WASHINGTON — Ahead of Saturday's Medal of Honor Day commemoration, President Trump met with one-third of the nation's living recipients on Friday to thank them for their wartime heroism and after-service patriotism.

"Your acts of valor inspire us and they show us that there is always someone on the night watch to ensure a bright sun rises on America each and every morning," the president told the crowd of 25 Medal of Honor recipients in an Oval Office ceremony.

The event was largely overshadowed by Friday's unsuccessful bid by Republicans in the House to pass new health care legislation, an effort on which Trump had personally lobbied lawmakers. House leadership's decision to cancel a vote on the measure came as the Medal of Honor reception took place Friday afternoon and cut the event short.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Vice President Mike Pence also attended the event.

Trump quipped at the meeting that after meeting the veterans that, "I can say officially they are much braver than I am." But he also took a more serious tone when recounting their service.

"You have poured out your hearts, your sweat, and your tears like few others, and your blood, most importantly your blood for the United States of America," he said.

"We thank you, very much thank you. You are the soul of our nation, and a grateful republic salutes you."

Only 75 of the nearly 3,500 medal recipients are alive today. They include 11 men from the war in Afghanistan.

During his presidential campaign, 22 of the medal recipients endorsed him for president. Several of those men were among the crowd at the White House Friday.

But the group also included retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg, who received the medal for heroism in Afghanistan in 2012 and spoke at the Democratic National Convention last summer on behalf of Trump’s election opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Congress established Medal of Honor Day in 1990 as a way to both honor recipients of the medal and raise public awareness of their heroism and sacrifice.

Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

Share:
In Other News
Load More