President Donald Trump is set to bestow the Medal of Honor upon three legendary U.S. troops whose stories of defiance and sacrifice define American heroism. Scheduled for March 2, the White House ceremony spotlights deeds from three wars that transcended ordinary courage.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds’ stand against Nazi genocide in 1945 remains a testament to moral fortitude. Captured and held at Stalag IXA, he confronted an order to segregate Jewish POWs under pain of death. Rallying 1,200 Americans to assemble as one, he stared down a pistol-wielding commandant, declaring any execution a war crime. The Nazis relented.
Edmonds later orchestrated a bold camp stay-in, thwarting evacuation and ensuring liberation by Allies without further loss.
In Afghanistan’s brutal 2013 ambush at FOB Ghazni, Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis exemplified split-second heroism. A multi-pronged attack—IEDs exploding, suicide vests detonating, mortars raining—unleashed hell. Ollis evacuated troops to bunkers, then reentered peril to aid casualties. When fighters stormed inside, he spearheaded the defense with rifle fire, repelling the onslaught.
Facing a point-blank suicide bomber, Ollis interposed himself, gunning down the foe at the cost of his life from the blast, protecting a key ally.
Vietnam’s 1968 inferno tested Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Richardson like few others. Amid a battalion’s barrage near Loc Ninh, he dashed through machine-gun crossfire thrice to extract the injured. Positioning on enemy-held Hill 222 despite sniper wounds, he called in airstrikes relentlessly for seven hours, rejecting medevac until victory secured 85 lives.
These men’s legacies endure through the Medal of Honor, America’s foremost valor accolade since the Civil War, awarded to over 3,500 for risking all beyond duty’s call.