JANUARY 4, 2025 – Following a ceremony Friday at the White House where seven soldiers received the Medal of Honor, today those same soldiers were inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes during an off-site ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.
On Friday, President Joe Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Pvt. Bruno R. Orig, Pfc. Wataru Nakamura, Cpl. Fred B. McGee, Pfc. Charles R. Johnson and Gen. Richard E. Cavazos. All served in the Korean War and were posthumously presented the medal. Family members accepted the decoration on their behalf.
From the Vietnam War, both Capt. Hugh R. Nelson Jr. and Pfc. Kenneth J. David were decorated. Nelson received the medal posthumously, while David, the only living recipient, accepted the medal in person.
At JMB-HH, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy A. George inducted the soldiers into the Hall of Heroes, where the names of all service members who receive the Medal of Honor are enshrined.
“It’s incredibly powerful to hear these seven stories of sheer bravery and sacrifice,” said Austin, who himself served in the Army for more than 40 years. “The soldiers whom we honor today came from different walks of life, from different communities and from different parts of our country.”
Austin said some of the soldiers honored could trace their roots in the United States back for generations. Some, he said, were children of immigrants. Others were descendants of slaves.
“Some of these heroes were commissioned officers in the Army, and some of them fought in the enlisted ranks,” Austin said. “Yet when each of these men faced terrible danger in battle, every one of them made the same choice: to put the mission first, to never quit, to never accept defeat and to never leave a fallen comrade.”
Orig, Nakamura and Johnson were all killed in action in while serving in Korea, while Nelson was killed in action serving in Vietnam. Following service in wartime, McGee spent more than 40 years working in the steel industry and also served in multiple civic organizations. He died in 2020, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Cavazos continued service in the Army until 1984 and retired as a four-star general. He died in 2017.
David, the only living medal recipient, has spent the decades following the Vietnam War serving military veterans in his community, Austin said.
“These heroes risked everything for their country, and often made the ultimate sacrifice,” Austin said. “Their stories should be more than just a source of pride. They should be a source of inspiration. And they should be a spur to action.”
It sometimes takes decades, or longer, to finally recognize the gallant actions of service members in combat situations. Austin said it took the work of many to bring to light the actions of the seven inducted into the Hall of Heroes.
“The recognition that we bestow on these heroes today is long overdue,” he said. “But we got here. And we got here thanks to the loved ones and the advocates who kept pushing, year after year.”
Among those, he said, were the fellow soldiers who witnessed their actions and who wrote their commanding officers, families, civic groups, journalists, alumni chapters, members of Congress, congressional staffers and veterans.
“You have all helped us to see the unmatched valor of these men’s deeds — and to forever set them in their rightful place of honor,” Austin said. “Let us do more than honor the service and sacrifice of these American heroes. Let us strive to live up to their example. And let us protect and strengthen the republic that they loved so much.”
By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News