President Donald Trump presents the Medal Honor to U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Terry P. Richardson (retired) during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that they didn’t have to attend the Medal of Honor ceremony Monday at the White House.
“They said, ‘We don’t avoid this one. This is one you wouldn’t avoid for anything,’ ” Trump said.
And they were there, among the crowd, as the president presented the nation’s highest award for courage under fire to three American soldiers who each fought in a different era.
“I’m trying to just sit back and let it all just sink in,” Terry Richardson, 78, the one living Medal of Honor recipient at the ceremony, said Sunday during a media event.
Posthumously receiving the award were Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, who shielded Jewish prisoners of war from Nazi guards in 1945; and Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, who died in Afghanistan in 2013 when he blocked a suicide bomber.
“There’s no ceremony that can be more important than this,” Trump said. Included in the crowd were the recipients’ family members and the officer Ollis protected from enemy fire, Polish Army Lt. Karol Cierpica.
“Bravery is amazing,” Trump said. “You never really know who’s brave and who’s not until they’re tested.”
A composite image featuring three soldiers who received the Medal of Honor, left to right: Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, who died in 1985; then-Staff Sgt. Terry P. Richardson, who is retired and now ranked command sergeant major; Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, who died in 2013. (Krista Hoffler/U.S. Army)
Richardson retired from the Army on July 31, 2008, as command sergeant major at Camp Grayling, Mich.
At the retirement ceremony, one of his unit buddies, Dave Himmer, spoke about what happened on Sept. 14, 1968.
It was the first time the story had really been told.
“I had never said anything ... about that. I mean, I struggled for a long time, believe me. But I never told anyone,” Richardson said.
During a reconnaissance mission between Loc Ninh and the Cambodian border, his company, Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, attempted to advance up Hill 222 with several other companies of the 1st Infantry Division. The hill was controlled by elements of the North Vietnamese 7th Division.
Richardson’s unit became separated from the rest of the company and got pinned down by enemy fire, wounding three American soldiers. They were able to move the wounded to the rear to be evacuated.
“I knew that we were up against a pretty superior force, so I took it by myself,” he added. “I took a radio, and I went to the top of the hill and I called in airstrikes, because I knew artillery was not going to be able to help us out that much.”
He managed to make it into a small irrigation ditch at the top of the hill, maybe 18 inches deep, Richardson said. From there, he got on the radio to call airstrikes. The then-staff sergeant was told to pop smoke so the pilots would know where he was and wouldn’t hit him. Richardson couldn’t do that with all of the North Vietnamese surrounding him.
About an hour into the strikes, Richardson said he “felt something sting;” he was shot in the right leg. Ignoring the pain, he stayed on the radio for seven hours calling in airstrikes.
“I knew that the Vietnamese were ready to get out of there,” Richardson said. “And when the airstrikes were done, the ones that were left, they started running on the backside of the hill. I watched them run, and they were headed toward Cambodia.”
Richardson is credited with saving the lives of 85 members of Alpha company.
“No other Medal of Honor recipient from Vietnam saved 85 of his people. I mean, it’s a grace of God … but it is his bravery, and what he did is just incredible,” Himmer said.
Himmer, a retired U.S. Air Force command chief master sergeant, said it has been a long journey to get Richardson the Medal of Honor.
Part of the journey began on Veterans Day in 2000, when a group from the unit gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. It was the first time they had met with one another since leaving Vietnam.
Richardson had received the Silver Star, the third-highest military decoration. Himmer told Richardson that the citation noted that he saved two men; he actually saved 85. Himmer wanted to move forward with getting the Silver Star upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
“He said, ‘No, I don’t authorize it. I was just doing my job,’” Himmer recalled.
When Richardson retired in 2008, he invited Himmer to come and tell his story. That’s when Richardson gave permission to move forward with the award, Himmer said.
During the process, Himmer’s routine was calling Richardson every Sept. 14 to thank him for his actions and to say, “we’re still working on it.”
Himmer called Richardson the first week of December to let his buddy know that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had approved the award.
Richardson said he got a call from Trump Feb. 2 with the news. He said he almost “fell out of his chair.”
“He said, ‘I read your story,’” Richardson remembered. “And he said, ‘I’ll tell you right now … I probably would never do what you did. When I read it, I knew I wanted to talk to you.’”
He said the call with Trump lasted maybe 10 minutes, and it was “quite an honor.”
“I am going to be humbled to have the president of the United States put that around my neck,” Richardson added. “I’ll probably be thinking of a lot of my friends that lost their lives in Vietnam, and how my life’s going to change.”
After Trump read to the audience about Richardson’s actions during Vietnam, he was quick to point out that Richardson could still fight.
“Terry, that’s a great, brave man. Look at him. He looks great,” the president said. “You feel like fighting? We could, I think we could take him today. What do you think, Pete?”
Trump patted Richardson on the shoulder before placing the medal around his neck. He patted his shoulders again before Richardson turned around.
Richardson turned to Trump and immediately said, “Wow!”
