President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, to seven U.S. Army veterans for their heroism during the Korean and Vietnam wars at the White House on Friday.
Private Bruno Orig, Private 1st Class Wataru Nakamura, Corporal Fred McGee, Private 1st Class Charles Johnson, Retired General Richard Cavazos, Capt. Hugh Nelson, Jr., and Specialist 4th Class Kenneth David were all honored.
“These are true heroes to the core. Heroes of different ranks, different positions, and even different generations. But heroes who all went above and beyond the call of duty. Heroes who all deserve our nation’s highest and oldest military honor,” Biden said. .
Five winners were killed in action, including Captain Hugh Nelson Jr. who is the first graduate of The Citadel Military College in South Carolina to receive the Medal of Honor. Nelson has previously been awarded the US Army Distinguished Service Cross.
President Joe Biden presents the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, to then-Soldier First Class Kenneth J. David during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Captain Nelson, 28, served as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War with the 114th Air Mobile Light Company. On the fateful day of June 5, 1966, near Moc Ho, a rural district in southern Vietnam, Nelson was acting commander of an aircraft on a search-and-destroy reconnaissance mission. The armed UH-1B Huey helicopter he was piloting was hit by enemy fire that rendered the aircraft nearly uncontrollable. Captain Nelson and his co-pilot were able to bring down the aircraft without side controls.
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But they crashed right in the middle of enemy positions. All the weapons in the plane were destroyed in the accident. Nelson was the first of his crew to regain consciousness. He quickly saw that the enemy was surrounding the crash site. Ignoring his own injuries and enemy fire from 30 feet away, Nelson swung into action and began evacuating his three wounded crewmen – the crew chief, gunner and co-pilot. The crew chief was pinned in the cargo compartment and the gunner was trapped in the Huey. Nelson tore off one of the helicopter’s doors with his bare hands to evacuate himself and his crew as insurgents fired volleys from 30 feet away. Nelson used his own body as a human shield as he lifted the gunman to the door and was killed in a burst of gunfire after being shot between six and 20 times.
Captain Hugh Nelson is the first Citadel graduate to receive the award. (US Army)
Because of Nelson’s sacrifice, the wounded specialist was able to signal support with a smoke grenade. WITHsupporting aircraft responded immediately, prevented the insurgents from advancing on the downed aircraft, and successfully rescued the three wounded crew members and the remains of Captain Nelson.
Nelson’s daughter Debra McKnight accepted the award on her father’s behalf at Ceremony at the White House. She was just 5 years old and her little brother, Hugh Nelson III, was 6 months old when their father went to Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty, to begin his tour in Vietnam. The Army notified Nelson’s family that he was killed in action just one day before his young son’s first birthday.
“Nelson’s conscious decision to sacrifice his own life for the lives of his comrades saved the lives of his three other crew members on that fateful day,” reads his Medal of Honor citation. “Nelson’s distinguished achievements are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the United States Army.”
Captain Nelson graduated from the Citadel in 1959. He served for three years before the fateful battle in Taiwan. His co-captain who was rescued was Captain Bailey Jones. Jones also graduated from The Citadel, Class of 1964.
The Citadel’s top Army ROTC cadet, Tomas Fitzpatrick, attended Friday’s ceremony.
Nelson’s daughter Debra McKnight accepted the award on her father’s behalf at a White House ceremony. (Swimming pool)
“Captain Hugh Nelson’s sacrifice is a powerful reminder of the values we uphold at The Citadel — honor, duty and respect. As someone who plans to enlist in the U.S. Army after graduation, we all strive to lead with the same courage and commitment,” said Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick will to join the Army Infantry after graduating in May The Citadel’s Army ROTC division is one of the nation’s largest sources of commissioning 120 Army 2nd lieutenants alone in 2024.
“Capt. Hugh Reavis Nelson, Jr. exemplified the highest values of courage, selflessness and leadership that we instill in every Citadel cadet. Nelson’s service to his fellow soldiers and country remains an enduring inspiration to us all,” Citadel President Gen. Glenn Walters said in a statement.
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“To learn these stories Americans such as Bruno and Wataru, and Fred, and Charlie, Richard, Hugh, Ken, Americans who not only fought for our nation, but who embodied the best that our nation has to offer. Let me also say that today we are awarding the Medal of Honor to these individuals. We cannot stop here because as a people, it is up to us to give meaning to this medal, to continue to fight, to continue to fight for each other, for each other, to continue to defend everything that these heroes fought for and for many of them died,” Biden said.
