 1782, Deborah Sampson enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army as Robert Shirtliff. After she had left Massachusetts with her regiment, her church excommunicated her for her previous behavior. None of them knew that she had succeeded in enlisting.

Deborah Sampson’s time in the military was eventful. During a skirmish in New York, she was wounded in both the head and leg. She hid the leg wound so that her gender would not be discovered. Her comrades did not suspect that Robert was a woman; they just assumed that “he” was very boyish. Nonetheless, her gender was eventually discovered in Philadelphia. She had come down with malignant fever and was hospitalized. A kind doctor treated her in the hospital and then allowed her to stay in his home. He did eventually reveal her secret, but he did so while extolling her admirable qualities. General Henry Knox gave her an honorable discharge on October 25, 1783.

Deborah returned to Massachusetts and found work on a farm. She married a farmer named Benjamin Gannett in April of 1784. The couple had three children together. Their names were Earl, Mary and Patience. Deborah was granted a single soldier’s pension payment of 34 pounds around 1792. Years later, her friend Paul Revere penned a letter to Congress requesting a fair soldier’s pension for the veteran, Deborah Sampson. The request was granted and in 1804, she began receiving a monthly pension of four dollars a month.

In 1802, Deborah Sampson gave lectures about her service, during which she donned her Army uniform and conducted drills with her rifle. She must have been quite the sight to people of colonial Massachusetts. This would be the first time she was able to reveal both of her identities in public without fear. She died twenty-three years later, at the age of sixty-six. Her body was interred at the Rockridge Cemetery in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Sources

Boris, Danuta, Deborah Sampson, retrieved 2/27/10, distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/sampson.html

Barney, Lora, Deborah Sampson, retrieved 2/27/10, teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-famous/sampson.htm

Nellie Bly: Famed Journalist

Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly was one of the most celebrated newspaper reporters of all time. She worked in a time when women in her field were nearly unheard of in the United States. She took assignments that many men had not dared to take before her. She revolutionized investigative journalism and brought the plight of women and the poor to the best newspapers of the day. Her quest for knowledge, her daring and her cunning were unmatched by any of her colleagues. In short, she was a truly amazing woman.

Nellie Bly’s birth name was Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She was born in Cochran Mills, Pennsylvania on May 5, 1864. Her father was Judge Michael Cochran and her mother was Mary Jane Cochran. Her family was rather well off, but unfortunately, her father died when she was only six years old. The judge did not leave a will and so his wife and child were given none of his property. The entire estate was sold at auction. Faced with financial instability, Mary Jane remarried shortly after her husband’s death so that she and her daughter would be provided for.

Mary Jane’s new husband was an abusive drunk. After being married to him for several years, she decided to seek a divorce from him. Her daughter Elizabeth testified in court on her mother’s behalf, and the two were eventually free of him. However, this terrible situation left them in the same position of financial instability that they were in years before. Young Elizabeth sought an education at the Indiana Normal school when she was fifteen. Unfortunately she was only able to afford one semester and was forced to return home. Roughly three years later, she got the big break that she needed. She would be able to support herself and, oftentimes, her mother for most of the rest of her life.

When Elizabeth was eighteen years old, she read an editorial by Erasmus Wilson that she found to be offensively sexist. She decided to write an anonymous letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch under the pseudonym, “Lonely Orphan Girl.” The editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch, George Madden, enjoyed the letter and decided to run an ad in the Sunday edition, asking the “Lonely Orphan Girl” to reveal herself. The Monday after the ad ran, Elizabeth went to the paper’s offices and was given a job writing for them. Her first assignment was a formal reply to the sexist editorial that had angered her. She was soon given a full time position, but she needed a professional pen name. She chose Nellie Bly.

Nellie mainly worked on women’s and human rights pieces. She often went undercover in unsavory environments to get her stories. She reported on the mistreatment of women and children in professional situations, among other things. Eventually her work caught the attention of the people that she was writing about, who also happened to advertise in the Pittsburgh Dispatch. In an effort to smooth things over with their advertisers, the Dispatch decided to put her on some less inflammatory assignments, but Nellie Bly would have none of it.

