 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, accompanied by Medal of Honor recipient, Master Sergeant Matthew O. Williams, United States Army. Please join me as I mark this occasion in a word of prayer. Almighty God, the author of Liberty and the champion of the oppressed, hear our prayer. You protect the righteous and bring justice to the foe. We gather today to honor the spirit of a warrior who, through adversity, remained focused on the lives of his team and what needed to be done. He put the safety of others above his own, ran toward danger, and met it face to face. We thank you for Master Sergeant Matthew Williams, an exemplar of heroism whose heart, soul, and very life were tested in battle, producing the stronger man we honor today. His character, courage, and calm were revealed in a moment, and his example inspires us all. God bless Matthew, his loving and devoted wife, Kate, their son, Nolan, his extended family, and his comrades in arms here today. Lord, let Matthew's life, legacy, and this very medal that is placed around his neck be a reminder for us all to face our fears and find our own moments to shine. May the lamp of liberty continue to burn bright on the United States of America, the Army, and may we be a beacon of hope and peace in our world. In your holy and righteous name, I pray. Amen. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Please sit down. Well, this afternoon it's my privilege to present our nation's highest and most revered military distinction. It's called the Congressional Medal of Honor. Nothing like it. Please join me in welcoming today's extraordinary recipient, Master Sergeant Matthew Williams. Thank you very much. We're delighted to have with us the Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper. Thank you, Mark. And great job to you and to everybody. And General Milley, for the credible act you performed seven days ago with Al Baghdadi. He was hit hard the way he should have been. And I just want to say, for all of our military, we're very proud of you. That was something very special. The whole world is proud of you, frankly. So thank you very much. Thank you, Mark. Great job. Also with us is Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jim Byrne. Thank you. Thank you, Jim. Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy. Thank you. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. Thank you, General. Great job. Incredible job. Army Chief of Staff, James McConville and Sergeant Major of the Army, Michael Grunston. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for being here. Also, thank you to some very special warriors. A little different kind of war, maybe, but they are warriors. Senators John Cornyn, Ted Cruz, and Tom Tillis. Thank you very much, fellas. Thank you. Along with Representative Richard Hudson for being here. We have a few other great politicians here, but we won't bother because we want to get on with this one. This is a very special thing. It's such a great honor. Joining Matt for this special ceremony is his wife, Kate, his father, Michael, his mother, Janet, brother Cody, and his sister, Amy. Please stand up. Please. Thank you. Great family. Each of you has strengthened our nation through your steadfast love and support, and we want to just thank you in a very, very special family. We're also honored to be in the presence of eight previous Congressional Medal of Honor winners. Recipients are here, and I thought maybe we should... What do you think? We should introduce them. I think so. Come on, let's do that. William Swenson. William, thank you very much. Ronald Shura. Thank you. Thank you, Ronald. Thank you. Walter Marm. Hi, Walter. Robert Foley. Thank you, Robert. Thank you, Robert. Brian Thacker. Thank you very much. Florent Groberg. Thank you, Florent. David Belavia. David, I heard you maybe we were going to be running for office, but someday I know, huh? I'll tell you what. Here's my vote. We'll have a brave politician for a change, right? That's great. Nice to see you, David. Thank you very much. And Salvatore Ginta. Thank you, Salvatore. Thank you very much. Matt Williams grew up in the small town of Birney, Texas. Very small town. I hate for the first time in elementary school and college you plan to pursue a career in law enforcement, but after 9-11, Matt decided his place was on the front lines of the war on terror. He wanted to be the best of the best. He worked so hard at it. So after graduation, he enlisted in the army to become a Green Beret. Matt finished his special forces training in August 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan by October. On April 6, 2008, he joined dozens of American special forces and Afghan commandos on a mission to take down a terrorist leader in a remote mountain village. Sounded simple, not simple. On that cold spring morning, the soldiers arrived in helicopters and jumped 10 feet from their Chinooks into the rocky and freezing terrain of Shock Valley. When the first Americans reached the edge of the valley, at the base of a 100-foot mountain, a handful of special forces scouted ahead. The lead group was 60 feet up. The slope went roughly 200 insurgents, savagely attacked, and it was a big surprise. Very unwelcome surprise, I might add. The terrorists filled the valley with a hail of bullets and explosions. Matt soon received word that the soldiers on the mountain were pinned down and suffering from mounting casualties. He organized the Afghan infantry under his command and he led a bold counter assault to stop the enemy advance. As machine gun fire rained down from above, Matt and his fellow American soldiers, Scott Ford and Ronald Sher, charged up the mountain. Once they reached their trapped comrades, Matt realized that several of them were too gravely wounded to be quickly evacuated. He ran down the mountain to get support and then