US President Joe Biden on Tuesday awarded seven Korean and Vietnam veterans the Medal of Honor and eight law enforcement officers the Medal of Valor for extraordinary courage that "went above and beyond the call of duty," Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The Medal of Valor is the nation's highest honor for public safety officers. Among the recipients are five members of the Nashville, Tennessee, police department who responded to the shooting at the "Covenant School" in Nashville in March 2023, where a former student shot and killed six people.
"What they did is incredible. "They literally put their lives on the line," Biden said. "You are the best America has to offer," he added.
Kenneth David, who served as a communications officer in the Vietnam War, was the only living recipient of the Medal of Honor on Sunday. The other six were awarded posthumously, with their families accepting the award.
David, whom the president called an "absolute American hero," distracted enemy forces attacking his company in Vietnam in May 1970 by rescuing wounded comrades. He received a standing ovation as Biden presented him with the medal.