In honor of their courage, service and commitment, Army recipients of the Medal of Honor were presented with the Association of the U.S. Army’s highest award for distinguished and selfless service.

Accepting AUSA’s George Catlett Marshall Medal Oct. 15 on behalf of the soldiers who have earned the nation’s highest award for valor were retired Col. Paris Davis, retired Maj. John Duffy, retired Lt. Gen. Robert Foley, retired Col. Walter Marm, former 1st Lt. Brian Thacker, retired Capt. Flo Groberg and retired Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee.

Presented on the final day of the association’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition, the Marshall Medal is named for the Army officer and statesman who led the Army, the State Department and Defense Department.

“Tonight isn’t about medals or rank,” said Plumlee, who spoke on behalf of the Medal of Honor recipients accepting the award. “It’s about the institution that unites us, the United States Army, and the legacy of courage, discipline and service that continues to define it today.”

He added, “From the moment our Army was formed in 1775 … one truth has remained constant, wherever freedom has been threatened, the United States Army has answered the call. … Generations of soldiers have carried the same flag, upheld the same oath and stood between danger and the people they swore to protect.”

This isn’t the first time the George Catlett Marshall Medal has gone to a group instead of a person. Last year, the Marshall Medal was awarded to The Army Noncommissioned Officer. It was awarded to The Army Family in 2020 and to The American Soldier in 2004.

The Army that each Medal of Honor recipient so devotedly served continues to adapt and change, Plumlee said. “Every decade, every conflict, every generation has added a new chapter to the Army’s story—ordinary Americans answering an extraordinary call, and that still is what defines the Army today,” he said. “From the young private standing watch in Poland, to the cyber warrior defending our networks, to the medic stabilizing that casualty under fire, our Army remains a living reflection of America’s strength, unity of purpose and resolve.”

Marshall once said that the soldier’s heart, spirit and soul are “everything,” Plumlee said. “That wasn’t just true 75 years ago. It is true today,” he said. “Today’s Army fights in domains Marshall could never imagine—space, cyber, artificial intelligence—but the foundation he built still holds. Integrity, discipline and teamwork remain our greatest weapons, and the same moral courage, courage that guided soldiers through Normandy, now guides soldiers through every challenge our world presents.”

The Medal of Honor is worn by a few, but it represents the many, Plumlee said. “Each of us who wears it understands it was earned in one moment, but belongs to every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine who's ever stood their ground when it mattered most,” he said. “The medal is not a trophy. It is a trust—a trust carried on behalf of those who cannot come home and those still standing watch tonight in places far from here.”

As the Army moves into the future, it continues to learn, adapt and lead, not just in combat, but in character, Plumlee said. “That is the message I want today’s warfighters to carry,” he said. “The Medal of Honor isn't about what we have done. It's about who we must continue to be. It's about living every day in a way that honors the best of not just this Army but this nation. That is why this evening and this award means so much, because the George Marshall Medal doesn't just honor service, it honors a lifetime devoted to others.”