POTUS awards Medal of Honor to 4 US soldiers for Vietnam heroism
The President of the United States has awarded Medal of Honour to 4 United States soldiers for their Vietnam heroism.
President Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Edward Kaneshiro, Spc. 5 Dwight Birdwell, Spc. 5 Dennis Fujii and retired Maj. John Duffy.
Speaking in the East Room of the White House, Biden praised their heroism and lamented that they hadn’t received appropriate recognition until now.
“Not every service member has received the full recognition they deserve,” Biden said.
“Today, we’re setting the record straight.”
Recounting their battlefield service, Biden said they “went far and above the call of duty.”
“More than 50 years have passed since the jungles of Vietnam,” Biden added. “But time has not diminished their bravery.”
Kaneshiro died in 1967 of a gunshot wound in Vietnam and received his honor posthumously for a Dec. 1, 1966 raid, in which his unit came under fire by North Vietnamese troops. His actions were credited with helping his unit withdraw from the village where they were fighting.
Birdwell, now a lawyer in Oklahoma City, was honored for his actions in helping to head off an assault and evacuate the wounded at Tan Son Nhut Airbase near Saigon on Jan. 31, 1968, despite injuries to his torso and face.
Fujii was presented with the medal for actions over four days in February 1971 treating the wounded and directing air strikes against enemy positions after his air ambulance was forced to crash land.
Duffy’s award is for leading troops who came under ambush after their commander was killed in action, repelling attackers and evacuating wounded, despite his own injuries.
