Ben Seewald, the husband of Jessa Duggar from the cancelled Christian reality TV show "19 Kids and Counting," is drumming up support for Lt. Cmdr. Tim White and other servicemen for risking their lives for the country during the tragic shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last July 16.
On his Facebook page, the soon-to-be father wrote: "Take a second and check this out! Please sign this official White House petition to President Obama to honor the brave actions of this courageous man, who defended service members with his personal weapon during the Chattanooga terrorist attack on July 16th. He and a fellow service member, who lost his life, returned fire that day, no doubt saving many lives. Ask President Obama to honor these men, who put themselves in harm's way to protect others, with medals for bravery. You can do that by signing this petition!"
He then attached a link to the petition, which currently has over 25,000 signatures. It needs 100,000 signatures by Aug. 28, 2015 in order to reach its goal.
Five servicemen lost their lives in the attack launched on the US Naval and Marine Reserve Center by Muslim gunman Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez. White, the commanding officer of the Reserve Center, and at least one Marine officer bravely engaged the enemy using their personal firearms even though they were "vastly outgunned" as Abdulazeez was armed with an assault rifle. Because of the US officers' action, further loss of lives was prevented, officials said.
The lone-wolf terrorist attack killed Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt and Sgt. Carson Holmquist. Navy Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Randall Smith died on July 18 from wounds he suffered during the shooting.
"We petition the President to honour our brave men by presenting medals for bravery to LCDR White and all of the service members, including the fallen, who saved lives by returning fire. And we ask that the survivors of these attacks be invited as the President's special guests to attend the next State of the Union Address," the petition reads.
