ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

More than 50 years after their heroic actions, four soldiers who fought in Vietnam will receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced June 28.

President Joe Biden will recognize Staff Sgt. Edward Kaneshiro, Spc. 5 Dwight Birdwell, Spc. 5 Dennis Fujii and retired Maj. John Duffy with the nation’s highest award for valor July 5 at the White House.

Kaneshiro will be honored posthumously.

Capt. Tom Custer, the first soldier in U.S. history to earn two Medals of Honor, is the subject of the latest graphic novel in the Association of the U.S. Army’s series on recipients of the nation’s highest award for valor.

Retired Col. Ralph Puckett, a legendary and revered Army Ranger who fought in Korea and Vietnam, is the subject of the latest graphic novel in the Association of the U.S. Army’s series on recipients of the Medal of Honor. 

Medal of Honor: Ralph Puckett tells of Puckett’s actions as commander of the 8th Army Ranger Company during the Korean War, when he led his new unit to capture a frozen hilltop near the Chinese border and battled multiple counterattacks by a much larger enemy force.

Five soldiers could receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for their actions in Korea and Vietnam under the 2022 defense authorization bill.

Signed by President Joe Biden late last year, the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act also authorizes award upgrades for four soldiers who fought in Somalia during Operation Gothic Serpent, better known as the Battle of Mogadishu.

The story of 1st Lt. Vernon Baker, who led his platoon in an assault on a German stronghold in the mountains of Italy during World War II, is told in the latest graphic novel in the Association of the U.S. Army’s series on recipients of the nation’s highest valor award.

Medal of Honor: Vernon Baker tells the incredible tale of one of the nation’s famed Buffalo Soldiers and how he waited more than 50 years before he was fully recognized for his courage on the battlefield.

More than 75 years after they conducted visual, sonic and radio deception against German forces during World War II, soldiers who served in the so-called “Ghost Army” will receive the Congressional Gold Medal. 

The Association of the U.S. Army is releasing four new podcast episodes in February, including a podcast focusing on mental fitness and a look at leader development in the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade.

First up in the “Army Matters” series is an interview with retired Lt. Col. Daniel Johnston, who will discuss the intricacies of the brain and mental fitness. An Army physician and researcher, Johnston co-founded BrainSpan, which works to help practitioners, patients and the public build and sustain healthier and more resilient lives.

The nation’s highest award for valor was awarded Dec. 16 to three U.S. soldiers. Only one was alive to accept the Medal of Honor. The two others died from injuries suffered in their selfless acts.  

President Joe Biden described the three soldiers as having displayed “indisputable gallantry” under fire. “It is hard to explain where the soldiers got the courage they got.”  

President Joe Biden on Dec. 16 will award the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, to three soldiers for their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House announced.

The men being honored are Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who died in 2005 from severe burns after rescuing his fellow soldiers from a burning vehicle in Iraq; Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, who was killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan in 2018; and Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, who fought off suicide bombers in Afghanistan in 2013.

Alwyn Cashe