Instead of taking her new assignments, Nellie Bly traveled to Mexico for about six months between 1886 and 1887. While there, she took notice of the poverty that was rampant in the country and the corrupt government that was exacerbating the already troubled situation. She decided to write about it and send those articles to the U.S. to be published. The daring woman was kicked out of the country for her efforts.

When Nellie came back from Mexico, she decided to go to New York City and try her luck there. She was there for about six months before she finally got her big break. She interviewed with the managing editor at the New York World, who was impressed with her. The man gave her $25 for her promise to remain available for the New York World until he could speak with the paper’s owner, Joseph Pulitzer, about employing her full time. Nellie Bly was put on staff at the New York World in September of 1887. She did dangerous undercover work for the paper, including having herself admitted to an insane asylum so she could reveal the atrocities occurring there.

In 1888 the executives of the paper came up with the idea to send a man around the world in eighty days, like the Jules Verne character, Phileas Fogg. When Nellie heard of this, she fought so that she could be the reporter who got that assignment. She even stated that she would do it in less time for another publication if they didn’t give the job to her. She began her trip on November 14, 1889. She wrote about her trip daily and her journal of the events was published in the New York World during her absence. She made the trip in 72 days, six hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds.

Nellie believed that she should have been given a bonus for increasing the paper’s sales, but she received nothing. So, she resigned from the New York World for a time, but she eventually returned in 1893 and picked up her habit of writing about women’s rights again. However, she abandoned her life as a reporter to marry Robert Livingstone Seaman on April 15, 1895. Robert was ten years older than Bly and a millionaire business owner. The couple was married for ten years before Robert died.

Nellie took over her husband’s businesses upon his death and instigated many changes within them. She began offering health care, physical fitness programs and libraries to her employees. Unfortunately, she wasn’t very business savvy and so the businesses eventually went bankrupt in her care. She went to Europe in 1914 to get away from her failure and while she was there, WWI began. Bly immediately went back to her old ways and began reporting what she saw there. She did this for five years until she received news that her mother was ill. She returned home in the year 1919.

After returning home, Bly began working for the New York World again. Three years later, the world lost this talented reporter forever. On January 27, 1922, Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a.k.a Nellie Bly died of pneumonia at 8:35 a.m. She was fifty-seven years old.

Sources

Reuben, Paul, PAL: Perspectives in American Literature A Research and Reference Guide - An Ongoing Project, Chapter 6: Nellie Bly, retrieved 11/12/09

Women of the Hall, Nelly Bly, retrieved 11/12/09, https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/elizabeth-jane-cochran/

John Lincoln Clem: Child Soldier

Muster card showing Clem
signed up under the name Klem

John Lincoln Clem was a soldier during the Civil War. He saw action at many battles, including the Battle of Chickamauga. He was a dedicated patriot and was known for his willingness to march right into battle, despite the dangers that surrounded him. He was also known as ‘Johnny Shiloh’ and ‘The Drummer Boy of Chickamauga.’ He was also only twelve years old when he enlisted in the Union Army.

John Lincoln Clem was born John Joseph Klem in Newark, Ohio on August 13, 1851. He decided to run away from home when he was a few months short of his tenth birthday. It was his intention to join up with the Union Army. He first tried to join up with the Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, but his age kept them from accepting him. Still, the young man persisted.

Sources vary as to whether John Clem first joined up with the Twenty-Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry or the Twenty-Second Michigan Infantry Regiment. However, it was the men of the Twenty-Second Michigan Infantry Regiment who eventually started pooling money together to pay the young man. They gave him a position as their drummer boy. They also outfitted him with a uniform and a gun, which were modified to suit his small stature. John Clem was often said to have been small for his age. He may have looked like a seven-year-old boy on the battlefield.

