Medal Of Honor Recipients

"Had I gone to my other option, Boston College, this opportunity wouldn't have come my way, because there was no Navy ROTC program there and, consequently, no recruiter to goad me into following my dream. As mentioned, the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy had all rejected me. Backing up a bit, while attending one of those schools had been my dream, I chose Holy Cross over B.C. partly because of what the school's symbol and nickname- the Crusader- meant to me. The Crusader image is that of a knight mounted on an armored horse. Imagine having beliefs so strong- religious beliefs or otherwise- that you would sacrifice the daily comforts and security of ordinary life. Imagine having beliefs so strong that you would be willing to give your life to uphold them. Of course, the early Christian martyrs also gave their lives for their faith, but knights held a special pull on me. They drew strength and courage from their beliefs, but also from miliary service. Would I ever have that kind of courage? Becoming a modern-day knight appealed to me as a way to stand up for what I believed in, even if it was unpopular and resulted in personal sacrifice. Serving others and doing unto them as you would have done unto yourself seemed like a good life motto."

"College Lesson Number Three: If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

"I don't consider the Medal my personal property. As a recipient, I feel I am wearing it to represent all the men and women who have served over the years with the same dedication and courage. Having said that, it did make me very awre of my responsibilities as a recipient, talking to kids, trying to instill the values of service, courage, honor, and duty, so it's been a very good part of my life. Personally and professionally it added a dimension. I certainly don't dwell on events of thirty-one years ago. That was thirty minutes out of my life and it came and went and life goes on. I've led a wonderful life since then."

"Okay, Mr. Kelley, everything looks good. We'll send this package to Boston, and you should be hearing from us in a few days." I thanked the sailor and walked out with mixed emotions. What had I gotten myself into? Was my dream of being a sailor and my desire for naval service, after many setbacks along the way, finally going to be realized? I could now tell my parents I had an opportunity to serve my country, and they'd be proud of me. I was ecstatic. Finally, a week or so before graduation, the door opened for me, and a path lay ahead. Life gave me a second chance, and I took it."

"If Alwyn had gotten out of the Army, he would have become a game warden, something like that. He loved hunting and fishing. He also loved helping animals as much as he loved helping people. One time I came home to find a deer in my bathtub. The year Fort Benning had an overabundance of wild pigs, I found one in our backyard standing in the back of his parked truck. With Alwyn, you never knew."

"My father instilled hard work, integrity, selfless service, and other values in my upbringing. I've always had a willingness to serve, but the military wasn't something I thought much about until 9/11. After that, I went about my business, learning as much as I could about the different branches of the military. When I graduated college in 2005, our nation was at war. I settled on the US Army's 18X program, which allowed me to go to Special Forces assessment and selection right off the street. I liked the Green Berets, their mission and motto, De Oppresso Liber. It means "free the oppressed." Giving people the opportunity to fight for themselves is very important."

"I sign in and meet my team. These guys have been training together for six months, and there aren't a lot of new guys in the room. It's scary enough meeting these guys for the first time, wondering if I'm going to fit in, how I can be a successful part of the team. "Get your stuff together," Team Sergeant Scott Ford tells me. "We're leaving." These guys, I discover, are great leaders and mentors. Staff sergeant and medica Ronald Shurer takes me under his wing very quickly. Everyone shows me the ropes."

"My sons and I are often asked what it was like growing up with my dad, their granddad. To me, he is just a normal dad. To my boys, he is just their granddad. We are very proud of him, and it is wonderful to attend celebrations where he is recognized. We try to answer any questions asked if they arise. But, just like Dad, we're not the ones starting any conversations about his medal or what he has done. We are on a first-name basis with many of the Medal of Honor recipients. When you're with them, they're just ordinary people. It's easy to forget how special they are to the rest of the world, but I try my best to never let that happen. I know they are all special. I know they each did something phenomenal."

