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President Obama announced this morning that he would join Medal of
Honor recipients at the Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath on
the Tomb of the Unknowns. His visit is in honor of National Medal of
Honor Day.
“Today we pay our respect to those who distinguished themselves
conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above
and beyond the call of duty - the recipients of the Medal of Honor,â€
the president said in a statement released after his afternoon
appearance at the famed cemetery.
“Medal of Honor recipients are the foremost example of greatness in
service and sacrifice,†he added. “Their bravery and humble strength
continues to reassure our nation of the strength of its character and
ideals even in these difficult times.â€
Col. Robert Howard, who is believed to be the most decorated
American soldier in history, stood next to President Obama this
afternoon and spoke to CBS News’ David Martin.
Howard told Martin about his experience in Vietnam, which won him a pretty spectacular phone call.
“I said who's calling? He said it's General Westmoreland. This is
on a 314, that's a field telephone. So I get back to the bunker and I
get on the telephone and it's General Westmoreland and he's the chief
of the staff of the army in Washington,†Howard explained in the
interview.
“He says I want to be the first to tell you you've been, you're
going to receive the Medal of Honor. I said sir I think we're going to
have a little problem receiving. You know we're under attack. He said I
know you guys can handle
Col. Robert Howard's Story:
(CBS)Â Robert Howard was the toughest, bravest cat in the jungle, but he
deserved a better war than Vietnam. He was nominated for the Medal of
Honor three times for three separate operations behind enemy lines.
But, as CBS News correspondent David Martin reports, when
President Nixon finally awarded him the nation’s highest honor, the
ceremony was actually delayed by anti-war protests. He was a war hero
at a time when Americans didn’t believe in either the war or its
heroes. He was wounded 14 times and has no business being alive.
“Here I come face-to-face with a platoon of enemy soldiers and so
I’m standing with my weapon like this, and they fire directly at me and
I fell backwards like this, and I didn’t get killed,†Howard explained.
That was just the beginning of the fire fight for which he was
awarded the Medal of Honor. It ended when, out of ammunition, he called
in a 2,000-pound bomb.
“I said 'I want you to put it right on our position',†Howard said.
“It blew us and the enemy up. Next thing I know, we’re still alive.â€
He’s still picking shrapnel out of his body.
“I got a piece that’s coming out of my side on this side this morning,†he said. “It bothers me.â€
Howard says he doesn’t think he’ll ever get it all out.
America loves war heroes. There was Sgt. York in WWI, Audie Murphy
in WWII. But in Vietnam, there were only scapegoats. Except there’s
Robert Howard, who single-handedly captured 44 enemy soldiers and
brought them back alive for questioning.
“I carried a damn enemy soldier for nine days because he was important and other people were trying to kill him,†Howard said.
He did five combat tours in Vietnam and is about to pay his fifth visit to the troops in Iraq.
“I teach them how to survive on the battlefield,†he said. “I teach them how to weigh courage and fear. You can balance that.â€
He can walk through the streets of Manhattan without anyone knowing
who he is or what he’s done. Until today, when President Obama found
out who Robert Howard is. Together, they and the 37 other Medal of
Honor winners from WWII, Korea and Vietnam laid a wreath at the Tomb of
the Unknowns.
Every person must search his conscience irregardless of what the next person thinks or does.
