Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Three Members of the United States Army.

Ladies and gentlemen:

We welcome you all to the White House today. We are gathered here for a very special ceremony, one that will mean a great deal to all of us personally, particularly to the families of those who are being honored and also a great deal to this Nation.

At the present time, coming back from the moon are three very brave men. They will splash down in the Pacific later today. The whole Nation, the whole world, will honor their exploits--our three astronauts, the second team to go to the moon and to land on the moon and to return safely.

Today in this room, we honor three other very brave men. They did not go to the moon. They went to Vietnam. And along with hundreds of thousands of other young Americans they have helped there to defend the principles of this Nation, and they have served with uncommon courage and uncommon valor.

Oliver Wendell Holmes once spoke about the "contagion of courage," that courage some way, when we see it in others, helps to build it up in all of us, and in a whole nation.

Those men who have gone to the moon have raised the spirit of the Nation.

These men, too, by their courage helped raise the spirit of the whole Nation.

At this time, it is a very great honor for all of us to join here in this room to confer upon these three men the highest distinction that this Nation has, the Medal of Honor.

The Secretary of the Army will read the citations.

[At this point, Secretary of the Army Stanley R. Resor read the citations, the texts of which follow: ]

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to

SERGEANT FIRST CLASS WEBSTER ANDERSON UNITED STATES ARMY

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Sergeant First Class Webster Anderson, (then Staff Sergeant), distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Chief of Section in Battery A, 2d Battalion, 320th Artillery, 101st Airborne Infantry Division (Airmobile) against a hostile force near Tam Ky, Republic of Vietnam. During the early morning hours on 15 October 1967, Battery A's defensive position was attacked by a determined North Vietnamese Army Infantry unit supported by heavy mortar, recoilless rifle, rocket propelled grenade and automatic weapon fire. The initial enemy onslaught breached the battery defensive perimeter. Sergeant Anderson with complete disregard for his personal safety mounted the exposed parapet of his howitzer position and became the mainstay of the defense of the battery position. Sergeant Anderson directed devastating direct howitzer fire on the assaulting enemy while providing rifle and grenade defensive fire against enemy soldiers attempting to overrun his gun section position. While protecting his crew and directing their fire against the enemy from his exposed position, two enemy grenades exploded at his feet knocking him down and severely wounding him in the legs. Despite the excruciating pain and though not able to stand, Sergeant Anderson valorously propped himself on the parapet and continued to direct howitzer fire upon the closing enemy and to encourage his men to fight on. Seeing an enemy grenade land within the gun pit near a wounded member of his gun crew, Sergeant Anderson, heedless of his own safety, seized the grenade and attempted to throw it over the parapet to save his men. As the grenade was thrown from the position it exploded and Sergeant Anderson was again grievously wounded. Although only partially conscious and severely wounded, Sergeant Anderson refused medical evacuation and continued to encourage his men in the defense of the position. Sergeant Anderson by his inspirational leadership, professionalism, devotion to duty and complete disregard for his own welfare was able to maintain the defense of his section position and to defeat a determined enemy attack. Sergeant Anderson's conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

RICHARD NIXON

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to

STAFF SERGEANT NICKY D. BACON UNITED STATES ARMY

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Staff Sergeant Nicky D. Bacon distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a squad leader with the I st Platoon, Company B, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, Americal Division during an operation west of Tam Ky, Republic of Vietnam, on 26 August 1968. When Company B came under fire from an enemy bunker line to the front, Sergeant Bacon quickly organized his men and led them forward in an assault. He advanced on a hostile bunker and destroyed it with grenades.

As he did so, several fellow soldiers, including the 1st Platoon leader, were struck by machine gun fire and fell wounded in an exposed position forward of the rest of the platoon. Sergeant Bacon immediately assumed command of the platoon and assaulted the hostile gun position, finally killing the enemy gun crew in a single-handed effort. When the 3rd Platoon moved to Sergeant Bacon's location, its leader was also wounded. Without hesitation Sergeant Bacon took charge of the additional platoon and continued the fight. In the ensuing action he personally killed four more enemy soldiers and silenced an antitank weapon. Under his leadership and example, the members of both platoons accepted his authority without question. Continuing to ignore the intense hostile fire, he climbed up on the exposed deck of a tank and directed fire into the enemy position while several wounded men were evacuated. As a result of Sergeant Bacon's extraordinary effort his company was able to move forward, eliminate the enemy positions, and rescue the men trapped to the front. Sergeant Bacon's conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his own life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

RICHARD NIXON

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to

STAFF SERGEANT PAUL R. LAMBERS UNITED STATES ARMY

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Staff Sergeant (then Sergeant) Paul R. Lambers distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action on 20 August 1968 while serving with the Third Platoon, Company A, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, in Tay Ninh Province, Republic of Vietnam. The unit had established a night defensive position astride a suspected enemy infiltration route, when it was attacked by an estimated Viet Gong battalion. During the initial enemy onslaught, the platoon leader fell seriously wounded and Sergeant Lambers assumed command of the platoon. Disregarding the intense enemy fire, Sergeant Lambers left his covered position, secured the platoon radio and moved to the command post to direct the defense. When his radio became inoperative due to enemy action, Sergeant Lambers crossed the fire swept position to secure the 90mm recoilless rifle crew's radio in order to re-establish communications. Upon discovering that the 90mm recoilless rifle was not functioning, Sergeant Lambers assisted in the repair of the weapon and directed cannister fire at point blank range against the attacking enemy who had breached the defensive wire of the position. When the weapon was knocked out by enemy fire, he single-handedly repulsed a penetration of the position by detonating claymore mines and throwing grenades into the midst of the attackers, killing five of the enemy. He then attacked a number of the enemy who were moving on the northwest sector of the perimeter, killing four more of the Viet Cons with well aimed hand grenades. Sergeant Lambers maintained command of the platoon elements by moving from position to position under the hail of enemy fire, providing assistance where the assault was the heaviest and by his outstanding example inspiring his men to the utmost efforts of courage. He displayed great skill and valor throughout the five hour battle by personally directing artillery and helicopter fires, placing them at times within five meters of the defensive position. He repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire at great risk to his own life in order to redistribute ammunition and to care for seriously wounded comrades and to move them to sheltered positions. Sergeant Lambers' superb leadership, professional skill and magnificent courage saved the lives of his comrades, resulted in the virtual annihilation of a vastly superior enemy force and were largely instrumental in thwarting an enemy offensive against Tay Ninh City. His conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his own life is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

RICHARD NIXON

[The President resumed speaking.]

We thank you very much for coming to this ceremony. I think you would like to know that at the conclusion of these ceremonies we always provide a very special tour of the White House for, of course, the winners of the Medal of Honor and their families.

We are going to give you that tour now. We hope you enjoy it.

Thank you very much.