LINTHICUM, Md., Nov. 20, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has announced the establishment of a $25,000 scholarship fund in honor of Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Specialist Ross A. McGinnis. The fund will benefit students at McGinnis' high school in Knox, Pa.
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The scholarship, to be awarded in $5,000 increments over the next five years, will go to students from Keystone High School who intend to study science, technology engineering or math in college. It is sponsored by Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector in Linthicum, where McGinnis' uncle, Tracy Romano, is an Antenna Systems engineer.
Northrop Grumman announced the scholarship fund Nov. 13 during a tribute to McGinnis, who was killed Dec. 4, 2006 while on patrol in Iraq. During the program, at the Historical Electronics Museum in Linthicum, Ross' medal, presented posthumously to his family by President Bush at the White House in June, was displayed along with the nation's first Medal of Honor, which was awarded in 1863 to Army Private Jacob Parrott, a Civil War hero.
"Like Private Parrott, Specialist McGinnis proved that honor and valor are not bounded by age, or race, religion or culture, or education or economic status," said James F. Pitts, Northrop Grumman corporate vice president and president of Electronic Systems. "Ross McGinnis' heroic actions in the heat of the ongoing war on terror came instinctively from his deep devotion to his country and to his fellow soldiers."
McGinnis was a machine gunner on a Humvee patrolling Adhamiyah, a Baghdad neighborhood, when an insurgent threw a fragmentation grenade into the vehicle. McGinnis threw his body on top of the grenade, absorbing the full force of the blast and likely saving the lives of four fellow crew members.
Among those who attended the tribute were his parents, Tom and Romayne McGinnis, and Vicky Walters, the principal at Keystone High.
Guest speaker was Brian M. Thacker of Wheaton, Md., who received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions in the Vietnam War. Master of ceremonies was Duane D. Cordrey, a program manager at Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector whose uncle is the great-grandson of the first Medal of Honor recipient.
The event was hosted by Veterans, Employees, Reservists Inspired to Act and Support (VERITAS), a Northrop Grumman employee resource group.
Northrop Grumman is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products and solutions in information services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
