MEDALS AWARDED

1988: US warship shoots down Iranian airliner

An American naval warship patrolling in the Persian Gulf has shot down
an Iranian passenger jet after apparently mistaking it for an F-14 fighter.
On July 3, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655) was shot down by USS
Vincennes on the Bandar Abbas-Dubai rout, which resulted in the loss of
life of 290 innocent civilians from six nations including 66 children. There
were 38 non-Iranians aboard. "I will never apologize for the United States
— I don't care what the facts are... I'm not an apologize-for-America kind
of guy." - George Bush, Aug 2 1988
Medals awardedWhile issuing notes of regret over the loss of human life, the U.S. government
has, to date, neither admitted any wrongdoing or responsibility in this tragedy,
nor apologized, but continues to blame Iranian hostile actions for the incident.
The men of the Vincennes were all awarded combat-action ribbons. Commander
Lustig, the air-warfare coordinator, even won the navy's Commendation Medal
for "heroic achievement", his "ability to maintain his poise and confidence under
fire" having enabled him to "quickly and precisely complete the firing procedure."
WILL UKRAINE BE AWARDS MEDALS FOR THE MISSILE ATTACK ON
FLIGHT MH17 !! WILL PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVIST 'OR' RUSSIAN BE ACCUSED
OF MANSLAUGHTER FOR THE MISSILE ATTACK ON FLIGHT MH17!