 Good afternoon The Honorable David Norquist performing the duties of Deputy Secretary Defense The Honorable Ryan McCarthy performing the duties of Secretary of the Army Vice Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel Daly and my congressman the Honorable Chris Collins US representative of New York from New York Ramrods of 2-2 infantry There we go Family my mother my brothers Dan Rand Tim Deanna my kids Evan Aiden and Vivian Thank you for your support Your presence and my good fortune to be able to share this occasion with my men My family my friends has eased the awkwardness that I'm feeling right now What's more, I'm especially proud of the recognition that this award brings to my unit my leaders and my peers of The mighty Ramrods of 2-2 infantry third brigade first infantry division Combatants bear witness to all aspects of the human condition It reveals the darkest parts of the human soul while residing side by side with the most exalted characteristics Robility honor valor and God's grace Why do American warriors under fire do what men have done since this nation's inception? This is a common thread that connects the militias of Lexington and conquered with the warriors of Fallujah It is our love of nation our way of life and our love by those who we serve with side by side We defend We avenge We sacrifice we bleed and we are willing to die for this unique creation the United States of America I Am complete for having experienced that kind of sacrifice with my fellow men at arms and Those who died They gave their lives for me They gave their lives for you and countless citizens who will never know them I'm talking about Sims Falkenburg I won Gonzales Vanderburg Madison Garriantes Shrek Sizemore Mock Rosales Cardenas Sprayberry and Pruitt Those were our countrymen Those are our friends and These men will never get the chance to experience the cycle of life the birth and growth of their children They shall not grow old because they chose to stand in our place and face the enemy for us It's not enough to acknowledge the fallen by name or just inscribe their names and marble is proof that they lived and died To truly honor the fallen we must acknowledge how and why they gave their lives Their death wasn't a random act or a splash of misfortune These men and women voluntarily put themselves in harm's way prepared to die So that we may rest secured at home They are the insurance policy that guarantees that our founding documents are God-given rights are more worthy than their own tomorrows When the news at Falkenburg Sims Madison and I won had fallen the reaction The shock the disbelief the grief it was transformed into resolve and rage To complete the mission assigned to us and give us even greater tenacity under fire their sacrifice Gave us clear focus to fight using a reserve that we never knew we had We broke the will of our adversaries the enemy was defeated And because of that we came home For the infantrymen in combat. There is nobility and purpose in our lives and that is unique But we don't see ourselves as a people apart. We are America's warrior class We are citizens of the United States and treasure this land more than any overseas posting The army provided me with purpose and appreciation The army provided me with purpose and appreciation for the blessing America has bestowed upon us all I'm forever grateful to the United States army For making me able to count and cherish those blessings in a way that is unique to most and to those who you wear the uniform I think the uniform I think my army has made us all better men fathers employees husbands and citizens The controversy that swirled over the Iraq war was not a departure from other wars that America has fought Just a short distance from where I grew up in Orleans County on the Canadian side of the Niagara River It was settled by a loyalist who supported King George With the exception of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor open descent has been at the core of our very being and War has never been particularly a popular undertaking American soldiers have never confused the United States with Sparta The best leaders in battle become that way by being loyal and dutiful subordinates we don't get a vote We execute the lawful intent of our government. There is no political affiliation on our dog tags We continue the warrior legacy of the united states without regard for adulation or unanimous approval either The Iraqi veteran has maintained and in many circumstances far exceeded the highest traditions of military service to this great nation Of the 1.5 million men and women who have served in Iraq The valor they displayed was often subsumed by political rhetoric at home But that in no way diminishes the accomplishment of our troops or the accomplishments of my generation at war The award is recognition of that And it should be seen as a validation of our efforts not as a reward for the action of one individual in one house in Fallujah When I think of Iraq I think of Colin Fitz Man shot by three separate weapon systems Nobody would have raised an eyebrow if Fitzie retired Instead Colin Fitz returns to combat duty for two more years to shed more blood for this nation that he loves When I think of Iraq, I think of Chris Oli the young sawgunner whose job it is to open doors and put down Reflexive fire to people who happened to be shooting back at him And he was able to do that because behind him was sergeant Warren Misa ready to pull him out of that doorway And undoubtedly save his life I have Chuck Knapp my team leader Chuck Knapp saved our entire third platoon alpha company 2 2 When he stopped us from entering a building contained ied that would have killed all of us I think about maxfield my sawgunner Who asked our doc abranathie to fix his injured foot in the prone position So he could continue to knock down targets under fire while he was getting fixed up My guy John Ruiz who shielded the body of his buddy from incoming fire without fear of risk to himself When I think of the iraq war, I think of piota seholis brave strong and steady Our engineers