"I downplayed the fact that I was a Medal recipient until recently. I was too busy being a naval officer, and I certainly did not want to let having the Medal of Honor give me any special advantage when it came to accomplishing certain things, okay? I bent over backward to avoid that, so I ended up downplaying the Medal completely. But now I found that it does permit me to have doors opened here in the state of Massachusetts to help veterans, and for that reason alone I am probably more active than I used to be."

"As I stared at the grass under which my great-grandfather was buried, a single question ran through my mind: Was it worth it? The same question strikes me every time I visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., that honors the 58,000 who died in one of the longest and most controversial wars in the history of this country. Although 620,000 lives were lost in the Civil War, it brought us the emancipation of slaves and the preservation of the Union. There is no similar weighty statement I can make for the Vietnam War."

"The team is awarded ten Silver Stars and one Air Force Cross. What still stands out for me that day, what I've learned, is that when everything hits the fan and it's game on, if you have trust and real camaraderie with a really well-trained team, your capabilities alone and together are pretty astounding. I know I'm going to constantly seek out this level of camaraderie and team building throughout the rest of my military career."

"[About September 11, 2001] We agreed earlier that this was a wakeup call, but I think the pain is being felt by other people. The American public is not going to have a sense that hey're at war. We still have an all-volunteer force fighting our wars, so different from the way it was during World War II whene very block had sons and daughters overseas. I'd love to see not necessarily a return to the draft as much as some sort of national service involving everybody. I think that would give us all a sense of sharing and belonging to the crisis we're in right now. I mean, it's almost business as usual: People are inconvenienced, revenues are down because of dot-com companies going out of business, but nobody is really feeling the pain yet except those who lost loved ones in the events of September eleventh and now overseas in Afghanistan."

"It may sound as though I joined the Navy on a whim because I didn't have any other career options, and that wouldn't be entirely false, but it's not entirely true either. My love of the sea began in early childhood, and a sense of adventure had pushed me to join the sea service even before college. I'd been imbued with the importance of service by my parents and church my entire life. This was simply the inevitable coming to fruition."

"Now Alwyn Cashe will be the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the wars following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. "He is not just a black soldier who earned the right to the Medal of Honor," his sister says. "He's a soldier who happens to be black." She joins me at the December 2021 ceremony, delayed because of the January 6 riots. Alwyn is one of the three soldiers awarded the medal. Because it's the military, everything is planned out- be here at this hour, there at that hour. Soldiers and their families typically have a meal with the President, but because of COVID that doesn't happen. Instead, we briefly meet President Biden and his wife right before the ceremony. They're very nice- the ceremony is nice- and I'm thinking of Alwyn, wishing he were here."

"Don't go over there playing a hero. You learn how to duck and come home."

"I've found in this job something I never stopped to think about before: Someone who serves in the military has no control over whether there's a war or no, so this state and all states treat their wartime vets different from how they treat their peacetime vets, which I think is fundamentally unfair. I'm trying to get that changed, so that anybody who serves is treated the same way when it comes to benefits. The Cold War was won by men and women who were not considered wartime veterans, tracking their subs, doing sonar, playing cat-and-mouse type of games."

"Eventually Tom and I found our way to one another. We married in 2005. I moved to another agency. Temporarily, Tom moved into my house, but we both yearned for our own single-family home. Cambridge was too expensive, so after our marriage, we looked next door in Somerville and found a lovingly cared for Victorian that needed a little work. It's where we live today. We have great neighbors, and the gentrification that's taking place ensures a happy future with more young families moving in. Not even a winning lottery ticket could take the place of the life Tom and I now lived. Home, marriage, even my new job were blessings. We were a team. We thought alike in many ways, yet respected each other's differences. We were determined that nothing would get in the way of our new happiness. We planned to keep the stress out of our lives by realizing that certain events were beyond our control, looking for silver linings, keeping a sense of humor, and focusing on the gift of our great love. Unfortunately, large dark clouds were gathering that would negatively impact us both. But life never stays the same. Nothing is forever. Change is constant and all we can do is adapt."