climbed back up with bullets spraying all around. Not a good place to be. Again and again, Matt exchanged fire with the enemy and rescued his fellow soldiers. He guided his injured team sergeant, Scott Ford, down the mountain to safety. When Matt noticed two combatants moving toward a group of the badly wounded, he immediately engaged the enemy fighters and killed them both. Matt was not then yet. In order to rejoin the battle on the mountain, he and sergeant Seth Howard scaled a sheer cliff, completely exposed to attack. Matt quickly reengaged the adversary and shielded the injured from falling rubble as American warplanes bombed insurgent positions above and rocked the mountain from top to bottom. He then helped evacuate the wounded down a very, very steep cliff. As the terrorists continued to try to overrun their position, Matt raced back into battle. He fought for several more hours, valiantly protecting the wounded and putting his own life in great peril to save his comrades. Matt's incredible heroism helped ensure that not a single American soldier died in the battle of Shock Valley. His ground commander later wrote, I've never seen a troop so poised, focused, and capable during a fight. And Matt is without question and without reservation one of the bravest soldiers and people I've ever met. But Matt wants all Americans to know that he was not alone in his heroism that day, joining us this afternoon, our other heroes of Shock Valley. Please rise when I read your name. Lieutenant Colonel Kyle Walton. Thank you. Master Sergeant Scott Ford. Thank you, Scott. And Lewis Morales. Thank you very much. Thank you, Lewis. Carl Wersbach. Thank you, Carl. Sergeant's first class. Seth Howard. Dave Sanders. John Walden. Dylan Bear. And Ryan Wallin. Thank you, fellas. Thank you, fellas. And very importantly, as you know, better than anyone, Afghan translators. Baruz Mohamed. And Zia Graffori. How was that, okay? Not bad. But he said it was okay. He said it was okay. Thank you both very much. Fantastic job. Fantastic job. Thank you. I assume you all agree with this choice, right? Okay. You less chance, huh? They all agree. Thank you very much. I agree too. We all do. Thank you both very much. Thank you for being here. And we had a, not so long ago, a great ceremony with the Medal of Honor. And that was really amazing that you both here together. To each and every one of you, I want to thank you and I want to thank the fearless defense and what you've done for our country. It's incredible, your valor, your bravery, your strength, your heart, your soul. I think it's a great achievement to the overwhelming strength, lethal skill, and unstoppable might of the United States Army, Special Forces, and all of our military. The enemy that really held a high ground, superior numbers, and element of surprise, they had it all going. Everything they're not supposed to have, they had. But they had one major disadvantage. We didn't have any best trained soldiers anywhere in the world. We showed that a few days ago. These guys didn't know what the hell hit them. No adversary on earth stands a chance against the American Green Berets. A few years after that first perilous deployment, Matt married Kate. Did you make a good decision, Kate? In allowing this to happen, right? We definitely have a brave guy. I can't speak for the rest, okay? He's a brave guy, and he's a great guy. So good luck. That's nice. Today, they have a young son, Nolan, who will turn three next week. It's beautiful. In the years to come, Nolan will learn that his father stands among the ranks of our nation's greatest heroes. For more than a decade, Matt has stared down our enemies, fought back the forces of terror, and exemplified the virtue and gallantry of the American warrior. He has completed five tours in Afghanistan, a deployment in Africa, and he continues to serve our country on active duty today. That's something to have the congressional Medal of Honor and be serving in active duty. It's very rare. Matt, we salute your unyielding service, your unbreakable resolve, and your untiring devotion to our great nation and the nation that we all love. Your spirit keeps our flag waving high, our family safe at home, and our hearts beating with American pride. On behalf of the entire nation, our great USA, our incredible United States of America, we are forever grateful for your life of service and your outstanding courage. It's now my privilege to present Master Sergeant Matthew Williams with the Congressional Medal of Honor, and I would like to ask the Military Aid to come forward and please read the citation. Thank you. The President of the United States of America has awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Sergeant Matthew O. Williams, United States Army. Sergeant Williams distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity throughout the world and beyond the call of duty on April 6, 2008, while serving as a weapons sergeant, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 336, Special Operations Task Force 3-3, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sergeant Williams' actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, combine joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, Special Operations Command Central, and United States Army. As we go from this place, let this ceremony be a reminder of your faithfulness and a challenge to us all to place the needs of others first. Thank you for the life of Master Sergeant Matthew Williams. May his life be an inspiration to each of us, and may we ever remember that our nation expects that we acquit ourselves with honor. Grant us wisdom from thy mind, courage from thy heart, and protection from thy hand. It is for thee that we do battle and thee belongs the victor's crown. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats until the president has departed.