President Donald Trump presents the Medal of Honor to Chris Edmonds, son of recipient Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Gregory S. Johnson greets Chris Edmonds during the U.S. Army’s Medal of Honor Media Day on March 1, 2026, in Arlington, Va. Chris Edmonds is the son of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, who will receive the posthumous Medal of Honor. (Bernardo Fuller/U.S. Army)
Chris Edmonds knew his father, Roddie, served during World War II, was captured and came home.
“He never told us anything about his experience … and took it to the grave,” Edmonds told Stars and Stripes.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds died in 1985. Chris learned about his father’s actions in 2013 from a prisoner of war who said Edmonds deserved the Medal of Honor.
Chris received a call from the president on Feb. 3 to inform him that his father would posthumously receive the nation’s highest award for courage under fire.
“Thank you, Chris. Today, your father gets the honor he so courageously earned,” Trump said at the ceremony.
Edmonds, of Knoxville, Tenn., was serving in the U.S. Army’s 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment when he was captured by the Germans in December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. He, along with other Americans, was taken to Stalag IXA, a camp near Ziegenhain, Germany. Edmonds was held captive for 100 days.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor for protecting about 200 Jewish American prisoners of war and daring a German officer to shoot him. (Chris Edmonds)
In January 1945, a Nazi officer ordered Edmonds, the senior American noncommissioned officer, to line up more than 1,200 American troops in the camp and for Jewish soldiers to fall out separately. Edmonds ordered all POWs — Jews and non-Jews alike — to stand together.
When the German officer in charge saw that all the camp’s inmates were standing in front of their barracks, he turned to Edmonds and said, “They cannot all be Jews.”
“We are all Jews,” Edmonds fearlessly pronounced.
The German took out his pistol and threatened Edmonds.
“Dad looked at him in the eyes, square in the eyes, because he was that kind of a guy that always made eye contact,” Chris said. “He looked him in his eyes and said, ‘Major, you can shoot me, but you’ll have to kill all of us because we know who you are, and you’ll be a war criminal when we win this war.’”
Chris said Edmonds then drove the dagger home, adding, “And you will pay.”
“He basically turned the tables on that major and said, ‘You know you’re gonna pay for this, and you don’t want to do this,’” Chris said.
The German gave up, turned around and left. Edmonds saved about 200 Jewish Americans.
“He wrote in his diary, ‘I’m a little guy but a giant of a man,’” Chris told reporters on Sunday ahead of the White House ceremony. “He loved our country. He loved our freedom. He was a man whose heart beat for freedom.”
President Donald Trump posthumously presents the Medal Honor to Bob and Linda Ollis, parents of Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Bob Ollis speaks with reporters on March 1, 2026, at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va., ahead of the Medal of Honor ceremony. He will posthumously receive the award for his son, Michael, who sacrificed his life to save a Polish soldier during an attack in Afghanistan in 2013. (Matthew Adams/Stars and Stripes)
Ollis was serving with the 10th Mountain Division when his outpost in Ghazni came under attack by insurgents. During the battle, the 24-year-old Staten Island, N.Y., native stepped in front of Cierpica, who already was wounded, to protect him from a suicide bomber. His actions were credited with saving several other lives.
In the years since, Ollis has been posthumously recognized with numerous valor medals, including the Silver Star, which in 2019 was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military honor.
His actions also have become part of military lore in Poland, which recognized Ollis with the Polish Army Gold Medal for valor.
The dining facility at the U.S. Army’s Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan also bears Ollis’ name. At a 2023 ceremony that christened it the Staff Sgt. Michael Harold Ollis Warrior Grill, Cierpica was on hand. Over the years, the Polish officer forged a bond with the Ollis family.
Michael’s father, Bob, said Poland made him and his wife strong as they dealt with their loss.
“To this day, they still honor him in so many different ways. They recognize his sacrifice, and they tell us how important he is to them,” Bob said. “We’re just so amazed and so grateful that they remember him.”
Cierpica flew to Washington to attend the ceremony. Trump invited him on the stage to share some words. He said being a soldier is not something you are from time to time but something you do forever. His commitment is “to cultivate the memory” of the heroic act performed by Michael.
“I am deeply moved, happy and grateful to God for my service, for my parents, for my family, for my homeland, Poland, for my second family from Staten Island and for my second homeland, America. God bless you all,” Cierpica said. “Michael, thank you for your service, and I will see you in our heavenly homeland.”
After Bob and Linda received the medal for their son, Bob appeared to quickly look out into the audience and wave at Cierpica.
The three soldiers are the latest service members to receive the award in the past six days.
Royce Williams, a Navy pilot credited with shooting down four Soviet fighter jets during the Korean War, and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, an Army pilot wounded in the raid that captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, each received the Medal of Honor during Trump’s State of the Union address last week.
More than 3,500 individuals have received the nation’s highest military honor since its creation in 1861.
Polish Army Lt. Karol Cierpica, who was saved by Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, speaks during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Bob Ollis, father of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, touches the embossed lettering of his son’s name on a memorial plaque at a ceremony Oct. 27, 2023. The dining facility at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan, Poland, was named after Michael Ollis at the ceremony. (Karen Sampson/U.S. Army)
