 Thanks to all who have spoken before me today. General Milley, Acting Secretary Speer, Secretary Mattis. Thank you for your leadership in the world's most powerful military and the most powerful country in the world. This medal is special because it has involved two presidents and two Secretary of Defense's. My gratitude to President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama, former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Defense Secretary General James Mattis, good first name, former Senator Carl Levin who worked four years on this project, Senator Debbie Stabenow, my wife says give it to a woman, she'll get it done, and Gary Peters, Congressman Fred Upton, other members of the Congress, Department of Defense guest, Gold Star families, very important people, fellow Medal of Honor brothers, I can now call you my brother, Lieutenant Clark, the men of Charlie Company who wrote the eye-witness letters, and the Army team from the Pentagon who has helped my wife and I through this journey. I love you. Thank you all for recognizing the extraordinary courage of the men I'm going to talk about here today. Thanks to my sidekick, soulmate and wife, Cherie, you are my rock. My sons, Jamie and Matt, and their wives, my stepdaughter, Kara, she has a milestone birthday today, I'll let her tell you which one it is. My brothers, Mike and Tom, and their families, my grandchildren, my extended family, fellow colleagues, athletes and friends, and of course the men of Charlie Company and your families. I'd like to thank my Uncle Jack back home who couldn't be here today for being my idol, my inspiration, and my encourager. And there's two very special spirits here today. My dad's first name was Oliver, but he was known as Scotty. McLuhan, you know Scotty. Scotty and Margaret McLuhan who are looking down on this ceremony today. Thank you Lord for making them my parents and giving them a front row seat. I don't know if some of you, well some of you will, others won't, but in the 70s there was a song that came out and it was entitled Short People Have No Reason To Live. I think that this blows the hell out of that theory, don't you think so? In an interview Friday I mentioned that there were two things that I never dreamed would happen in my life. One was that the Medal of Honor would have my name attached to it, and the other was that I never thought I would be interviewed by a national TV network. I've never seen so many of them, and people claiming they were. Well, there's a third thing today that I thought would never happen either. I never thought that I'd be in a room with so many of the special people in my life while addressing the nation. This medal is about love, a love so deep in the soul of the Charlie Tiger brothers and me that it's beyond measurement. I will be the caretaker of this medal for the 89 men combat assaulted by helicopter into Tam Key for the battle of Nguyen Hill on May 13, 1969, whether they came out alive or they didn't. We came from many parts of this great nation, some were drafted, some volunteered, but all wrote a blank check to the people of the United States of America and South Vietnam. We leaped out of those choppers from 10 feet in the air into a place far different from the hometowns we grew up in. Each of us had a job. I've often said that I had a positive job in a negative situation. I was able to save lives. I took my duties really seriously, as did the brothers over there from Charlie Company. As a medic, I followed the lead of my dad, who told me as a small child, son, if you're given a job to do, never do it halfway. You do it to the best of your ability and carry it out to the end. He not only told me that, he showed me that. My dad walked the talk and his guidance is ingrained in me. All of us present that day had pledged an oath of loyalty to the country, to the Army, to the Constitution of the United States of America. But we could never be prepared for what we were about to face the next 48 hours. Our goal soon became getting as many of us out of there alive as we possibly could. Through the many battles we had already faced together, our brotherhood had grown stronger and thicker than blood. The bond we follow today will also follow us to heaven and beyond. My father passed to me another gift, a sense of humor. Along with the many things I carry in my medical pack, I always carried a few jokes or some funny comments that I would use often to lift the morale or keep the wounded soldier from going into shock. I love to see and hear people laugh, and I laugh at my own jokes right along with them. They're funny. I wouldn't tell them if they weren't funny. And Red Skelton was one of my favorites. He laughed along with his jokes too. I have continued to use this gift until the day that I die. As a matter of fact, I told my wife, Shuri, that I would like her to place a piece of paper on my chest at the funeral with a joke written on it. And I have requested that I have a smile on my face instead of that traditional sober look so that it appears that I am laughing along with those who read the joke. Let me give you a sample of a joke that I might tell. It's one about a Dear John letter. Those of you that maybe aren't military might not know, but a Dear John letter is one that is sent from a loved one back home, a girl, a significant other, and she is all of a sudden turning and running in the other direction. Well, Private Smith received one of those letters from his girlfriend Marie, and she told him that she no longer loved him. She even told him that she was going with a guy that he knew, maybe even a best friend, that she wanted her picture back. So a good buddy of his, like one of the Charlie Tiger guys over here, noticed he was down in the dumps and asked him if he could see that picture of that girlfriend of which he produced for him, and his buddy walked off with it. He went to all the other Charlie Tiger buddies and asked if he could have a picture of their girlfriend. And they said, sure, they had some extras. Go ahead and take one. And his buddy wrote this letter to Marie, Dear Marie, I'm sorry that you don't love me anymore. And I understand that you would like to have your picture back, but I can't remember which one you are. So would you, so would you please take yours and send the others back. However, those brutal 48 hours