President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth lauded the intrepid valor of three servicemen whom the commander in chief awarded the Medal of Honor to at a White House ceremony yesterday.
During formal observances in Washington yesterday afternoon and in Arlington, Virginia, this morning, Trump and Hegseth recounted the heroic actions of three awardees: retired Marine Corps Maj. James Capers Jr., Marine Corps Col. John W. Ripley — both Vietnam War veterans, with Ripley receiving his medal posthumously — and retired Army Maj. Nicholas Dockery, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
"As we approach the 250th anniversary of our founding, we remember that we owe everything to heroes like those we celebrate today: men who went willingly into the darkest and most dangerous corners of Earth to defeat evil, so we could live free," Trump said just prior to presenting the medals.
Following the awarding of the Medals of Honor, all three men were inducted today into the Hall of Heroes — a room in the Pentagon that lists the names of all 3,500-plus service members who have received the prestigious award since President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating it in the early 1860s.
During both the awarding and the induction, Trump, Hegseth and others recounted the courageous acts that ultimately resulted in them receiving the highest military award for valor in action.
"James Capers Jr. and John Ripley proved that the breed of patriots who stood [during the Battles of Lexington and Concord] and on the banks of the Delaware River did not die out, and those kinds of patriots still guard us today," Hegseth said.
Ripley, who was serving as a senior Marine advisor, destroyed a critical bridge to halt a North Vietnamese advance, April 2, 1972. Despite facing enemy fire and physical exhaustion, he successfully positioned and detonated explosives. His son, Tom, spoke on his late father's behalf.
"After the bridge was destroyed and the invasion halted, my father was asked to provide an update via radio a few days later. ... He captured the moment perfectly: 'Leatherneck, this is Leatherneck Delta. Report: powder dry, morale high, Semper Fi,'" the younger Ripley said.
Capers, 88, sustained multiple injuries while coordinating the evacuation of his men under heavy enemy fire at Phú Lộc, Vietnam, in 1967. Despite being wounded extensively, he refused to leave the battlefield until all of his fellow Marines were safely evacuated.
"Your applause reminds me of some dark days, of some brave men — so I'll speak for them," Capers said.
"This is the greatest country in the world. I fought for that flag. I believed in it. … So, thank you all for being here today, and thank you all for coming here. This is very important to us, to keep our legacy going," he added.
Dockery received his medal for confronting a well-armed Taliban force that ambushed his platoon, leading to a lengthy fight.
Despite the difficult Afghanistan terrain, Dockery was able to continually engage the enemy, personally risking his life on numerous occasions to protect and evacuate three wounded members of his platoon.
"Our nation is filled with great moments of unity every day. There are moments of respect and compassion shared between one another. … I love my country, and if we all remember this, the best of America is yet to come," Dockery said, following his induction.
All three men are now immortalized in the Hall of Heroes with the thousands of other courageous service members.