"I'd forgotten all about it. But I was the only Army colonel ever convicted of desertion and subsequently pardoned by a President- thirty years later. And got away with it. It was like when they court-martialed me. They did it just to clear the record. I was only making a statement against draft dodgers. It's illegal, you know. An officer can't just go and do things like that, in a uniform."

"[Regarding other Medal of Honor recipients] I've never worked at a job to make money. I think most of them try to live up to the Medal and protect and not disgrace it. I have not met any that I would say did not deserve it. And they're a hell of a gang of people. You got every conceivable race, religion. What they have in common is courage, or the absence of fear in a critical situation. It's having courage when it counts."

"I believe in freedom, deeply believe in it. I believed as a free man it was my duty- and I'm not Jewish- tbut I think it was my duty to help the Jews be freed of a son of a bitch like Hitler. That's why I deserted and went to Canada: to fight against Hitler. I've fought in three wars, and volunteered for all of them because I believed as a free man it was my duty to help others under the attack of tyranny. Just as simple as that. Now, I'm so damn old I can't do it. But that's my belief: if free men don't help others to retain or regain our freedom, then we'll lose in the final analysis."

"Capt. Millett, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. While personally leading his company in an attack against a strongly held position, he noted that the 1st Platoon was pinned down by small-arms, automatic, and antitank fire. Capt. Millett ordered the 3d Platoon forward, placed himself at the head of the two platoons, and, with fixed bayonet, led the assault up the fire-swept hill. In the fierce charge Capt. Millett bayoneted two enemy soldiers and boldly continued on, throwing grenades, clubbing and bayoneting the enemy, while urging his men forward by shouting encouragement. Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill. His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder. During this fierce onslaught Capt. Millett was wounded by grenade fragments but refused evacuation until the objective was taken and firmly secured. The superb leadership, conspicuous courage, and consummate devotion to duty demonstrated by Capt. Millett were directly responsible for the successful accomplishment of a hazardous mission and reflect the highest credit on himself and the heroic traditions of the military service."

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: First Lieutenant John R. Fox distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism at the risk of his own life on 26 December 1944 in the Serchio River Valley Sector, in vicinity of Sommocolonia, Italy. Lieutenant Fox was a member of Cannon Company, 366th Infantry, 92nd Infantry Division, acting as a forward observer, while attached to the 598th Field Artillery Battalion. Christmas Day in the Serchio Valley was spent in positions which had been occupied for some weeks. During Christmas night, there was a gradual influx of enemy soldiers in civilian clothes and by early morning the town was largely in enemy hands. An organized attack by uniformed German formations was launched around 0400 hours, 26 December 1944. Reports were received that the area was being heavily shelled by everything the Germans had, and although most of the U.S. infantry forces withdrew from the town, Lieutenant Fox and members of his observation party remained behind on the second floor of a house, directing defensive fires. Lieutenant Fox reported at 0800 hours that the Germans were in the streets and attacking in strength, He called for artillery fire increasingly close to his own position. He told his battalion commander, "That was just where I wanted it. Bring it 60 yards!" His commander protested that there was a heavy barrage in the area and bombardment would be too close. Lieutenant Fox gave his adjustment, requesting that the barrage be fired. The distance was cut in half. The Germans continued to press forward in large numbers, surrounding the position. Lieutenant Fox again called for artillery fire with the commander protesting again stating, "Fox, that will be on you!" The last communication from Lieutenant Fox was. "Fire it! There's more of them than there are of us. Give them hell!" The bodies of Lieutenant Fox and his party were found in the vicinity of his position when his position was taken. This action, by Lieutenant Fox, at the cost of his own life, inflicted heavy casualties, causing deaths of approximately 100 Germans, thereby delaying the advance of the enemy until infantry and artillery units could be reorganized to meet the attack. Lieutenant Fox's extraordinary valorous actions exemplify the highest traditions of the military service."

