Friends of journalist Richard Pyle gathered Monday at Arlington National Cemetery to bid a final farewell to the veteran war correspondent and celebrate his storied Associated Press career, from Saigon and Tokyo to Washington and New York, nearly one year after his death.

"You're working with people who are highly specialized in those areas and you're trying to lead them, but they know way more than you."

Three Army veterans received the Defense Department's highest valor award for actions while serving as contractors in Afghanistan.