Three soldiers, whose collective service spanned World War II, Vietnam and Afghanistan, will be awarded the Medal of Honor on March 2, the White House announced Feb. 26.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Richardson will receive the nation’s highest award for valor from President Donald Trump during the ceremony. Master Sgt. Roderick Edmonds and Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Richardson

On Sept. 14, 1968, then-Staff Sgt. Richardson was a platoon leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, near Loc Ninh, Vietnam. During a reconnaissance mission, Richardson came under intense automatic weapons and small-arms fire from a well-entrenched North Vietnamese Army battalion, according to the White House.

Richardson braved heavy fire three times to rescue three severely wounded soldiers, the White House said. Upon returning to his unit, he realized that his company was surrounded, and he again braved enemy fire to advance to the top of Hill 222, his company’s objective for the day, to secure a vantage point for directing tactical air strikes, according to the White House.

Once on Hill 222, Richardson realized that it was an enemy regiment’s base camp. There, he “skillfully directed air strikes before being wounded by an enemy sniper,” the White House said. Ignoring his wounds, Richardson continued to direct air strikes near his position for seven more hours.

Richardson’s actions saved the lives of 85 fellow soldiers, the White House said.

Master Sgt. Roderick Edmonds

Edmonds, who went by Roddie, is being honored for his actions from Jan. 27, 1945, to March 30, 1945, while he was a prisoner of war in Germany.

Assigned to the 106th Infantry Division’s 442nd Infantry Regiment, Edmonds arrived in Belgium with his unit in December 1944, five days before the Battle of the Bulge, according to a narrative on the website Jewish Virtual Library.

After much of the division was overrun, Edmonds was one of thousands of U.S. soldiers captured by the Germans and detained eventually at Stalag IX-A, a prisoner of war camp in Ziegenhain, Germany.

As the highest-ranking NCO at the camp, Edmonds was placed in command of the camp’s 1,292 American POWs. On the evening of Jan. 26, 1945, the Germans announced that only Jewish-American prisoners would fall out for roll call the following morning, at the threat of execution, according to the White House.

“Edmonds quickly understood that segregating more than 200 Jewish-American POWs would likely result in their persecution and possible death, so he directed his senior leaders to have all 1,200 American prisoners present themselves for roll call,” according to the White House.

The following morning, the Nazi commandant became incredulous after realizing that so many Americans were standing in formation.

Pointing his gun at Edmonds’ head, the German officer demanded that Edmonds identify the Jewish soldiers, to which Edmonds replied, “We are all Jews here.” Edmonds then reminded the officer of the Geneva Conventions, which stipulate that prisoners need only provide their name, rank and serial number. He suggested that if the officer killed him, he would have to kill all the soldiers and face war crimes charges and, according to the narrative, the officer backed down.

Several weeks later, in March 1945, as Allied forces were rapidly advancing toward the area, the Germans ordered all prisoners to assemble outside the barracks for evacuation farther east to another camp, the White House said. Fully intending to undermine his enemy captors, Edmonds ordered all American prisoners to form in front of the barracks, and when the enemy transports arrived, they would break ranks and rush back to their barracks.

“Without regard for his own life, Master Sergeant Edmonds gallantly led these prisoners in a relentless pursuit of opposition and resistance, forcing the Germans to abandon the camp leaving the 1,200 American prisoners behind,” the White House said.

On March 30, 1945, the camp was liberated by the advancing U.S. 6th Armored Division.

Edmonds died in 1985.

Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis

Ollis, an infantryman assigned to the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni in Afghanistan, is being honored for his actions on Aug. 28, 2013.

On that day, a complex enemy attack involving vehicle-borne IEDs, suicide vests, indirect fire and small arms fire was launched against the forward operating base, according to the White House.

After accounting for his soldiers, Ollis moved to check for casualties and toward the enemy force that had breached the base perimeter. Ollis found Lt. Karol Cierpica, a Polish officer and a member of the coalition forces also stationed at the base, and together they moved toward the point of attack, without body armor and armed only with rifles.

While under continuous small-arms, indirect and rocket-propelled grenade fires, Ollis and Cierpica reached the attack point and linked up with other friendly forces to begin a coordinated effort to repulse the enemy from the airfield and adjacent buildings. They moved under fire from position to position, engaging the enemy with accurate and effective fire.

During the fight, an enemy combatant came around a corner and immediately began firing on Ollis and Cierpica. Ollis positioned himself between the insurgent and Cierpica, who had been wounded in both legs and was unable to walk. Ollis fired on the enemy fighter, incapacitating him, but as he approached the wounded fighter, the fighter’s suicide vest detonated, mortally wounding Ollis, the White House said.

Ollis was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor in combat. In 2019, the medal was upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross, according to a 2024 10th Mountain Division news release.