President Biden on Friday awarded the Medal of Honor to seven U.S. Army soldiers, most of whom received it posthumously for service during the Korean War, in his last ceremony as commander in chief awarding the country’s highest military honor.
The soldiers honored Friday were recognized for distinguished acts of bravery as they rushed through enemy fire or risked their lives to save their comrades. Since most of the recipients have passed, Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to their families.
Biden said those honored Friday were “heroes in different ranks, different positions, and even different generations,” but each “went above and beyond the call of duty.”
“These heroes fought for, and many of them died for, ideals of America, the freedom we cherish, the democracy that has made our progress possible,” Biden said. “These are my final days as commander in chief. The greatest honor of my life [is] to be entrusted with the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”
Kenneth J. David was the sole recipient present to receive the Medal of Honor from Biden, who draped the medal over his neck during the ceremony at the White House.
In his remarks, Biden said David was “a genuine hero.”
“Flat-out, straight up, American hero,” Biden said. “We owe you.”
David served as a radio-telephone operator and was a private first class when he deployed to Vietnam.
His company came under attack in May 1970, and he sought to draw enemy fire his way, engaging with enemy forces that had surrounded him in three directions with just a rifle and hand grenades.
David kept fighting to draw fire away from medevac helicopters, even after he was injured by shrapnel, and did not leave until the last helicopter had landed.
“Ken himself was hit in the back with shrapnel but he couldn’t and wouldn’t give up. Instead, he shouted and fired his weapon to attract attention to him, away from others and away from the wounded man,” Biden said. “Imagine that courage.”
Biden awarded the medal to one other service member who served in Vietnam: Capt. Hugh R. Nelson Jr., who in June 1966 was an aircraft commander of a Huey helicopter that was downed by enemy fire.
After the helicopter crashed, Nelson freed two trapped specialists and covered the second one with his body, an act that killed him but saved the other service member.
The rest of the Medal of Honor recipients were honored posthumously and served in Korea, including the late Gen. Richard Cavazos, the first Hispanic four-star general in the U.S. Army who recently had Fort Hood renamed after him.
Cavazos, who passed away in 2017, was awarded the top medal for his actions in June 1953, when he led a raid on a vital enemy position and braved hostile fire to save five of his fellow soldiers.
Also honored was Pfc. Charles R. Johnson, who was injured in June 1953 by a Chinese attack on his outpost, but who sought to administer first aid to his comrades and drag them to safety at the risk of his own life. Johnson, who was killed in action during the attack, is credited with saving 10 lives.
Cpl. Fred B. McGee was honored for actions in June 1952, when he took over command of his squad after the leader was wounded and stayed to ward off the enemy so his team could evacuate.
Pfc. Wataru Nakamura, in May 1951, drove off enemy forces from several bunkers before he was killed by a grenade, and Pvt. Bruno R. Orig was honored for saving several service members in February 1951 and pressuring the enemy with machine gun fire to allow for a withdrawal. He was killed in the firefight.
Also on Friday, Biden awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest award for a public safety officer, to eight individuals, including five who helped take down a mass shooter in March 2023 in Nashville.
On Thursday, Biden awarded the second-highest civilian honor, the Presidential Citizens Medal, to 20 individuals, including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who led a Jan. 6 committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack.
