WASHINGTON – On February 15, 1951, Army Pvt. Bruno R. Urig was returning from a mission when he found his fellow soldiers being attacked in what is now known as the Battle of Chepyeong-ni.
The infantryman provided first aid to his comrades injured in the Korean War attack and began helping move these men to safety. He then captured a machine gun position and allowed a friendly platoon to withdraw without casualties. When the ground was retaken later that day, Orig was found dead next to the machine gun, surrounded by the enemy fighters he had killed.
Uhrig was among the Medal of Honor recipients recognized by President Joe Biden on Friday in one of his last opportunities to formally recognize acts of selflessness and personal bravery in times of war. Biden awarded the medal posthumously to six men and one living recipient in a White House ceremony. In a separate ceremony in the Oval Office closed to the media, he awarded the Medal of Valor to eight first responders who risked their lives to save others.
“These are heroes of different ranks, different positions, and even different generations,” Biden said at the Medal of Honor ceremony on Friday evening. “They are heroes who all went above and beyond the call of duty.”
During the Korean War, Pvt. Wataru Nakamura destroyed an enemy machine gun nest and recovered several bunkers. His ammunition was exhausted but he resumed his attack after rearming, and was eventually killed by an enemy grenade and buried in Los Angeles.
Army corporal. Fred B. McGee is known for his bravery and intrepid action near Tang Wan Ni, Korea on June 16, 1952, when he took command of his squad, neutralized an enemy machine gun and then brought his squad back while assisting in the rescue. The wounded. The Ohio native died in 2020, according to news reports.
Army soldier. Charles R. Johnson, of Millbrook, New York, was killed on June 12, 1953, after repelling Chinese forces during the Korean War. His actions saved the lives of up to 10 soldiers.
After several raids on enemy entrenchments in the Sagemak area during the Korean War, Army 1st Lt. Richard E. Cavazos alone evacuated five battle casualties to safety. Cavazos served more than three decades in the service, eventually achieving the rank of four-star general. The Texan died in 2018 at the age of 88. Fort Hood was renamed in his honor on May 9, 2023.
After the crash of an armed helicopter during the Vietnam War on June 5, 1966, Army Captain Hugh R. Nelson Jr. of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, pulled two specialists from the aircraft, protecting one of them from enemy fire when his plane was lost. private life.
While fighting in Vietnam on May 7, 1970, then-Army Pvt. Kenneth J. David drew enemy fire away from his wounded comrades and toward himself, wounding himself with a satchel charge. But David continued to fight, drawing fire away from the landing medical helicopters, and was evacuated after the last helicopter landed. Ohio is still alive.
Acknowledging his final days as president, Biden on Friday called it the greatest honor of his life to be entrusted with leadership of the country and “the best military in the history of the world.”
On Friday, Biden also awarded eight people the Medal of Valor, which is given to those who have demonstrated exceptional courage in trying to save human lives.
Among the beneficiaries were law enforcement officials who responded to the shooter who killed six people on March 27, 2023, at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville Police Department Sgt. Jeffrey Mathis, Officer Rex Engelbert, and Detectives Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle and Zachary Blaise rushed to the scene and encountered gunfire from the shooter. They evacuated the classrooms and eventually took down the shooter.
Biden also recognized Sgt. To Tran of the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department. On February 22, 2023, Tran swam 30 feet (9 m) into a frozen pond to rescue a woman from a submerged vehicle.
Lt. John Vanderstar, a New York City firefighter, was awarded the Medal of Valor for rescuing a mother and child from a burning apartment on October 23, 2022. Separately, New York City firefighter Brendan Gaffney was honored for braving an apartment building fire. Saving an unconscious child and a pregnant woman.
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