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Trump Says He Deserves the Congressional Medal of Honor for His 2018 Visit to Iraq: ‘I Was Extremely Brave’

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President Donald Trump wanted to give himself the Congressional Medal of Honor, he revealed.

The president, 79, appeared in Rome, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 19, where he recalled his December 2018 surprise visit to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Force Base in Iraq’s Anbar province.

“I decided to go to Iraq. I was extremely brave. So brave in fact that I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump told the Georgia crowd, per footage published by ABC News 4. “I said to my people, ‘Am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?’”

He acknowledged that the honor has been given to “so many guys that are seriously brave.”

“I mean, they come in and their arms are missing, their legs are missing. Their stories are so unbelievable. And I said that’s a little stretch if I gave myself one,” he said. (Read more from “Trump Says He Deserves the Congressional Medal of Honor for His 2018 Visit to Iraq: ‘I Was Extremely Brave’” HERE)

A Little Lost? White House Cuts Video as Biden Awkwardly Wanders Out of Medal of Honor Ceremony

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The White House video of the Medal of Honor ceremony cuts off as President Joe Biden wanders off stage before the ceremony concludes.

Biden appeared to wander off the stage and abruptly leave the ceremony after awarding the Medal of Honor Tuesday. The White House recording of the event concludes after Biden walks down the aisle prior to the ceremony’s conclusion.

The White House planned to have Biden exit the ceremony once there was a pause in the programming in an effort to avoid contact with attendees after he was potentially exposed to COVID-19, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a Wednesday press briefing.

“The president took off his mask, as I said he would, to deliver incredibly powerful remarks about this Captain, Capt. [Larry] Taylor and what he did in service to our nation, and he wanted to honor the captain,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “And for a brief time afterward he also did have his mask on, as you just laid out. And he left as planned. As it was planned he left when there was a pause in the program in order to minimize his close contact with attendees who were about to participate in a reception.”

(Read more from “A Little Lost? White House Cuts Video as Biden Awkwardly Wanders Out of Medal of Honor Ceremony” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Biden Awards Medal of Honor to Korean War Hero

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President Joe Biden awarded his first Medal of Honor on Friday to a 94-year-old retired Army colonel for bravery under enemy fire more than a half-century ago in the Korean War.

It took a policy change for retired Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. to receive the military’s highest honor. The 2020 defense policy bill removed a requirement that such awards be given within five years of a valorous act.

“Today we are hosting a true American hero and awarding an honor that is long overdue — more than 70 years overdue,” Biden said during the East Room ceremony. “Though I understand that your first response to us hosting this event was to ask why all the fuss.”

Biden said Puckett had suggested they just mail him the award.

“Rather than mail it to you, I would’ve walked it to you,” Biden said, adding that the retired Ranger indeed deserved “a little bit of fuss.” (Read more from “Biden Awards Medal of Honor to Korean War Hero” HERE)

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Awkward: Biden Shouts Out Wrong South Korean Dignitary During Medal of Honor Ceremony (VIDEO)

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President Joe Biden, who has had a number of awkward moments since taking office, flubbed a line during his Friday Medal of Honor presentation ceremony when referring to a visiting dignitary.

Biden, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in standing nearby, detailed the valor exhibited by retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett during the Korean War. The president said that both Puckett’s men and the “people of the Republic of Korea have never forgotten” his bravery, “as evident by the fact that the Prime Minister of Korea is here for this ceremony.”

“I doubt this has happened before,” Biden said of a foreign head of state taking part in a Medal of Honor ceremony. “I can’t say that for certain, but I doubt this has happened before.”

Though Moon took part in the ceremony, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum was not part of the Korean delegation that traveled to Washington, D.C., to take part in bilateral negotiations on Friday.

(Read more from “Awkward: Biden Shouts Out Wrong South Korean Dignitary During Medal of Honor Ceremony (VIDEO)” HERE)

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Two Medal of Honor Recipients Sound off on Alexander Vindman

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On Sunday, Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry appeared on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” where he discussed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was escorted out of the White House on Friday. . .

“I respect Donald Trump’s actions on escorting [Vindman] out of the White House, because he, as a team player, he should have brought it up through the chain of command, and then blown the whistle if it didn’t get approved,” Perry told “Fox & Friends” on Sunday. . .

