First things first. Let it be known that the Bronze Star Medal sure as hell ain’t what it used to be.
Of the dozens and dozens of medals and ribbons that the Department of Defense has authorized for wear by member of the Armed Forces, each branch recognizes only four for personal heroism. Of those four, only three are for individual valor in combat.
Example: For the US Marine Corps, the highest to lowest would be;
- Medal of Honor
- Navy Cross
- Silver Star
For those who distinguish themselves by acts of individual heroism not involving the enemy (usually in peacetime) would be the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.
There are a handful that could be awarded in either time of war or time of peace, such as the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star or the Joint Service Commendation Medal. When awarded for acts of valor, we in the military refer to the “Combat V.”
Speaking only of my time in the Marine Corps, there was a time when you NEVER saw a Bronze Star Medal without the Combat V. But that was then, this is now.
Even in the Marine Corps, the Bronze Star (without Combat V) is being awarded so often, it’s often derided as “The Staff Officer Good Conduct Medal” or the “Sergeant Major Service Medal.”
Now we come to Joe Biden making just as much political hay off his son, Joseph “Beau” Biden III, being awarded the Bronze Star during his tour of duty in Iraq with the Delaware National Guard. Just so we’re all clear, the younger Biden was assigned to a staff position (as a lawyer), never saw combat, and his Bronze Star is sans Combat V.
Nonetheless, Senile Joe seems to think his eldest son died in Iraq (see video below).
But keep in mind, Slow Joe has a history of falling up stairs, shaking hands with no one, and asking dead people to stand up and take a bow.
As the Washington Examiner notes from Camp Hale in Colorado (emphasis mine);
President Joe Biden invoked the memory of his late son Beau Biden Wednesday while declaring the Camp Hale Continental Divide a national monument but said the former Delaware attorney general and military reservist “lost his life in Iraq.”
“American soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division scaled that 1800-foot cliff, at night, caught the Germans by surprise, captured key positions, and broke through the Germans’ defensive line at a pivotal point in the war,” the president stated before mentioning Beau. “Just imagine — I mean it sincerely — I say this as a father of a man who won the Bronze Star, the conspicuous service medal, and lost his life in Iraq. Imagine the courage, the daring, and the genuine sacrifice — genuine sacrifice they all made.”
President @JoeBiden incorrectly said his late son Beau “lost his life in Iraq.” https://t.co/oZ9GRyRjcI pic.twitter.com/8OvjbQgUaT
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 12, 2022
If it sounds as if I’m being rather harsh of the late Biden, you’re right.
After all, when Beau Biden was the Attorney General of Delaware, he had the opportunity to ensure that a fellow rich kid, Robert H. Richards IV, went to prison for raping his own three-year-old daughter.
Coming as a surprise to no one, Beau Biden made sure that Richards didn’t serve one second in prison.
As reported by Carmine Sabata Jr. on Oct 22, 2020, for PJ Media (emphasis mine);
A well-connected heir to the Dupont fortune got no prison time after admitting to raping his three-year-old daughter, thanks in part to the actions of then-Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
It was February 6, 2009, when Robert H. Richards IV, the great-grandson of Irénée du Pont, the heir to his family’s fortune, admitted to the crime, The News Journal reported.
Richards was charged with two counts of second-degree rape in October 2007, punishable by a minimum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
“Attorney General Beau Biden’s office indicted him on the same charges in January 2008,” explained the News Journal. “But in June of that year, days before a scheduled trial, [prosecutor Renee] Hrivnak allowed Richards to plead guilty to one count of fourth-degree rape, which carries no mandatory prison time with sentencing guidelines that recommend a sentence of zero to 30 months in prison.”
“I feel horrible what I did to my daughter,” the defendant said during his hearing in front of Superior Court Judge Jan R. Jurden.
“I feel very remorseful and very sad about what, the damage that I’ve done to her. There’s no excuse for what I’ve done to her. It’s horrible and, and I’d like probation, like [attorney Eugene] Maurer has said,” he begged.
The judge gave him an eight-year prison sentence but suspended all of it in favor of Level-II probation which would require an intensive treatment program at an inpatient psychiatric clinic in Massachusetts and monthly meetings with a probation officer.
But Richards did not complete the program. He did not even start the program, The News Journal reported.
Which begs the question, who signed off on this?
The answer is the late son of Joe Biden, Beau Biden.
As rape is a state crime, the plea deal required the office of the state’s attorney general, which at the time was headed by Beau Biden, to agree to the deal.
At first Biden’s office hit Richards with two charges of second-degree rape. But then his office offered Richards a plea deal to have him cop to fourth-degree rape and recommended probation for the DuPont heir.