Trump Awards Medal of Honor to 3 Recipients in White House Ceremony

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to three new recipients, including one posthumously, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on June 18. 

“As we approach the 250th anniversary of our founding, we remember that we owe everything to heroes like those we celebrate today—men who went willingly to the darkest and most dangerous corners on earth to defeat evil so we could live free,” Trump said.

Family and friends of honorees sat in the first rows as the president presented the awards.

“The first hero we pay tribute to today is one of the finest warriors to ever wear the uniform of the United States,” Trump said while introducing retired U.S. Marine James Capers Jr., the first black Marine to receive a battlefield commission while fighting a war. 

Serving as then-Second Lt. With the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Capers led a nine-member patrol that dominated enemy positions over the course of four days while facing a numerically superior opposition.

He sustained severe wounds from a mine attack and ensured every Marine boarded while offering to stay behind when the rescue helicopter struggled to take off with the weight, but his company pulled him back into the aircraft. 

Capers was recommended for a Medal of Honor in 1967, but his commanding officer died before the paperwork was signed. 

“Everybody knew he should get it, but life is life,” Trump said. “That’s a bad break, but now you’re doing it. … The nation kept you waiting far too long.” 

The Medal of Honor was established by Congress in the 1860s to recognize individuals who risked their lives to save others during actions deemed extraordinary heroism and above and beyond the call of duty. Approximately 3,500 brave soldiers have received the award—about 40 percent fought during the Civil War.

Col. John Ripley was posthumously awarded the medal for his actions on Easter Sunday in 1972 during the North Vietnamese Offensive. Ripley single-handedly took on the task of destroying the Dong Ha Bridge over the Cua Viet River, avoiding enemy fire to place 500 pounds of explosives at various points to ensure total destruction. 

“For his heroic deeds, John Ripley was given the Navy Cross, and today we … award him the highest of all awards, the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said, welcoming Ripley’s three sons, three grandsons, and daughter-in-law to the ceremony. 

“He’s looking down on you,” Trump said. “You know that, right?” 

The president also bestowed the medal on U.S. Army Maj. Nicholas Dockery for his leadership in Afghanistan. Dockery led a fight to defend against a Taliban ambush on Oct. 12, 2012, in Kapisa Province that lasted more than four hours. 

“Major Dockery, you were the last man to depart the battlefield that day, and you left it a legend and a hero,” Trump said, noting the officer’s bravery under fire and commitment to protecting his fellow soldiers. 

Eleven former Medal of Honor recipients and hundreds of dignitaries and administration officials joined the ceremony, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, as well as Republican Sens. Lindsay Graham (N.C.), Todd Young (Ind.), and Jim Banks (Ind.), among others. 

Trump thanked the crowd and celebrated the recent peace deal with Iran.

“The stock market just hit a new all-time high. The 401ks just hit a new all-time high. And oil is dropping like a rock,” he said. “Other than that, it’s another day in paradise.”