It was in May of 1863 that John Clem was finally allowed to officially join the Union Army. He had already been present at several Civil War battles, by that time, if you can imagine such a thing. The Civil War was the bloodiest and most deadly ever fought by the United States. It is quite the thing to imagine a young child marching bravely into battle with his drum and his rifle. Nonetheless, that is what he did. There is a story that John Clem’s drum was hit by a canon at the Battle of Shiloh. However, this sounds a little dubious. If it had happened, he would’ve had to have been with a different regiment. The Twenty-Second Michigan Infantry Regiment was not formed until after the Battle of Shiloh.

John Clem was definitely present at the Battle of Chickamauga. He is credited with shooting and killing a Confederate colonel there, at point blank range. He may have also been captured at the Battle of Chickamauga. However, some sources say he was captured after the battle. Either way, he was relieved of his uniform, which, by all accounts, bothered him a great deal. He had a hat with three bullet holes in it (or so it is said) that was very dear to him. He was released in a prisoner exchange soon after he was captured. He also changed his name to John Lincoln Clem around this time.

John Clem was discharged in 1864. He went home after his discharge and completed his schooling. It wasn’t long before he started entertaining thoughts of rejoining the military, though. After his graduation from high school, he tried to enter West Point Academy, but had difficulties. He was eventually allowed to reenter the military anyway. He served until 1915, when he retired as a Major General.

John Clem earned himself the distinction of being the youngest ever noncommissioned officer in the United States Army after the Battle of Shiloh, when he was promoted to lance corporal. He was also the last Civil War veteran to retire from the Army. He passed away in San Antonio, Texas on May 13, 1937. He was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Sources

Johnny Klem, retrieved 12/18/09, ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=85

John L. Clem, 1851-1937, retrieved 12/18/09, hmbd.org/marker.asp?marker=12579 (Page No Longer Exists)

Baldwin IV: The "Leper King" of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV, otherwise know as the "Leper King," was king of Jerusalem from 1174-1183. He is known for having been brave and just, despite his youth and his debilitating illness. He was, as mentioned above, only king for a very short time. However, the impression that he left obviously lasted quite a long time.

Baldwin IV was born in 1161. His father was Almaric I. His mother was Almaric I's first wife, Agnes of Courtenay. Baldwin IV grew up in Jerusalem, in his father's court. He had several tutors, one of which was William of Tyre, among the most brilliant men of the time. William taught Baldwin IV subjects like philosophy and history. Baldwin IV had an embarrassing stutter. He worked hard with his tutors to perfect his speech. He was also taught to be a religious man, a role that he embraced throughout his tragically short life.

When Baldwin IV was nine-years-old, William noticed that he felt no pain when he was roughhousing with his friends. Some time later, it was discovered that Baldwin's immunity to pain was due to leprosy. The blonde-haired, brave and devout young prince was doomed. It would not be long before the other symptoms of leprosy began to manifest themselves. Baldwin IV would come to suffer from painful and/or painless sores, temporary and later permanent loss of mobility and ultimately, blindness. However, that did not stop him from making the most of his life.

When Baldwin IV was not being tutored by scholars, he was being taught to fight. He became an able equestrian as well as a skilled swordsman. These skills would come in handy during his reign as king. The leader of the Saracens, Saladin, or Salah al-Din, would relentlessly try to take control of Jerusalem from Baldwin IV, a feat that he would eventually accomplish, but not during Baldwin IV's lifetime.

Baldwin IV's father died when Baldwin was thirteen-years-old. Thus, he was crowned king of Jerusalem on July 15, 1174. Raymond III of Tripoli was named regent because the young king was not yet of age to rule. On July 15, 1176, he came of age. That same year, Baldwin IV's sister, and heir to the throne, Sibylla married William de Montferrat. Her union with William had been prearranged by Raymond. William died the following year. Sibylla was pregnant with a son.

When Baldwin IV's brother-in-law died, Baldwin was sixteen-years-old. That year, Baldwin IV proved that he was a skilled military strategist and a dedicated king. He defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard despite being greatly outnumbered and quite ill. He personally led his men to victory. It was the shining moment of his life.

