'The grenade is in the truck!'

He was patrolling Baghdad’s Adhamiyah neighborhood with members of Cobra platoon, manning a .50-caliber machine gun from atop the last of a six-vehicle convoy.

After turning onto a city street, an enemy fighter on a nearby rooftop threw a grenade. It dropped through his turret and into his truck.

His actions were instantaneous and life-saving, and for them he was awarded the Silver Star and has been recommended for the Medal of Honor.

Spc. Ross Andrew McGinnis — posthumously promoted for his bravery — paid the ultimate price Dec. 4, 2006, throwing himself on the grenade to save the four others inside his Humvee.

When he saw it go in, he yelled “Grenade!” over the vehicle intercom and tried to deflect it. The truck commander, who also was McGinnis’ platoon sergeant, didn’t know that the grenade had gotten inside and shouted, “Where?” to McGinnis, who looked as if he was going to jump out of his gunner’s hatch to safety.

Instead, realizing that the four other soldiers inside were trapped, he shouted, “The grenade is in the truck!” and threw his body on it, trapping the deadly explosive between his back and the radio mount between the two front seats.

He was killed instantly, but his warnings to the other crew members gave them time to posture themselves for minimal damage. Because of this, none was seriously wounded.

Living his dream job of “shooting big guns and getting paid for it,” the Knox, Pa., native was just 19 when he died.

He had wanted to be a soldier since kindergarten, and he signed up for delayed entry in the Army on his 17th birthday — the first day he was eligible, his parents, Thomas and Romayne, told members of his unit.

His company commander in Iraq, Capt. Michael Baka, of Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, and other members of his unit remembered how he loved the spotlight. After a picture of McGinnis and his .50-cal graced the cover of an edition of Stars and Stripes, Baka told him he was famous. McGinnis brushed it off, but his friends said he cherished the photo and carried it with him everywhere.

Baka also was the one who first recommended McGinnis for the Medal of Honor, which, as the United States’ highest award for wartime valor, is approved sparingly and takes months or even years to be awarded.

Only two have been given out for actions taken since Sept. 11, 2001, and both posthumously. The first award, to Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, was presented to Smith’s wife and two children by President Bush on April 4, 2005 — two years to the day after Smith’s death.

It took two and a half years after the death of the second recipient, Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, for word that he would be decorated.

According to the Army’s official Web site, “because of the need for accuracy, the (Medal of Honor) recommendation process can take in excess of 18 months with intense scrutiny every step of the way.”

Six months after his death, McGinnis’ Medal of Honor recommendation has been approved at every step so far, and it is presently working its way through the Army’s Human Resources Command.