Talk:William D. Swenson

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Medal of Honor[edit]

I don't think the the Medal of Honor should be displayed as a ribbon down the list, it should be displayed as a medal at the top. Wgfcrafty (talk) 19:09, 12 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Current rank[edit]

Are there any reliable sources verifying that the subject has been promoted to major, or is now the only active duty MoH recipient?--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 06:48, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Per WP:BURDEN, I have reverted to the captain rank. Please do not change until a reliable source can be found that verifies promotion.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 02:59, 11 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I still have not yet found any reliable source verifying Swensons promotion. Not that I am opposing subjects promotion, but please see WP:VER & WP:BURDEN regarding changing content.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 13:59, 15 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This is from the Army Times, think its a fairly reliable source. The article refers to Swenson as a Major. https://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/03/25/medal-of-honor-society-eyeing-legacy-as-numbers-decline/70393972/ EdJF (talk) 23:41, 5 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@EdJF: I had emailed Army Public Affairs, never heard back from them. But this should be just fine.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 02:22, 8 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

That said, lets see if we can find more than one.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 02:33, 8 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I am concerned because the article from ArmyTimes is dated 25MAR13, and says major, however this article from Task&Purpose dated 31MAR13, refers to the subject as captain, as does this article from National Review dated 11FEB15. Then again there is this from the DOD also dated 25MAR13 about the same event describing the event which is the subject of the ArmyTimes article. Given the conflicting items I think we wait to see what newer RSs say and treat it as WP:EXCEPTIONAL.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 02:40, 8 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

His rank is Major. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.119.148.26 (talk) 15:59, 21 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Please see WP:BURDEN. Please provide a reliable source verifying subject has been promoted to the rank of major.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 05:17, 22 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

MilitaryTimes article from February 2017 refers to the subject as Captain; Washington Free Beacon article from December 2016 refers to the subject as Major. There are contradicting reliable sources. Therefore, while I personally am for the subject being promoted to Major, that should not play a part into this article. WP:VER is what matters here, and where reliable sources provide different information we should reach a consensus as which sources to go with.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 05:26, 22 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I have emailed public affairs for the U.S. Army and U.S. Army South and informed them of this discussion.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 05:32, 22 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

He is a Major and has been for well over a year. Maybe when he becomes a General you will say he is a Major. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:805:4201:1737:291E:ED34:E5D:9EC7 (talk) 01:55, 7 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

According to The National Medal of Honor Museum he is now LTC (Lieutenant Colonel )https://mohmuseum.org/about-us/#directors

Pn 1220 of the congressional record says he was promoted to LTC (Lieutenant Colonel) on 10/31/2019. Feel free to look it up.

Rangers?[edit]

Swenson is categorized as an Army Ranger, but as far as I see, he never served in the Rangers. He did go through Ranger School, but that alone doesn't qualify one as a Ranger, right?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:192:8100:9a15:e9e3:124e:95c4:63c9 (talk • contribs) 17:28, 30 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There's no right or wrong answer to this, but if you have a Ranger tab you're considered a Ranger by most. I've always referred to my colleagues who wear the tab (but never served in a Ranger regiment) as "Rangers." EdJF (talk) 23:29, 2 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The way I have heard some call it those with the tab, are range qualified, those with the scroll are Rangers. See this blog post; no a reliable source though. This is dangerously getting into WP:FORUM territory. But then again, I did find this: Dick Couch (3 July 2012). Sua Sponte: The Forging of a Modern American Ranger. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 22–. ISBN 978-1-101-58508-5. It states exactly what the blog stated, and is from a RS.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 01:58, 3 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Breitbart News[edit]

Breitbart doesn't pass the WP:RS criteria for a reliable source for statements of fact; in particular, it lacks the "reputation for fact-checking and accuracy" that WP:RS requires of news sources. This has been discussed on WP:RSN many times, but the most recent discussion is here. We don't enumerate every single usable / unusable source, because reliably is mostly contextual, but Breitbart is definitely not usable on a WP:BLP, and is mostly only usable as a cite for opinions, with an appropriate in-line citation. It certainly makes no sense to cite such a low-quality source when better sources are available. --Aquillion (talk) 02:37, 23 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Haha, Breitbart "News." They should never be consulted for any information on anything. They can't be relied on to tell you what color the sky is. --AC9016 (talk) 02:15, 6 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

LTC William D. Swenson[edit]

He is now a lieutenant Col. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.104.186.122 (talk) 03:01, 10 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Active-duty Medal of Honor recipients[edit]

According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the U.S. Army Center of Military History websites, there are 65 living Medal of Honor recipients as of early September 2023. Of those, only 4 are listed by those sources and on Wikipedia as being still on active duty: Lieutenant Colonel William D. Swenson, Sergeant Major Thomas Payne, Sergeant Major Matthew O. Williams, and Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee. I can find sources affirming each of these four individuals are still in the active-duty U.S. Army today. I cannot find any source explicitly stating that only these four are still in. This is not something that would just get missed; Medal of Honor recipients still in the military are celebrities, living legends, whether they like it or not.

LTC Swenson's article still says he is one of only 4 Medal of Honor recipients still on active duty, but the source referenced does not actually say that explicitly. Does anyone have more information on this? Any idea on what to do about it? The mention that Swenson is one of four on active duty is being allowed to stand on his page, but I got blocked from mentioning that same thing on SGM Payne's page. Any information on how to clarify this would be greatly appreciated. AC9016 (talk) 02:14, 6 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]