Recognizing Medal of Honor Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his remarks. I appreciate his friendship and working on all of our issues on the committee together.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Medal of Honor Day and the American heroes who have earned our highest military decoration.

Over 40 million Americans have served in the U.S. Armed Forces since the Civil War, but fewer than 4,000 have been awarded the Medal of Honor. This award not only commemorates the bravery of those who earned it but also honors their humanity, patriotism, and sacrifice for the United States and her people.

Although each Medal of Honor recipient earns their medal through different acts of heroism, they all have one thing in common: They never sought heroism, yet they embodied it through their risk, sacrifice, and actions to protect others.

I would like to honor a few recipients from my home State of Utah.

Petty Officer George Edward Wahlen was awarded the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1945. Despite being repeatedly wounded during the battle of Iwo Jima, Petty Officer Wahlen refused evacuation and continued risking his life to rescue and treat comrades under intense enemy fire.

Private Jose Valdez was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1946. Private Valdez held his ground against overwhelming German forces, engaging enemies at close range and singlehandedly covering his patrol's retreat under intense fire, facing more than 200 enemy soldiers.

Lieutenant Brian Miles Thacker, whom we are lucky to still have with us today, was awarded the Medal of Honor on October 15, 1973. During a fierce assault at a fire base in the Vietnam war, Lieutenant Thacker directed airstrikes and artillery from a dangerously exposed position for hours, organized the withdrawal, and remained behind alone to provide covering fire. Although wounded and unable to escape from the area himself, he successfully eluded the enemy forces for 8 days until friendly forces regained control of the fire base.

I think President Harry S. Truman put it best: ``We do not go to war for gain or for territory; we go to war for principles, and we produce young men like these. . . . I would rather have that medal . . . than to be President of the United States.''

One of the first initiatives I worked on when I came to Congress 6 years ago was to authorize a National Medal of Honor Monument here in Washington, D.C. That bill passed Congress and was signed into law in December 2021.

The next and final step is to pass the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act to authorize the monument's permanent place on The National Mall. This bill was one of the first bills that passed the House in the 119th Congress, and it passed by a vote of 414-0.

I am grateful to my friend from Texas (Mr. Veasey) for working on both of these bills with me.

It is time for the Senate to do their job and join the House in coming together in a bipartisan way to provide these heroes and these heroes' families with the monument on our National Mall that they have earned.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Senator Justice for his tireless work to move this bill through the Senate process, and I urge the Senate to come together on National Medal of Honor Day, pass the Hershel ``Woody'' Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act, and move it one step closer to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I thank America's Medal of Honor recipients for their patriotism and for setting an example, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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