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Staff Sergeant Rivers distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action during 16-19 November 1944, while serving with Company A, 761st Tank Battalion. On 16 November 1944, while advancing toward the town of Guebling, France, Staff Sergeant Rivers' tank hit a mine at a railroad crossing. Although severely wounded, his leg slashed to the bone, Staff Sergeant Rivers declined an injection of morphine, refused to be evacuated, took command of another tank, and advanced with his company into Guebling the next day. Repeatedly refusing evacuation, Staff Sergeant Rivers continued to direct his tank's fire at enemy positions beyond the town through the morning of 19 November 1944. At dawn that day, Company A's tanks advanced toward Bourgaltoff, their next objective, but were stopped by enemy fire. Captain David J. Williams, the Company Commander, ordered his tanks to withdraw and take cover. Staff Sergeant Rivers, however, radioed that he had spotted the German antitank positions: "I see 'em. We'll Fight'em!" Staff Sergeant Rivers, joined by another Company A tank, opened fire on enemy tanks, covering Company A as they withdrew. While doing so, Staff Sergeant Rivers' tank was hit, killing him and wounding the rest of the crew. Staff Sergeant Rivers' fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his unit and exemplify the highest traditions of military service."

"I see 'em. We'll fight 'em."

"Fire it! There's more of them than there are of us. Give 'em hell!"

"I didn't earn it. I wear it for those Marines who lost their lives protecting mine."

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, Cpl. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machine-gun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by four riflemen, he fought desperately for four hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out one position after another. On one occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent, killing the occupants, and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strongpoints encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective. Cpl. Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service."

"Woody doesn't think he's done anything special. He was just doing his job."

"Everyone has some instinct of bravery. As long as you can control the fear, you can be brave."

"Specialist Four Alfred Rascon, distinguished himself by a series of extraordinarily courageous acts on 16 March 1966, while assigned as a medic to the Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). While moving to reinforce its sister battalion under intense enemy attack, the Reconnaissance Platoon came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force. The intense enemy fire from crew-served weapons and grenades severely wounded several point squad soldiers. Specialist Rascon, ignoring directions to stay behind shelter until covering fire could be provided, made his way forward. He repeatedly tried to reach the severely wounded point machine-gunner laying on an open enemy trail, but was driven back each time by the withering fire. Disregarding his personal safety, he jumped to his feet, ignoring flying bullets and exploding grenades to reach his comrade. To protect him from further wounds, he intentionally placed his body between the soldier and enemy machine guns, sustaining numerous shrapnel injuries and a serious wound to the hip. Disregarding his serious wounds he dragged the larger soldier from the fire-raked trail. Hearing the second machine-gunner yell that he was running out of ammunition, Specialist Rascon, under heavy enemy fire crawled back to the wounded machine-gunner stripping him of his bandoleers of ammunition, giving them to the machine-gunner who continued his suppressive fire. Specialist Rascon fearing the abandoned machine gun, its ammunition and spare barrel could fall into enemy hands made his way to retrieve them. On the way, he was wounded in the face and torso by grenade fragments, but disregarded these wounds to recover the abandoned machine gun, ammunition and spare barrel items, enabling another soldier to provide added suppressive fire to the pinned-down squad. In searching for the wounded, he saw the point grenadier being wounded by small arms fire and grenades being thrown at him. Disregarding his own life and his numerous wounds, Specialist Rascon reached and covered him with his body absorbing the blast from the exploding grenades, and saving the soldier's life, but sustaining additional wounds to his body. While making his way to the wounded point squad leader, grenades were hurled at the sergeant. Again, in complete disregard for his own life, he reached and covered the sergeant with his body, absorbing the full force of the grenade explosions. Once more Specialist Rascon was critically wounded by shrapnel, but disregarded his own wounds to continue to search and aid the wounded. Severely wounded, he remained on the battlefield, inspiring his fellow soldiers to continue the battle. After the enemy broke contact, he disregarded aid for himself, instead treating the wounded and directing their evacuation. Only after being placed on the evacuation helicopter did he allow aid to be given to him. Specialist Rascon's extraordinary valor in the face of deadly enemy fire, his heroism in rescuing the wounded, and his gallantry by repeatedly risking his own life for his fellow soldiers are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

