President Joe Biden will bestow the nation’s highest honors on 15 veterans and public safety officers at the White House on Friday.
The award ceremonies come just one day after Biden issued the nation’s second-highest civilian honors to 20 individuals, including Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney. Both have been floated as criminal targets for the incoming Trump administration for their work leading the House Jan. 6 committee.
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Biden will bestow the Medal of Honor on five Korean War veterans and two Vietnam War veterans Friday. Each man, six of whom will receive their awards posthumously, exemplified “gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty,” according to the White House.
Friday’s eight recipients of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor are highlighted by five Nashville, Tennessee, police officers responsible for ending 2023’s mass shooting at the Covenant School.
“The heavily-armed shooter had already killed six people, including three nine-year-old students. The officers rushed to the scene, and as they arrived, the shooter opened fire on them,” the White House said in a statement. “Still, the officers entered the school, cleared classroom after classroom, and ran towards the sounds of gunfire where they encountered the shooter. They took down the shooter. Later that day, the President addressed the nation and commended the police for their swift response and bravery.”
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Here’s Biden’s full list of honorees:
MEDAL OF HONOR
Private Bruno R. Orig (pos
Private First Class Wataru Nakamura (posthumous)
Corporal Fred B. McGee (posthumous)
Private First Class Charles R. Johnson (posthumous)
General Richard E. Cavazos (posthumous)
Captain Hugh R. Nelson, Jr. (posthumous)
Specialist Fourth Class Kenneth J. David
MEDAL OF VALOR
Sergeant Jeffrey Mathes
Officer Rex Engelbert
Detective Michael Collazo
Detective Ryan Cagle
Detective Zachary Plese
Sergeant Tu Tran
Lieutenant John Vanderstar
Firefighter Brendan Gaffney