Biden awards Medal of Honor to four Vietnam War veterans

“It’s just astounding when you hear what each of them have done,” the president marveled during a White House ceremony. “They went far above and beyond the call of duty. It’s a phrase always used, but it takes on life when you see these men.”

Biden to award Medal of Honor to soldiers for valor in Vietnam War

The recipients include Spec. 5 Dwight Birdwell, who led an armored unit through a bloody ambush in 1968; Maj. John J. Duffy, a Special Forces officer who fought off an attack in 1972; Spec. 5 Dennis M. Fujii, who, having survived a helicopter crash, directed airstrikes on advancing forces while under fire in Laos in 1971; and Staff Sgt. Edward N. Kaneshiro, who cleared a trench of enemy fighters using grenades and a rifle in 1967 and died a few months later in another battle.

Biden said that the awards were possible in part because of a congressionally mandated review of actions of Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the Korean and Vietnam wars. A similar review of underrecognized valor cases during World War II resulted in 22 Medal of Honor commendations, including one for the late senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Biden said.

Birdwell, Duffy and Fujii stood at attention as Biden draped the award around their necks in the East Room of the White House. Kaneshiro’s award was accepted posthumously by his son, John.

“It has been a long journey to this day for those heroes and their families, and more than 50 years have passed — 50 years — since the jungles of Vietnam, where as young men these soldiers first proved their mettle,” Biden said. “Time has not diminished their astonishing bravery, their selflessness in putting the lives of others ahead of their own, and the gratitude that we as a nation owe them.”

Birdwell, of Oklahoma, had previously been recognized with the Silver Star, the military’s third-highest award for valor in combat, for his actions. But years later, his former commanding officer, retired Gen. Glen Otis, and other veterans of the battle pressed for more, Biden recalled.

Birdwell took action as North Vietnamese forces launched the opening assault of what would come to be known as the Tet Offensive, marked by coordinated attacks across Vietnam on U.S. troops, South Vietnamese soldiers and their allies. Birdwell’s unit was called on to repel an attack on a major military installation, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, and was ambushed on the way.

Biden recalled how Birdwell’s unit took the brunt of attack, and that Birdwell took charge after his tank commander was gravely wounded, laying down suppressive fire as North Vietnamese soldiers shot at him.

“He…