"I could hear us firing, I could hear M-16s, I could hear hand grenades going off, I could hear heavy machine guns going off, hear the AK-47s, and you could hear the North Vietnamese talking and you could hear us yelling and there was organized chaos. I'm talking about branches falling, small trees falling from the intensity of the firefight and you don't dig in, you just go take 'em on, and whoever's got the biggest toys is going to win."

"I look at this crowd and I see the strength of a nation and I see the strength of a fighting force, one that I fought proudly with. I look at my fellow Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force, a team that I fought side-by-side with as brothers. It's the proudest moment of my life and I'm honored and privileged to know these men."

"Captain William D. Swenson distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving during combat operations against an armed enemy in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on September 8, 2009. On that morning, more than 60 well-armed, well-positioned enemy fighters ambushed Captain Swenson's combat team as it moved on foot into the village of Ganjgal for a meeting with village elders. As the enemy unleashed a barrage of rocket-propelled grenade, mortar and machine gun fire, Captain Swenson immediately returned fire and coordinated and directed the response of his Afghan Border Police, while simultaneously calling in suppressive artillery fire and aviation support. After the enemy effectively flanked Coalition Forces, Captain Swenson repeatedly called for smoke to cover the withdrawal of the forward elements. Surrounded on three sides by enemy forces inflicting effective and accurate fire, Captain Swenson coordinated air assets, indirect fire support and medical evacuation helicopter support to allow for the evacuation of the wounded. Captain Swenson ignored enemy radio transmissions demanding surrender and maneuvered uncovered to render medical aid to a wounded fellow soldier. Captain Swenson stopped administering aid long enough to throw a grenade at approaching enemy forces, before assisting with moving the soldier for air evacuation. With complete disregard for his own safety, Captain Swenson unhesitatingly led a team in an unarmored vehicle into the kill zone, exposing himself to enemy fire on at least two occasions, to recover the wounded and search for four missing comrades. After using aviation support to mark locations of fallen and wounded comrades, it became clear that ground recovery of the fallen was required due to heavy enemy fire on helicopter landing zones. Captain Swenson’s team returned to the kill zone another time in a Humvee. Captain Swenson voluntarily exited the vehicle, exposing himself to enemy fire, to locate and recover three fallen Marines and one fallen Navy corpsman. His exceptional leadership and stout resistance against the enemy during six hours of continuous fighting rallied his teammates and effectively disrupted the enemy's assault. Captain William D. Swenson's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Task Force Phoenix, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division and the United States Army."

"I had very few problems. I was always down at the grass roots with the enlisted people. I wanted to lead them. I wanted them to know that I cared for them, you know, I was gonna take care of them. And I still get calls, guys saying, 'God, Colonel, I wish to hell we could all get together again.' And a couple of times we have. We've had reunions, you know."

"But I enjoyed commands. There were three things I wanted to do in the Corps, and I'm one of those that always liked to set objectives: One was to be able to lead Marines in peacetime and combat. And I proved that I could do that. Another was I wanted to be called a colonel of Marines, a full colonel. And the third one was I always wanted to lead a regiment of Marines, five thousand Marines. And I got to accomplish all that."

"From then on, for me, it was just busy times with the Medal, but I had good teachers. A lot of the generals told me, 'Don't blow it. Watch your drinking. Don't cause any trouble because you've earned the highest medal. You're always gonna be showtime. You can't get a parking ticket.' And that's the hardest part, you can't... [live it up] like the old college days. But you've really got to watch yourself. And I think they knew that I've always been a "we" man, us." I don't think I'll ever change. That Medal could have gone to sixty-eight other guys that day, really could. So when I wear it, I wear it for everyone who's ever served. That's the way I look at the Medal."