were not funny. We discovered we were not alone. The first night when my second platoon was ordered to search and clear it. Now, we got two helicopters shot down when we came in, right? And they're telling us to move out towards the enemy outside of our perimeter. I noticed and I glimpsed up on Nooyan Hill. And in the distance, the enemy looked like lava flowing down off the hill coming towards our position. We learned later that there were anywhere from 1500 to 2000 NVA and 700 VC on that hill. Fortunately, we had each other. And we were dedicated to duty. We also received help from the other branches of the military. Our survival would depend on a team much larger than ours, a team that was equally dedicated. Wounded the first day, I refused to board the medevac the evening of May 13th. As had been mentioned, an RPG exploded and it did its job on me. But I would have rather died on that battlefield than have heard later that one of my men was killed because their medic was not there. Sergeant Joe Midtendorf also refused to get on that chopper. He, along with Sergeant Doug Hatton, became a huge factor in keeping me alive and allowing me to rescue others. They continued to cover me for the last 24 hours with their machine guns. After nearly 50 years, the Purple Heart that Joe earned, earned, earned that day. On the battlefield was finally pinned on him Sunday evening at the Army reception. Thank you, Joe, for your service and sacrifice. I'm sorry it took so long. I love your brother. I owe much to my parents, family, mentors, teammates, and friends for what I was able to accomplish as a medic. My character was molded by them and the mental discipline I learned from athletics allowed me to maintain my focus during our many battles. I also am thankful for the job I had at a funeral home during my high school years. It equipped me with the experience of working emergency situations. As a matter of fact, we were the emergency teams back then that we'd take the hearse out in emergency situations and it taught me how to handle death. Facing the death of those I knew in my school and my community helped me to cope with the responsibilities I had confronting death in Vietnam. But again, nothing could have prepared me for what I would face in that war. The brave soldiers who died in my arms will remain in my mind and my thoughts for the rest of my life. I heard the last words of 18, 19, and 20 year old boys. Some thought I was their mother. I saw them take their last breath. I wanted to say them all, but I couldn't. I still felt helpless and inadequate when it was impossible to do so. One of the best values I have learned from those I mentioned earlier is that of integrity. Doing the right thing even though nobody is watching has become automatic for me. However, my upbringing and belief is that someone is always watching. God is ever present. I was grateful he was close by in Vietnam. He gave me the faith and the hope I needed to carry on. One of the most important lessons in life I learned during the battle for Nguyen-Hil. I was in a trench contemplating how I was going to get one of my men who had been shot in the stomach through the crossfire into a relative safety of our makeshift perimeter. All of a sudden a thought out of nowhere came over me. It had been since I was a small boy that I had told my father that I loved him. I knew he loved me and I assumed he knew I loved him, but boys and men did not say I love you to one another in those days. So I had a quick but profound conversation with God. I told him that if he would get me out of this hell on earth so I could look my father in the face again and tell him that I loved him, I'd be the best father, the best coach, the best teacher I was capable of being. At that moment an incredible peace came over me. I knew that whatever happened to me after that was God's will, not mine. When I returned home I ran to my dad and the Chicago airport hugged him and told him that I loved him and he did the same. It became our gift of greeting and departure for the rest of his life. He passed away September 4th, 1991 at age 68. I have encouraged my children, my athletes, to do the same. My Charlie Tiger brothers and I say it to each other as well. See you later, Joe. I love you. Talk to you tomorrow. Life is not measured by the breaths that we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. The men of Charlie Company did things that would take your breath away. They looked into the face of danger and death. And with backs to the wall we fought for each other until the enemy was beaten and went away. My long career as a teacher, coach, and wrestling official has allowed me to have many breathtaking experiences with students and athletes, performing extraordinary things, and some of those athletes are here today, including my two sons. If you played for me, would you stand at this moment? The big guy down front here is my grandson. I even got to coach my own grandson. My journey through life has taken me from the simplistic early rural life to high school and college as a student and an athlete, to being a soldier and back to education as a teacher, coach, and official. I have been a part of many groups that carry the label team. Teams made up of ordinary people who go beyond the call of duty. I've seen them accomplish the same many, many different kinds of things to be possible through hard work, selfless sacrifice, and love for each other. When you hope and believe, when you have faith in God and each other, when you have love for someone or something bigger than yourself, anything can be accomplished. These men, my brothers, are living proof. Faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love. Finally, as a retired teacher, I want to give everyone here and those listening to this message today an assignment. Thought you were getting away? It's got free, didn't you? If there is someone you have neglected to say, I love you to do it today. You have so many avenues by which to carry out this assignment, so do it. Do not wait any longer. We are not promised tomorrow. I almost waited too long with my dad. God bless you all. God bless our military and government leaders, and on a final note to my fellow warriors. I would gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today because there isn't any doubt I love this land. God bless the USA.