Monica Lin Brown...

Monica Lin Brown is a real American hero:

A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.

After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," [said Brown.]

The honor, courage, dedication, and willing sacrifice of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is a never-ending source of inspiration for me. For each Spc. Brown who is publicly recognized, there untold numbers of similar and smaller acts of valor and kindness by our troops over there.

The lamestream media rarely reports such good news, but there are plenty of places on the web (milblogs, Centcom, and military-focused sites) that do. Reading about our troops in those places will inspire you – and make you angry at the one-sided, America-is-always-wrong reporting in the lamestream media...