"I had thirty great years in the Marine Corps. I accomplished my goals. If they would have let me stay till a hundred years old, I would have stayed. I loved it that much. I was basically very lucky to command everything from a platoon to a company to a regiment of five thousand Marines. I was always in command, and I loved leading and setting an example and taking care of Marines. It was in my blood."

"They're very confident people. It's amazing. We all came from little bitty towns. A lot of us came from very poor families. They're down-to-earth people. They're not braggers. They just seem like they were put into a position for a very short period and whatever came out of them came out ten times stronger than you would ever expect your body or person to do in a particular situation. What drove me was I cared so much for my Marines. That was my family, and my responsibility was to lead them. That's a strong loyalty that comes from every Medal recipient I've met, and they're patriotic. It's like those country-and-western songs I grew up with. You know, they love kids, dogs, and all women."

"Captain Will Swenson was a leader on that September morning. But like all great leaders, he was also a servant -- to the men he commanded, to the more than a dozen Afghans and Americans whose lives he saved, to the families of those who gave their last full measure of devotion on that faraway field."

"A lot of these young officers I had around me, if a kid had a dirty rifle, they would give the kid a special punishment for it. My philosophy was, if anybody had a dirty rifle, it wasn't the kid's fault. It was his damn leaders, the squad leader or his platoon sergeant or his gunny. That's who I'd blame. And if they ever marched into my office with that kind of charge, I'd say, 'Well, whose fault is this?' The room would go silent. Then I'd say, 'You know whose damn fault this is? It comes all the way up to me.'"

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as commanding officer, Company G, in action against enemy forces from 30 April to 2 May 1968. On 1 May 1968, though suffering from wounds he had incurred while relocating his unit under heavy enemy fire the preceding day, Maj. Vargas combined Company G with two other companies and led his men in an attack on the fortified village of Dai Do. Exercising expert leadership, he maneuvered his marines across 700 meters of open rice paddy while under intense enemy mortar, rocket, and artillery fire and obtained a foothold in two hedgerows on the enemy perimeter, only to have elements of his company become pinned down by the intense enemy fire. Leading his reserve platoon to the aid of his beleaguered men, Maj. Vargas inspired his men to renew their relentless advance, while destroying a number of enemy bunkers. Again wounded by grenade fragments, he refused aid as he moved about the hazardous area reorganizing his unit into a strong defensive perimeter at the edge of the village. Shortly after the objective was secured the enemy commenced a series of counterattacks and probes which lasted throughout the night but were unsuccessful as the gallant defenders of Company G stood firm in their hard-won enclave. Reinforced the following morning, the marines launched a renewed assault through Dai Do on the village of Dinh To, to which the enemy retaliated with a massive counterattack resulting in hand-to-hand combat. Maj. Vargas remained in the open, encouraging and rendering assistance to his marines when he was hit for a third time in the three-day battle. Observing his battalion commander sustain a serious wound, he disregarded his excruciating pain, crossed the fire-swept area, and carried his commander to a covered position, then resumed supervising and encouraging his men while simultaneously assisting in organizing the battalion's perimeter defense. His gallant actions uphold the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service."

"I never thought about it. I was sent there to participate, but they still wanted to know if there was anybody who would volunteer to pick these guys up. My answer is, 'It was the right thing to do. And I was the most logical person to do it.' By that time I was a military professional. My thoughts were: You should save your butt. The mission was to get the three guys, I got the three guys, and we got of there okay, and I'm happy. That's the limit of my thinking. If you start thinking about medals, you're gonna lose your shirt. I've heard of several people who set out to win, not win, but be awarded the Medal of Honor, and, to my knowledge, every one of them got killed."

