Biden to award medals of honor, valor in waning days at White House

President Biden will award the Medal of Honor to seven U.S. Army soldiers and the Medal of Valor to eight public safety officers at the White House on Friday.

The Medal of Honor is given to members of the armed services who distinguish themselves during combat. Six of the seven recipients Friday will receive the award posthumously.

The president will award Pvt. Bruno R. Orig, who died while manning a machine gun to recapture lost ground in Korea; Pfc. Wataru Nakamura, who died while attacking an enemy bunker in Kore; Cpl. Fred B. McGee, who evacuated the wounded and dead while under fire in Korea; and Pfc. Charles R. Johnson, who was killed in action while saving the lives of 10 soldiers to hold off the enemy in Korea.

Others include 1st Lt. Richard E. Cavazos, who served in Korea and then went on to serve for more than 30 years, attaining the rank of four-star general before he died in 2017; Capt. Hugh R. Nelson Jr., who was killed by gunfire while helping another specialist in Vietnam; and Pfc. Kenneth J. David, who drew fire on himself in Vietnam to protect the wounded before he was evacuated. David is the only one among those being honored who is still living.

The Medal of Valor is the nation’s highest award for valor by a public safety officer. The nominees were recommended by the attorney general and a review board, which is made up of members appointed by the president, the Senate majority and minority leaders, the Speaker of the House and the House minority leader.

The president will award Sgt. Jeffrey Mathes, officer Rex Engelbert and detectives Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle, and Zachary Plese for taking down an active shooter at The Covenant School, an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn., in March 2023.

Biden will also award Sgt. Tu Tran for saving a woman drowning in Lincoln, Neb., in February 2023; Lt. John Vanderstar of the New York City fire department for saving a mother and her child in a burning apartment in October 2022; and firefighter Brendan Gaffney of the New York City fire department for rushing through a burning apartment twice to save unconscious victims in February 2023.

Biden on Thursday awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 20 individuals at the White House, including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who served as chair and vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee. Biden also honored former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), and former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.).