In 1180, Sibylla married Guy de Lusignan. Three years later, Baldwin IV named Guy regent because of his failing health. At the time, the rogue lord of Kerak, Raynald de Chatillon was attacking Muslim caravans and provoking the Saracens. Not long after Guy was named regent, Saladin besieged Kerak. Guy essentially wimped out and Baldwin IV was forced to end the siege himself. Guy still refused to fight Saladin and so, Baldwin IV took back his appointment as regent. Sibylla and Guy then fled to Ascalon.

Baldwin IV then crowned his five-year-old nephew king. Baldwin IV was still acting king, but he may have wanted to ensure that Guy did not become king of Jerusalem through his marriage to Sibylla, should he die. Raymond III was again appointed regent, this time in the event of Baldwin IV's death. In 1184, Baldwin tried, unsuccessfully, to have Sibylla's marriage to Guy de Lusignan annulled. Unfortunately, he died the next year. He was only twenty-five-years old.

Baldwin V died not long after his uncle. He had been a sickly child and a last hope to keep Guy from the throne. Sibylla became ruler of Jerusalem upon her son's death. She subsequently crowned her husband king. Saladin conquered Jerusalem during Guy's rule.

Sources

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, retrieved 4/21/10, freerepublic.com/focus/news/1628480/posts

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, retrieved 4/21/10, biographybase.com/biography/Baldwin_IV_of_Jerusalem.html

Michael A. Monsoor: Medal of Honor Recipient

Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael Monsoor (Center)

Michael A. Monsoor was a Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) of the United States Navy. He was the quintessential warrior with a zest for pushing himself physically and mentally to meet and defeat any challenge placed before him. By all accounts, he was exceptional even for the elite SEALs. He proved that when he laid down his life to save the lives of his fellow SEALs and some Iraq Army soldiers in Ar Ramadi, Iraq on September 29, 2006. Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael Monsoor was a devout Catholic and it is notable that the day he died in an ultimate act of bravery was also Saint Michael’s Day.

Michael Monsoor was born in Long Beach, California on April 5, 1981 to George and Sally Monsoor. He was raised in Garden Grove, California with his three siblings, James, Sara and Joseph. He was an avid sportsman throughout his school years, despite having a bad case of asthma. He fought through it and strove to better himself physically, and he was successful. He graduated from Garden Grove High School in 1999 and enlisted in the Navy in 2001.

Monsoor graduated from SEAL training in March of 2005 and was deployed to Ar Ramadi, Iraq in April of 2006. He quickly distinguished himself as an astoundingly brave man. He earned himself a silver star when he pulled a wounded man to safety while under heavy enemy fire; he returned fire while he was dragging the man. He also earned a bronze star for “Heroic Achievement from 12 April to 29 September 2006.” He received both medals posthumously.

On September 29, 2006, Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Monsoor was on sniper overwatch duty on a rooftop in Ar Ramadi, Iraq with three fellow SEALs and eight Iraqi Army soldiers. The men were keeping watch on the rooftop when a grenade hit Michael in the chest and fell to the ground. He shouted “grenade” to warn his comrades, but Monsoor was the only one of them that was close enough to the exit to escape the blast.

Without removing his eyes from the grenade, Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Monsoor dropped to the ground and covered the grenade with his body.  His actions saved the lives of eleven men. Two of the three SEALs he was with were injured, but none severely. One escaped injury altogether. Michael Monsoor died roughly thirty minutes later from the wounds he sustained. He was 25 years old. He is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

On April 8, 2008, Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael Monsoor was awarded the Medal of Honor “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as automatic weapons gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 29 September 2006.” His parents received the medal for him from President George W. Bush at a ceremony in the White House.

Sources

Medal of Honor Recipients; Iraq, retrieved 8/30/09, history.army.mil/html/moh/iraq.html

Petty Officer Second Class (Seal); Michael Anthony Monsoor, retrieved 8/30/09, navy.mil/moh/Monsoor/Bio.html