Biden awards Medal of Honor to 4 Vietnam War veterans for ‘incredible heroism’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday bestowed the nation’s highest military honor on four Army soldiers for their heroism during the Vietnam War, bravery he said has not diminished even with the time.

Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Master Sgt. Edward N. Kaneshiro, Spc. Five Dwight W. Birdwell, Spc. Five Dennis M. Fujii and retired Maj. John J. Duffy. Speaking at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Biden praised their heroism, noting that many like them are not getting “the full recognition they deserve.”

“Today, we are setting the record straight. We are upgrading the awards to four soldiers who performed incredible acts of heroism during the Vietnam conflict,” Biden said.

“It’s just amazing to hear what each of them have done,” he said. “They went above and beyond the call of duty. It’s an expression still used but… it comes to life when you see these men.

Addressing the three living soldiers and loved ones of deceased Kaneshiro, the President said, “I am proud to finally award our highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, to each of you.”

Biden noted that more than 50 years have passed “since the jungles of Vietnam where, as young men, these soldiers first proved themselves. But time has not diminished their astonishing bravery, their selflessness in putting the lives of others before their own, and the gratitude we, as a nation, owe them.

Kaneshiro, killed in action by hostile fire in Vietnam in 1967, received his honor posthumously for a December 1, 1966 raid where his unit came under fire from North Vietnamese troops. His actions were credited with helping his unit withdraw from the village where they were fighting. Kaneshiro was born and raised in Hawaii, the son of Japanese immigrants.

Birdwell was honored for his actions helping to avert an assault and evacuate casualties at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon on January 31, 1968, despite wounds to his torso and face, during an opening salvo in what is called the Tet Offensive, a particularly bloody period of the war.

Birdwell, a member of the Cherokee Nation and an attorney in Oklahoma City, had received a Silver Star for his actions. Biden said it took decades for Birdwell’s commander to realize that Birdwell had not received the proper recognition and had taken action, even in retirement, to “make this day possible.”

“Finally, finally, your story is being honored as it always should have been,” Biden told Birdwell.

Fujii received a Medal of Honor for actions lasting over four days in February 1971, tending to wounded and leading airstrikes against enemy positions after his air ambulance was forced down.

Duffy was credited with leading troops ambushed after their commander was killed in action, repelling the attackers and evacuating the wounded, despite his own wounds. Duffy became an author and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

“He is the definition of a warrior poet,” Biden said.