"Honor in the Valley of Tears"

MoH recipient First Sergeant David H. McNerney, whom we honored here last March 17th, is the subject of a documentary, "Honor in the Valley of Tears", according to this story.

From the outside, 1st Sgt. David H. McNerney seems like any other aging warrior; his wars have become echoes, and he'd rather take his dog for a ride in his pickup than revisit them.

Only his soldiers are able to coax memories out of him, and through their eyes the story of the Crosby man's valor has become the subject of a documentary premiering today in Washington, D.C., at the GI Film Festival.

The 78-year-old, who defied death decades ago while saving lives on a Vietnam battlefield, will be there for the festivities and to say a final goodbye to the soldiers he still refers to as his “boys.”

Lung cancer, McNerney's doctors have told him, will soon claim his life.

“Everybody has to pass,” said McNerney, who has no children of his own. “It's my turn.”

For 50 men, it will be a time to say “thank you” and to honor a man they have come to revere.

“If it wasn't for him there'd be a whole lot more of us still over there,” said retired Sgt. Leonard W. McElroy, from his home in Bonner Springs, Kan.

We salute you, First Sgt. McNerney, and thank you for your service. Godspeed.

Cross posted at Say Anything