Chairman Buyer acclaims valor marked by
National Medal of Honor Day 

Saturday, March 25, is National Medal of Honor Day, a day to reflect on the uncompromising valor demonstrated by American patriots at war, often at the cost of their lives. 

On March 25, 1863, shortly after the medal was authorized by the pen of Abraham Lincoln, it was awarded to six members of the Union Army, thus giving us the day on which we commemorate the recipients of this medal and the service to nation it signifies.

Of the nearly 3,500 Medals of Honor awarded, only 114 living recipients remain with us.  Two recipients died this week: Desmond T. Doss, an Army private first class at the time of his valorous actions on Okinawa in 1945, and David B. Bleak, an Army sergeant who was serving in Korea in 1952 when he earned the nation’s highest award for valor.

More than 140 years after the Medal of Honor’s establishment, American men and women in uniform are again serving in harm’s way to preserve our way of life and bring the blessings of liberty to others.  Some have made the ultimate sacrifice. One, Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Baghdad in 2003.

On this day let us remember the heroic acts of these American patriots and renew our commitment to the cause for which they gave so much.

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