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Three Army noncommissioned officers who recently received the Medal of Honor were inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes today during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.
The induction came one day after Master Sgt. Roderick W. Edmonds, Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson were awarded the Medal of Honor by President Donald J. Trump during a ceremony at the White House.
Edmonds, a World War II veteran who passed away in 1985, and Ollis, who died in combat in 2013 during Operation Enduring Freedom, both received their medals posthumously; Richardson, a 78-year-old Vietnam War veteran who retired from the Army in 2008, attended both ceremonies.
"Today, we gather to honor three soldiers whose actions remind us that valor is not just a word etched in metal; it is a living testament to the courage and sacrifice that preserves and protects our great nation," Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll said during the ceremony.
"Each of these heroes went above and beyond the call of duty and placed their lives on the line for those that they loved — the soldiers to their left and their right, and to the very nation that they were born to," he continued.
During the ceremony, senior leaders as well as members of the recipients' families recounted the heroic and valorous acts each of the soldiers performed under intense, harrowing pressure.
Edmonds received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a prisoner of war during World War II, when he refused to identify Jewish-American soldiers to his German captors, saving them from likely persecution and death.
"The Nazi commandant was furious and ordered all non-Jews back in the barracks. Master Sgt. Edmonds calmly responded, 'We are all Jews here,'" Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George explained during the ceremony.
"My dad was a soldier's soldier; he loved soldiers. … [He] was a praying man, and he closed all of our family prayers with, 'Dear Heavenly Father, help us help those who can't help themselves.' That's the value of a soldier … of one who marches for his country, for his family, for his friends, for his freedom [and] for the almighty," Chris Edmonds said of his late father's character.
Ollis earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013, when the 24-year-old staff sergeant placed himself between an armed insurgent and a wounded coalition forces officer, ultimately saving the officer but losing his own life when the insurgent's suicide vest detonated.
"Staff Sgt. Ollis died in the blast, but he made sure his body shielded [the wounded officer] from further injury," George said of Ollis' actions, adding that he not only saved his teammate, but he helped stymie an attack that could have killed many others that day.
During the ceremony, Ollis' father, Bob, spoke of how his son had always known he wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a soldier.
Bob Ollis also recounted a story of how he received a phone call from his son roughly a month before he fell in battle. During that call, Ollis told his father that he had just reenlisted in the Army for an additional six years.
"He said, 'Pop, I'm going to give to the United States Army as long as I'm healthy.' … He had such a love for the United States Army that it was incredible," Bob Ollis said of his son.
Richardson received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam on Sept. 14, 1968, when he rescued three wounded soldiers while under heavy enemy fire.
He then proceeded to a hilltop — which turned out to be an enemy camp — and for seven hours, while wounded, directed airstrikes that caused the enemy to flee, thus saving the lives of 85 fellow soldiers.
"The men of [Richardson's unit] figured they would never see Staff Sgt. Richardson again. But, upon climbing the hill, [they] found him sitting on top of a rubber tree, bullet in his knee, ears bleeding — the embodiment of human endurance, grit and courage and an inspiration to them all," George explained of Richardson's heroics that day.
"For me, it's always been about putting soldiers first. … I invested in my soldiers; I knew every one of them. I knew what they needed, and I also knew their families back home, by what they told me," Richardson said during the ceremony.
"That's why I wear this Medal of Honor. It will never be [just] my own when I share it with my team," he added.
During the Hall of Heroes induction ceremony, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered remarks to the attendees remotely, praising the three inductees for the brave choices they made when faced with such adversity.
"The split-second decisions — sometimes made over hours — made by soldiers who we honor here today: what they decided ripples through time and still impacts lives today," Hegseth said, adding that nobody is born with the warrior ethos, but rather that it has to be taught, learned and forged through stories like those of the day's three honorees.
"We thank our Heavenly Father for these men and the decisions they made," Hegseth added. "May we tell their stories forever."
