Specialist Ross A. McGinnis, of 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Division, received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006, his platoon was conducting combat control operations to reduce and control sectarian violence when, as he manned his M2 .50-caliber machine gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner’s hatch into his vehicle. He shouted “grenade,” giving the other four members of his crew time to prepare for the blast, then chose not to leap to safety and instead covered the live grenade, pinning it between his boot and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion. Mortally wounded in this selfless act, he directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. His heroism reflected great credit upon himself, the First Infantry Division “Big Red One,” and the United States Army. He trained to be an infantry soldier at Fort Benning, Georgia, with the 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment.