Ladies and gentlemen, please join me as we mark this occasion in word of prayer. Almighty god, champion of liberty and the oppressed, hear our prayers. You protect the righteous and bring justice to the flow. We gather today to honor the spirit of a warrior, who remained focused on the lives of his team and what needed to be done. He put the safety of others above his own, ran toward danger, and met it facetoface. Thank you for Master Sergeant Matthew Williams, an exemplary of heroism, whose heart and soul were tested in battle, producing the stronger man we honor today. His character were revealed in a moment, and his example inspires us all. God bless matthew, is loving and devoted wife, their son, his extended family and comrades in arms here today. Let matthews life and legacy and this very metal be a reminder for us all to face our fears and find our own moments to shine. May the lamp of liberty continue to burn bright on the u. S. And army and may we be a beacon of hope and peace in our world. Amen. Thank you very much, chaplain. I appreciate that. Please, sit down. Well, this afternoon, its my privilege to present our nations highest and most revered military distinction. Its called the congressional medal of honor. Nothing like it. Please join me in welcoming todays extraordinary recipient, Master Sergeant Matthew Williams. [applause] thank you very much. We are delighted to have with us the secretary of defense, mark esper. Thank you, mark. And great job to you and to everybody and general milley for the incredible act you performed seven days ago with albaghdadi. He was hit hard, the way he shouldve been. And i just want to say, for all of our military were very proud of you. That was something very special. The whole world is proud of you, frankly. So thank you very much. Thank you, mark. Great job. [applause] also with us is deputy secretary of Veterans Affairs jim byrne. Thank you. Secretary of the army ryan mccarthy. Thank you. Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general mark milley. Thank you, general. Army chief of staff James Mcconville and Sergeant Major of the army michael grinston. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for being here. Also thank you to some very special warriors, in a little different kind of war, maybe, but they are warriors, senators john cornyn, ted cruz, and thom tillis. Thank you very much, fellas. Thank you. Along with representative Richard Hudson for being here. We have a few other great politicians here, but we wont bother because we want to get on with this one. This is a very special thing. Its such a great honor. Joining matt for this special ceremony is his wife kate, his father michael, his mother janet, brother cody, and his sister amy. Please stand up. Please. Thank you. Great family. [applause] each of you has strengthened our nation through your steadfast love and support. And we want to just thank you. Youre a very, very special family. Were also honored to be in the presence of eight previous congressional medal of honor winners, recipients are here. And i thought maybe we should what do you think . We should introduce them. I think so, right . Huh . Come on, lets do that. William swenson. William, thank you very much, william. [applause] ronald shurer. Thank you. Thank you, ronald. Thank you. [applause] walter marm. Hi, walter. [applause] robert foley. Thank you, robert. Thank you, robert. [applause] brian thacker. Thank you very much. [applause] florent groberg. Thank you. Thank you, florent. [applause] david bellavia. David. [applause] i heard you, maybe, are going to be running for office but someday, i know, huh . Ill tell you. Boy, ill tell you what, he has my vote. [laughter] you have a brave politician for a change, right . Thats great. Nice to see you, david. Thank you very much. And salvatore giunta. Thank you, salvatore. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. Matt williams grew up in the small town of boerne, texas, a very small town. He met kate for the first time in elementary school. In college, he planned to pursue a career in law enforcement. But after 9 11, matt decided his place was on the frontlines of the war on terror. He wanted to be the best of the best. He worked so hard at it. So, after graduation, he enlisted in the army to become a green beret. Matt finished his special forces training in august 2007 and deployed to afghanistan by october. On april 6, 2008, he joined dozens of American Special forces and afghan commandos on a mission to take down a terrorist leader in a remote mountain village. It sounded simple not simple. On that cold spring morning, the soldiers arrived in helicopters and jumped 10 feet from their chinooks into the rocky and freezing terrain of shok valley. When the First Americans reached the edge of the valley, at the base of a 100foot mountain, a handful of special forces scouted ahead. The lead group was 60 feet up the slope when roughly 200 insurgents savagely attacked, and it was a big surprise a very unwelcome surprise, i might add. The terrorists filled the valley with a hail of bullets and explosions. Matt soon received word that the soldiers on the mountain were pinned down and suffering from mounting casualties. He organized the afghan infantry under his command, and he led a bold counterassault to stop the enemy advance. As machinegun fire rained down from above, matt and his fellow american soldiers, scott ford and ronald shurer, charged up the mountain. Once they reached their trapped comrades, matt realized that several of them were too gravely wounded to be quickly evacuated. He ran down the mountain to get support and then climbed back up with bullets spraying all around. Not a good place to be. He exchanged fire with the enemy and rescued