Trump to award Medal of Honor to three Army heroes next week

The White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will award three military heroes with the Medal of Honor next week, including to two soldiers posthumously.The ceremony will take place March 2 and will be awarded to a World War II hero, one Army sergeant who performed acts of gallantry in Afghanistan over a decade ago, and one retired sergeant who went above the call of duty during the Vietnam War in 1968.
It comes after the president awarded the Medal of Honor to two people during his State of the Union address Tuesday night. 
The medals were given to Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, who was wounded during the January raid that saw U.S. forces extract Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, and Royce Williams, who served during the Korean War and World War II.
One of next week’s medals will be given posthumously to Master Sergeant Roderick Edmonds, for actions he took as a prisoner of war in Germany from January to March 1945. Edmonds had refused to allow German officers to segregate Jewish American soldiers at the camp from non-Jewish soldiers, even at gunpoint. 
The sergeant also helped his fellow American prisoners get rescued by refusing to abandon camp with the Germans.
“Without regard for his own life, Master Sergeant Edmonds gallantly led these prisoners in a relentless pursuit of opposition and resistance, forcing the Germans to abandon the camp, leaving the 1,200 American prisoners behind,” the White House said.
Another medal will be given posthumously to Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis for risking his life in Afghanistan by helping to evacuate his troops and a Coalition Forces Officer who was wounded and unable to walk while under fire at Forward Operating Base Ghazni.
Ollis heroically positioned himself between the officer and an insurgent during heavy fire in 2013 and fatally shot him, but the insurgent’s suicide vest was detonated, mortally wounding Ollis.
The last award will be given to Staff Sergeant Terry Richardson, who is now retired, while serving as the Lima Platoon Leader in Vietnam. Richardson braved heavy machine-gun fire on three occasions to rescue severely wounded soldiers. He also helped secure Hill 222, which was his company’s mission at the time, where he realized he was in the middle of an enemy base camp.
“In the midst of the enemy position, Staff Sergeant Richardson skillfully directed air strikes before being wounded by an enemy sniper,” the White House said. “After the enemy had fled, Staff Sergeant Richardson was found alive … His gallant and selfless actions on September 14, 1968, spared the lives of 85 fellow soldiers.”

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