Trump awards three Medals of Honor at White House ceremony

President Donald Trump presented three Medals of Honor at a White House ceremony to Army Master Sgt. Roderick W. Edmonds, Army Command Sgt. Major Terry P. Richardson, and Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis; Edmonds and Ollis received the medals posthumously.

President Trump presented three Medals of Honor at a White House ceremony, the nation's highest military decoration. The recipients were Army Master Sgt. Roderick W. Edmonds, Army Command Sgt. Major Terry P. Richardson, and Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis. Edmonds and Ollis received their awards posthumously. The ceremony highlighted actions from World War II, the Vietnam War, and operations in Afghanistan. Key details: - Edmonds was captured during the Battle of the Bulge on Dec. 19, 1944, and held at Stalag IX-A; after an SS order singled out Jewish prisoners, he ordered all 1,200 American non-commissioned officers to fall out and resisted the commandant’s threats. - The article reports the commandant pressed a pistol to Edmonds’ forehead but ultimately lowered it after Edmonds cited the Geneva Convention and warned of postwar prosecution; Edmonds died in 1985 and his son Chris accepted the medal. - Richardson’s cited actions occurred on Sept. 14, 1968, during a reconnaissance mission between Loc Ninh and the Cambodian border; he is credited with calling in about 32 airstrikes over seven hours and with saving 85 lives after being wounded. - Ollis was involved in an attack at Forward Operating Base in Ghanzi, Afghanistan, on Aug. 28, 2013; he moved to protect fellow soldiers, located a wounded Polish officer, and was mortally wounded when a suicide vest detonated while he shielded the officer. - Ollis’s parents, Robert and Linda Ollis, accepted his Medal of Honor at the ceremony. Edmonds and Richardson’s citations and Trump’s remarks were reported as part of the event coverage. Summary: The White House ceremony recognized three service members for actions spanning World War II, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan, with two of the awards presented posthumously. The event focused on the individual citations and family presentations. Undetermined at this time.