his fellow soldiers. He guided his injured Team Sergeant down the mountain to safety. Movingced two combatants toward of the group of badly wounded. He immediately engaged the enemy fighters and killed them both. But matt was not done yet. In order to rejoin the battle on the mountain, they scaled a exposed toletely attack. Matt quickly reengaged the adversary and shielded the injured from falling rubble as a mayor positions above and rocked the mountain from top to bottom. He then helped evacuate the wounded down a very, very steep cliff. The terrorists continued to try and overrun their position, and matt raced back into battle. He fought for several more hours, valiantly protecting the wounded and putting his own life in great peril to save his comrades. His incredible heroism helped ensure not a single american soldier died in the battle of shock value. His ground commander later wrote he never seen a troop so poised, focused, and capable during a fight, and matt is without question and reservation one of the bravest soldiers and people hed ever met. But matt wants all americans to know he was not alone in his heroism that day. Ouring us this afternoon the other heroes of shock valley. Please rise when i read your name. Lieutenant colonel kyle walton. Thank you. Master Sergeant Scott ford. Thank you. Lewis morales. Thank you very much. Carl. Thank you. Sergeant first class seth howard, dave sanders, john walden, dylan bear, and ryan wallin. Thank you. [applause] oh very importantly, afghan translators. Not bad. He said it was ok. Thank you both very much. Fantastic job. Assume you all agree with this choice. Thank you very much. I agree. We all do. Staff Sergeant Ronald was with us. I am privileged to be here. With thegreat ceremony medal of honor. That was really amazing. You are both here together. To each and everyone of you, i want to thank you and the fearless defense, what you have done for our country. It is incredible. Your valor, bravery, strength, heart, soul, it is incredible what you have done. Thebattle is a testament to overwhelming strength, lethal skill, and unstoppable might of the United States army, special forces, and all of our military. Held amy that really high ground, superior numbers, and element of surprise, they had it all going, everything they are not supposed to have, they had. They had one major disadvantage, they were facing the toughest, strongest, and best trained soldiers anywhere in the world. We showed that a few days ago. These guys did not know what hit them. No adversary on earth stands a chance against the American Green berets. A few years after that deployment, matt married kate. Did you make a good decision in allowing this to happen . You definitely have a brave guy. I cant speak for the rest. He is a great guy. Son whohey have a young will turn three next week. It is beautiful. In the years to come, he will learn his father stands among the ranks of our nations greatest heroes. Hasmore than a decade, matt stared down at our enemies, fought back the forces of terror, and exemplified the virtue and gallantry of the american warrior. He has completed five tours in afghanistan, a deployment in africa, and continues serving our country on active duty today. That is something to have the congressional medal of honor and be serving in active duty. Very rare. We salute your unyielding service, unbreakable resolve, to your untiring devotion our great nation and the nation we all love. Your spirit keeps our flag waving hi, safe at home, and our hearts beating with american pride. Nation,f of the entire our great usa, our incredible United States of america, we are forever grateful for your life of service and your outstanding courage. It is now my privilege to present Master Sergeant Matthew Williams with the congressional medal of honor. Aiduld like to ask military to come forward and please read the citation. Thank you. The president of the United States of america has awarded the congressional medal of honor to Sergeant Matthew williams, United States army. Sergeant williams distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and integrity above the call of duty on april 6, 2008, while serving as a Weapon Sergeant special forces attachment alpha 336. Special Operations Task force 33. In support of Operation Enduring freedom. Sergeant williams actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect rate credit upon himself, combined joint special Operations Task force in afghanistan, special of command central, and the u. S. Army. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, join me as we close this ceremony. Most holy god, as we go from this place, let this ceremony be a reminder of your faithfulness and a challenge to us all to place the needs of others first. Thank you to Master Sergeant Matthew Williams. May his wife be an inspiration to each of us, and may we ever remember our nation expects we acquit ourselves with honor. Grant us wisdom from diamind, courage from diehard, and protection from thy hand. Is the kingdom, the power, and glory forever. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, these remain in your seats until the president has departed. This week on newsmakers, congressman mike johnson of louisiana, chair of the Republican Study Committee talks about his Groups Health care plan, the wildfires in california, and the impeachment inquiry into president trump. Watch newsmakers sunday at 10 00 a. M. , and again at 6 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Next, joe and jill biden visited a new field office for the 2020 president ial campaign. It was on the south side of des moines i am i will des moines, iowa. He greeted those in attendance. [applause]
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