One was born in Nigeria and the other in Mexico but when the second-highest award for valor in our nation’s military treasure chest was pinned on two heroes several weeks ago, let there be no doubt that Ademola Fabayo and Juan Rodriguez-Chavez are very much United States Marines.

Capt. Fabayo and Staff Sgt. Rodriguez-Chavez have just been awarded the Navy Cross for their individual and repeated acts of heroism during an intense firefight that occurred in the village of Ganjgal, Afghanistan, on Sept. 8, 2009. Another Marine who fought that day, Cpl. Dakota Meyer, is being currently being considered as a candidate for the nation’s highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

But what warms your heart was explained by the Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, as he presented the awards. “Neither of the recipients of the Navy Cross today was born in this country. But through their active service, both have demonstrated a deep and enduring love for the United States of America and a commitment to defend everything it represents.”

“Your personal stories represent what’s best about this country – a country founded by and strengthened by peoples of different backgrounds,” the Secretary said when the awards ceremony was held at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, which is in Quantico, Va.

Curiously, much on the nation’s media ignored the awards, being instead drawn away by the revolting Anthony murder trial in Florida and the disgusting “Weiner-gate” involving a member of our Congress, but none of us should ever take men like Capt. Fabayo or Staff Sgt. Rodriguez-Chavez for granted or allow our prayers for our troops to waver.

“The valley, which is located very close to the Pakistani border, is a known approach route for insurgents,” Sec. Mabus explained and said that at least 50 Taliban fights were waiting in an ambush.

“As that column approached the village, just before sunrise, every light in the village went off. And minutes later the world became fire. From three sides of the column, over a distance of two-thirds of a mile on either side, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire began to rain down.”

The Marine Corps Times described what then happened that day. “Fabayo, then a first lieutenant, is credited with pushing into a kill zone on foot and engaging enemy at close range with his M4 carbine.

”(Fabayo) braved heavy enemy fire to carry wounded Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook several hundred meters, treated wounded Afghan forces that his unit was training and took the gunner’s position in a gun truck with three other service members as they drove into the kill zone to recover the bodies of three Marines and a corpsman killed in the battle.

“Rodriguez-Chavez was assigned to the unit’s security element during the ambush. Under heavy fire, he drove a gun truck into the kill zone three times to cover the withdrawal of the training team and partnered Afghan forces.

”(Rodriguez-Chavez) then made a fourth trip into the deepest part of the kill zone in another truck to recover the bodies of the fallen Marines and corpsman, positioning his vehicle to shield fellow service members from the intense fire as they left the vehicle to retrieve the bodies,“ read the newspaper account.

At the awards ceremony, Sec. Mabus said he hoped an account of what happened on Sept. 8 in Ganjgal would be told to incoming recruits for years to come and added, "That story doesn’t need any other explanation. Whatever words there are, they’re not adequate in adding anything to the actions of that day.”

I beg to differ, only to add two words: Semper Fidelis.

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