Petry continued regarding Vindman, claiming he was dubbed a “chow thief” back at Ranger School and heard he “couldn’t be trusted.” . . .

Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia added some commentary on Vindman, too. . .

Vindman is a very controversial guy, depending on your politics; you either love him or you hate him. Joe Biden gave him a standing ovation. Some people see him as just an emotional kid who just is so partisan and blinded by his politics that he jumped the chain of command and was blinded by being a part of history and politics are more important than his oath.

(Read more from “Two Medal of Honor Recipients Sound off on Alexander Vindman” HERE)

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Hero’s Words: U.S. Marine Wounded After Jumping on Grenade Has Message for Americans

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Retired Lance Corporal Kyle Carpenter reflected on his time serving in Afghanistan and discussed how he turned his injury into opportunity in his new memoir, “You Are Worth It.” . . .

“I wrote this book to transcend all boundaries,” Carpenter said. “I didn’t want only veterans or service members, or people that had been to combat, to only be able to take something from it. I wanted anyone to pick it up and not only be able to understand it, but to take lessons from it.”

“Many of the lessons and perspectives that I’ve discussed came because I was forced to search for those silver linings during those long dark and painful nights in the hospital,” Carpenter continued.

“But now, I’m so thankful that I’ve had these amazing experiences from this bonus round that I’m living to tell people that it’s about perspective and how you look at things and that you can truly come back better and stronger than you were before… and come back smiling,” he added.

Carpenter, 29, is the youngest living recipient of the Medal of Honor and is the eighth living recipient to be honored for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq. (Read more from “Hero’s Words: U.S. Marine Wounded After Jumping on Grenade Has Message for Americans” HERE)

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Michigan Vietnam Vet Is Trump’s 1st Medal of Honor Recipient

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Members of Army medic James McCloughan’s unit in Vietnam called him “Doc.”

Now, those soldiers, several of whom McCloughan saved during the ferocious, dayslong Battle of Nui Yon Hill in 1969, will have a new name for him: Medal of Honor recipient.

Army spokeswoman Valerie L. Mongello said Tuesday that the 71-year-old from South Haven, Michigan, will become the first person to be awarded the nation’s highest military honor by President Donald Trump. (Read more from “Michigan Vietnam Vet Is Trump’s 1st Medal of Honor Recipient” HERE)

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Afghan War Vet Awarded Medal of Honor, Seeks to Return to Active Duty

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Photo Credit: Fox News After nearly being overlooked, and according to some accounts intentionally forgotten, Army Capt. William Swenson received the Medal of Honor at an emotional White House ceremony Tuesday for his heroic actions during the 2009 Battle of Ganjgal in eastern Afghanistan.

Ganjgal was one of the bloodiest battles of the 12-year war. Ambushed by the Taliban, coalition forces were pinned down for nine hours. The fight ended with five U.S. deaths, 10 Afghan army deaths and over two-dozen coalition wounded.

Late Tuesday, Fox News confirmed reports that Swenson, who since leaving the Army in 2011 has spent much of his time in the wilderness of Washington state, has asked the Army to return him to active duty — a rare request for a Medal of Honor recipient. An Army spokesman said, “We are reviewing his request and processing it within established policy.”

The ceremony Tuesday marked only the second time in half a century that the nation’s highest award for valor has been given to two survivors of the same battle. In 2011, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer, who fought alongside Swenson, received the same medal for his actions at Ganjgal.

But Swenson’s battle didn’t end in Ganjgal. After the battle, he bitterly complained about incompetence in the ranks, suggesting to Army investigators and reporters that his commanders decided the political risk of civilian casualties outweighed the need to protect the lives of Americans.

Read more from this story HERE.

Hero of COP Keating Battle to Receive Medal of Honor

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A former staff sergeant who helped repel one of the largest, most vicious battles against U.S. forces in Afghanistan will receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced Friday.

Clinton L. Romesha, 31, will be the fourth living service member to receive the nation’s highest award for valor for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq. Seven other service members have posthumously been awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in those wars.

Romesha will be awarded the medal Feb. 11 at the White House.

Romesha was a section leader in B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division during the Oct. 3, 2009, attack on Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan.

Eight American soldiers were killed and two dozen others wounded in the battle as the troop-sized element fought against an overwhelming enemy force that launched a brazen attack to overrun the COP.

Read more from this story HERE.