Bencooper “Well, it’s 25 years to the day since the US shot down a civilian airliner:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
The US has still not apologised…”
not apologised they decorated the crew that did it:-
“The men of the Vincennes were all awarded Combat Action Ribbons for completion of their tours in a combat zone. Lustig, the air-warfare coordinator, received the Navy Commendation Medal, often given for acts of heroism or meritorious service, but a not-uncommon end-of-tour medal for a second tour division officer. According to the History Channel, the medal citation noted his ability to “quickly and precisely complete the firing procedure.”[3] However, in 1990, The Washington Post listed Lustig’s awards as one being for his entire tour from 1984 to 1988 and the other for his actions relating to the surface engagement with Iranian gunboats. In 1990, Rogers was awarded the Legion of Merit “for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service as commanding officer … from April 1987 to May 1989.” The award was given for his service as the Commanding Officer of the Vincennes, and the citation made no mention of the downing of Iran Air 655.[35] The Legion of Merit is often awarded to high-ranking officers upon successful completion of especially difficult duty assignments and/or last tours of duty before retirement.”
The surface engagement with gun boats was part of the same incident as shooting down the civilian airliner taking off as they thought it was a fighter jet descending to attack. It was an incident that the commander of the us ship chose to initiate by breaching Iranian territorial waters.