President Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest military honor to a pair of soldiers for their bravery during the Vietnam War during a White House ceremony Monday.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins of Opelika, Alabama received the Medal of Honor for running wounded through enemy fire to pull injured soldiers to safety at Camp A Shau in March 1966.
Army Spc. Donald P. Sloat of Coweta, Oklahoma received the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat operations in the vicinity of Hawk Hill Fire Base in January 1970. He was killed in action when shielded the blast of a grenade with his own body to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Sloat's brother, William, accepted the medal Monday.
'Two discrete moments, but today we honor two American soldiers for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty,' Obama said at a ceremony in the East Room. 'Nearly half a century after their acts of valor, a grateful nation bestows upon these men the highest military decoration -- the Medal of Honor.'
Congress had to grant an exemption so the two could receive the medal, because recommendations typically must be made within two years of the act of heroism, and the medal presented within three.
'Normally, this medal must be awarded within a few years of the action,' Obama said. 'But sometimes even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in the fog of war or the passage of time. Yet when new evidence comes to light, certain actions can be reconsidered for this honor, and it is entirely right and proper that we have done so. And that is why we are here today.'
Obama has bestowed the medal of honor 42 times.
A Missouri appeals court panel has rewritten the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment dealing with early voting.
Illinois' gubernatorial campaigns clashed over business dealings and state hiring Monday, with Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's running mate accusing Republican businessman Bruce Rauner of profiting 'from fraud' and Rauner calling hiring under Quinn's Department of Transportation a 'scam.'
The offender-rehabilitation program former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice was allowed into after knocking his fiancee unconscious in an Atlantic City elevator is rarely used in domestic assault cases - but whether that means he got special treatment because of his stardom remains up in the air, depending on whom you ask.
Posted by Unknown on Monday, September 15, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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