Commencement at Mount St. Mary’s College and Seminary
Inside the Beltway today in the WashTimes
Surprise honors
Few in the audience for Sunday’s commencement at Mount St. Mary’s College and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., recognized a man seated politely at the dais.
His identity became clear only when outgoing college President George R. Houston Jr. diverted from the program to announce that he was awarding a presidential medal to Mohammed Odeh Al Rehaief, the Iraqi lawyer who risked his life by urging U.S. Special Forces teams to make a daring predawn rescue of captured and wounded Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch.
“At first there was stunned silence — it was a complete surprise,” Catherine Bartos, whose daughter received her diploma, tells Inside the Beltway. “Then this small man stood up and the place just exploded with applause — five minutes of sustained applause and tears — that went on and on and on and on. It was wonderful.
“Finally, at least a part of the American public was able to thank him for what he did for one of our own.”