who devised and deployed remarkable weapons systems that save countless lives Our tankers Two seven cavalry on the other side of feluja that hardly gets any notice for what they did There were indispensable bradley crews who busted through walls Omar hardaway james cantrell Chad ellis who without a functioning 25 millimeter bush master cannon or tow or coax and let's not discuss how that happened He used his rifle to suppress the enemy Corey brown the grizzly bear from montana Shane gossard humble beautiful kind Brad u to say or the laulu the bradley teams and those crews are the reason why children have fathers today And those teams shielded our dismounts from rocket fire that were meant to take our lives Corey mcfadden john bandy wilson gary fry cane They never took a step backwards under fire Sergeant john gregarry is one of the toughest most decent men i've ever served with He had a tour from hell a year after we came home Our drivers marcott gonzo woodbury hunter pares They got us there They needed where we needed to go and they did it with bravery and valor iraq makes me think of victor santos A fiery brave soldier who cut his combat teeth at iraq and went on for more in a ranger regiment mcdaniel and swanson Young kids shouldering 240 bravos on their shoulder suppressing enemy fire from feet away I had stuckert I had metcalf. I had flannery and gross and I had our door crushing he-man hu hall That is my iraq war And it makes me proud to have told my dad know to dental school I learned No, I learned much more from living and fighting with these men that I ever could have from a lifetime of doing rue canals My units leaders died leading men from the front When our company commander shawn sims our company commander, he was killed in a house fight joey seaford and my interpreter sammie Who just became a u.s citizen a week ago? Yeah, you can play for that joey seaford And my interpreter sammie Were there to engage the enemy in efforts to save my company commander's life Seaford engaged the enemy And threw his weapon at him Engaging him with a buttstock of his rifle after being shot in the shoulder Travis burrito And my first platoon fought their way to extract wounded and fallen ram rods under intense enemy fire My iraq war I had captain now colonel dug walter I had first sergeant retired command sergeant major peter smith These were company leaders who put aside loss Put aside trauma to direct young warriors during the most stressful times of our lives Young lieutenants like chris walls Jeff emory lieutenant menel They learned how to lead and cover down when their peers had fallen And finally there's scott lawson A true friend we lost him in 2013 He entered the house with me that night in felucia He gave me strength. He gave me confidence that allowed me to survive that night And many other nights since then And I got to mention this guy michael where? A combat journalist there to cover a story and becomes part of the story You know before I got to know him before I got to see him in action I would have told you he was a hundred percent worthless and a nuisance Now that number is 65 percent I was wrong Michael ware is now the ernie pile of his generation His reporting is a testament to what we all did and if it it's not for men and women like michael ware Our story would have gone unremarked Most of the men I just described got little or no recognition for their valor In subsequent deployments some would lose their lives years later It is our duty to tell the story of our brave men and women who sacrificed so much for our fellow citizens As I've tried to communicate to you today, this is not a celebration about me I'm not mouthing a cliche We have much more work to do when it comes to the iraq war veteran We are not there yet And we're not even close when it comes to educating our fellow americans about what was accomplished What was sacrificed and what we all went through Our survival as a nation depends on it We honor our brothers and sisters in the united states marine corps and bar province was their fight Men like brad castle rafael peralta christopher applesburger brian shantosh jeremiah workman Sergeant craft they gave the enemy everything they could handle The navy and air force completed the remarkable display of american valor and might and fought shoulder to shoulder In with the united states army and falusion all over iraq This entire military is one cohesive dedicated force And the threats to our nations they don't sleep They're watching our every move iran russia china north korea ices al qaeda They may be watching this right now Our military should not be mistaken for a cable news gab fest show We don't care what you look like We don't care who you voted for Who you worship what you worship who you love? It doesn't matter if your dad left you millions when he died or if you knew who your father was We have been honed into a machine of lethal moving parts that you would be wise to avoid if you know what's good for you We will not be intimidated. We will not back down We've seen war We don't want war But if you want war with the united states of america, there's one thing i could promise you so help me god Someone else will raise your sons and daughters We fight We fight so our children never have to We fight for one day when our children and our enemies children can discuss their differences without fear or loathing We fight so that anyone out there thinking about raising arms against our citizens or allies realize the futility of attrition Against a discipline professional and lethal force built to a stand anything you can dream of throwing at us americans want this kind of country americans want this kind of world And we stand ready to defend it to protect us So help us god May god bless this beautiful army May god bless our marine corps our navy our air force and coast guard May god bless our allies And we already know that god blessed america Because he gave us the greatest fighting force this world has ever seen two two infantry at the first infantry division Thank you ramrods duty first dukes. Thank you very much