Three MoHs awarded today

Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson receiving the Medal of Honor from President Trump this morning

President Trump awarded three Medals of Honor this morning. This is in addition to the two at last week’s State of the Union.

Today’s recipients include (all from the Army);

• Master Sergeant Roddie Edmunds – A posthumous award. This is the rare MoH that isn’t an upgrade from a previous award. Edmunds’ refusal to turn over some 200 Jewish men under his command in a Nazi PW camp (even when the commandant placed a pistol to Edmunds’ forehead) in 1945 is finally being recognized for the ultimate act of brotherhood and gallantry it was. Edmonds never talked about this before his death in the 1980s, and the story only came out when his kids started to go through his papers. The link at the top of this paragraph is my write up from almost five years ago highlighting his story.
• Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis – He sacrificed himself to save the live of an Allied soldier during an attack on his base in Afghanistan. Notably, it was the second time in as many minutes that he’d saved this Polish officer’s life. His act of bravery cost him his life, but saved the wounded Pole that he’d never even seen before. The link goes through to my now nearly two-year old article on Ollis’ bravery. Ollis was initially awarded the Silver Star, which was upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross, and that in turn has been upgraded to the MoH.
• Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson – The only living recipient.

Stars and Stripes, in their coverage for this morning’s events, explains why Richardson earned the medal;

Richardson retired from the Army on July 31, 2008, as command sergeant major at Camp Grayling, Mich.

At the retirement ceremony, one of his unit buddies, Dave Himmer, spoke about what happened on Sept. 14, 1968.

It was the first time the story had really been told.

“I had never said anything … about that. I mean, I struggled for a long time, believe me. But I never told anyone,” Richardson said.

During a reconnaissance mission between Loc Ninh and the Cambodian border, his company, Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, attempted to advance up Hill 222 in tandem with several other companies of the 1st Infantry Division. The hill was controlled by elements of the North Vietnamese 7th Division.

Richardson’s unit became separated from the rest of the company and got pinned down by enemy fire, wounding three American soldiers. They were able to move the wounded to the rear to be evacuated.

“I knew that we were up against a pretty superior force, so I took it by myself,” he added. “I took a radio, and I went to the top of the hill and I called in airstrikes because I knew artillery was not going to be able to help us out that much.”

He managed to make it into a small irrigation ditch at the top of the hill, maybe 18 inches deep, Richardson said. From there, he got on the radio to call airstrikes. The then-staff sergeant was told to pop smoke so the pilots would know where he was and wouldn’t hit him. Richardson couldn’t do that with all of the North Vietnamese surrounding him.

About an hour into the strikes, Richardson said he “felt something sting;” he was shot in the right leg. Ignoring the pain, he stayed on the radio for seven hours calling in airstrikes.

“I knew that the Vietnamese were ready to get out of there,” Richardson said. “And when the airstrikes were done, the ones that were left, they started running on the backside of the hill. I watched them run, and they were headed toward Cambodia.”

Richardson is credited with saving the lives of 85 members of Alpha company.

“No other Medal of Honor recipient from Vietnam saved 85 of his people. I mean, it’s a grace of God … but it is his bravery, and what he did is just incredible,” Himmer said.

Himmer, a retired U.S. Air Force command chief master sergeant, said it has been a long journey to get Richardson the Medal of Honor.

Part of the journey began on Veterans Day in 2000, when a group from the unit gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. It was the first time they had met with one another since leaving Vietnam.

Richardson had received the Silver Star, the third-highest military decoration. Himmer told Richardson that the citation noted that he saved two men; he actually saved 85. Himmer wanted to move forward with getting the Silver Star upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

“He said, ‘No, I don’t authorize it. I was just doing my job,’” Himmer recalled.

When Richardson retired in 2008, he invited Himmer to come and tell his story. That’s when Richardson gave permission to move forward with the award, Himmer said.

During the process, Himmer’s routine was calling Richardson every Sept. 14 to thank him for his actions and to say, “we’re still working on it.”

Himmer called Richardson the first week of December to let his buddy know that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had approved the award.

Richardson said he got a call from President Donald Trump Feb. 2 with the news. He said he almost “fell out of his chair.”

“He said, ‘I read your story,’” Richardson remembered. “And he said, ‘I’ll tell you right now … I probably would never do what you did. When I read it, I knew I wanted to talk to you.’”

He said the call with Trump lasted maybe 10 minutes, and it was “quite an honor.”

“I am going to be humbled to have the president of the United States put that around my neck,” Richardson added. “I’ll probably be thinking of a lot of my friends that lost their lives in Vietnam, and how my life’s going to change.”

After Trump read to the audience about Richardson’s actions during Vietnam, he was quick to point out that Richardson could still fight.

“Terry, that’s a great, brave man. Look at him. He looks great,” the president said. “You feel like fighting? We could, I think we could take him today. What do you think, Pete?”

Trump patted Richardson on the shoulder before placing the medal around his neck. He patted his shoulders again before Richardson turned around.

Richardson turned to Trump and immediately said, “Wow!”

The Stripes article has some written about the other men, with pictures of their families receiving the honors on their behalf.

Category: Army, GWOT, Valor, Vietnam, We Remember, WWII