Times-Union readers want to know:
An e-mail claims that during the funeral for Mike Monsoor, who was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor, SEALs lined up on both sides of his casket, took their gold Tridents off their uniforms one by one and slapped them down, embedding them into the coffin as it moved past. The e-mail was sent, it says, because the media won't make this news "and I am forwarding it because I am proud of our military and the men and women who serve in it." Is this story true?
Yes, the basic account is true, according to various Navy reports and fact-checking sources, although a few details in the e-mail are inaccurate.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL, was part of a sniper watch in Ramadi, Iraq, with three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers when an insurgent threw a grenade into the position, according to the Navy.
"The grenade hit Monsoor in the chest before falling to the ground. Positioned next to the single exit, Monsoor was the only one who could have escaped harm. Instead, he dropped onto the grenade to shield the others from the blast. Monsoor died approximately 30 minutes later from wounds sustained from the blast. Because of Petty Officer Monsoor's actions, he saved the lives of his 3 teammates and the IA soldiers," an account on his Congressional Medal of Honor Web site reports.
Monsoor died on Sept. 29, 2006, and was buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
At his Oct. 12 funeral, as the e-mail states, Navy SEALs took their trident pins and pounded them into the top of the casket. The trident pin is awarded to those who become SEALs and represents the areas in which SEALs are trained: air, sea and land.
President George W. Bush said at Monsoor's Medal of Honor ceremony, according to Fox News: "The procession went on nearly half an hour, and when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten."
You can view a video about Monsoor, which includes scenes of the trident pin tribute, at tinyurl.com/5v49yg.
In April 2008, Monsoor was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. He was also posthumously given the Silver Star for helping carry a wounded team member to safety during an attack, Snopes.com reported.
Monsoor's story was covered by several media outlets, including Fox News and The Los Angeles Times.
There were also several blogs that called the whole story a rumor, citing that it was impossible to embed the trident pins and line them up so well as the casket moved between the lines of SEALs.
The video, however, shows that the casket was stationary, and the SEALs placed the pins on the casket, then pounded them into the wood.
Snopes.com, a nonpartisan well-respected Web site that confirms or debunks rumors and urban legends, did report that it is not clear whether the photo of the casket embedded with trident pins that accompanies the e-mail was taken at Monsoor's burial ceremony. Snopes.com says it believes the photo was taken at the funeral of SEAL James Suh, killed in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. Snopes.com links to a blog, which gives an individual's account of Suh's funeral and the trident tribute. The same photo is there.
Snopes.com is not refuting Monsoor's own pin tribute; it has rated the e-mail as true. It is merely questioning whether the photo with the e-mail was of Monsoor's casket.
carole.fader@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4635