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Lt. Col. Jackson distinguished himself as a pilot of a C-123 aircraft. Lt. Col. Jackson volunteered to attempt the rescue of a three-man USAF Combat Control Team from the Special Forces camp at Kham Duc. Hostile forces had overrun the forward outpost and established gun positions on the airstrip. They were raking the camp with small-arms, mortars, light and heavy automatic-weapons, and recoilless-rifle fire. The camp was engulfed in flames and ammunition dumps were continuously exploding and littering the runway with debris. In addition, eight aircraft had been destroyed by the intense enemy fire and one aircraft remained on the runway reducing its usable length to only 2,200 feet. To further complicate the landing, the weather was deteriorating rapidly, thereby permitting only one air strike prior to his landing. Although fully aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt, Lt. Col. Jackson elected to land his aircraft and attempt to rescue. Displaying superb airmanship and extraordinary heroism, he landed his aircraft near the point where the combat control team was reported to be hiding. While on the ground, his aircraft was the target of intense hostile fire. A rocket landed in front of the nose of the aircraft but failed to explode. Once the combat control team was aboard, Lt. Col. Jackson succeeded in getting airborne despite the hostile fire directed across the runway in front of his aircraft. Lt. Col. Jackson's profound concern for his fellow men, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country."

"I was three years old, maybe four, and one of my brothers and I, we'd been fishing, and we were walking down the road when this airplane flew over, and it started doing acrobatics in the sky, around the clouds. I looked up and thought that it would be the greatest thing in the whole world if I could do that. I remember that specifically. That was the first thing I remember in my life."

"A unique thing about this was that this is the only mission, the only activity that resulted in an award of the Medal of Honor where a photograph was made of it while it was taking place. I have that photograph. It was shot from the air. I don't know who took it. But it shows my plane on the runway, the wrecked helicopter, and you can just make out two little dots showing two of the three guys as they were running for the plane."

"I mentioned this happened on Mother's Day? Well, I'm the only guy I know of that gets Mother's Day cards. I used to get them from guys that were in the Army that were in that battalion that went in to reinforce. Last year I got one from a newspaper editor down here in southwest Washington."

"Since the Vietnamese continued to resist the US-imposed dictatorship in South Vietnam, the United States invaded Vietnam in the early 1960s, beginning a devastating campaign of bombings, atrocities, chemical warfare, and torture, leading to the deaths of 3.8 million people, according to a study published in the BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal). According to Nick Turse in Kill Anything That Moves: [T]he stunning scale of civilian suffering in Vietnam is far beyond anything that can be explained as merely the work of some “bad apples,” however numerous. Murder, torture, rape, abuse, forced displacement, home burnings, specious arrests, imprisonment without due process—such occurrences were virtually a daily fact of life throughout the years of the American presence in Vietnam. … [T]hey were no aberration. Rather, they were the inevitable outcome of deliberate policies, dictated at the highest levels of the military. Turse’s investigations of US war crimes (spurred by his discovery of the Pentagon’s Vietnam War Crimes Working Group) lend credence to the various displays and photographs one will find in the museum. One example is a sewer pipe present at the Thanh Phong massacre, used by three children to hide in before being killed by future Senator Bob Kerrey and his cohorts (ten other civilians also died)."

"Today we are much closer to a general acknowledgment that government must encourage business to expand and grow. Bill Clinton, Paul Tsongas, Bob Kerrey and others have, I believe, changed the debate of our party. We intuitively know that to create job opportunities we need entrepreneurs who will risk their capital against an expected payoff. Too often, however, public policy does not consider whether we are choking off those opportunities."

"When I was, say, fifteen years old in 1958, I could have gone and talked to a veteran of World War I or World War II and said, 'Tell me your story.' They could have taught us with these men who had experience in war, instead of giving us a dry history book. I think that to understand history, to be excited by history, a human being needs something. You need the capacity to feel sympathy for the people you're reading about in the story."

"You are among the two or three most talented people I have ever met in politics."