Decades after Vietnam, Obama awards Medal of Honor to two soldiers
WASHINGTON – Two Vietnam War soldiers – one still living, one killed in action – received the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony Monday, nearly 50 years after they threw themselves into harm’s way to protect their brothers in combat. President Barack Obama praised the soldiers as patriots whose sacrifices had never been fully realized by a nation divided over the legacy of the Vietnam War.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins survived his injuries. Army Spc. Donald P. Sloat did not. It took an act of Congress to allow each to receive the medal so many decades after the fact.
“Over the decades, our Vietnam veterans didn’t always receive the thanks and respect they deserved. That’s a fact,” Obama said. “But as we have been reminded again today, our Vietnam vets were patriots and are patriots.”
“You served with valor, you made us proud, and your service is with us for eternity,” Obama told the audience.
Drafted into the Army at age 22 from his home in Oklahoma, Adkins was deployed three times to Vietnam with the Special Forces. He was already being recognized for actions during his second combat tour when, in 1966, a large North Vietnamese force attacked his camp.
For 38 hours, Adkins fought in close combat against enemy forces, dodging exploding mortar rounds as he dragged wounded soldiers to safety. When the order was finally given to evacuate camp, Adkins refused to leave comrades behind.
By the time he and his group made their way to the extraction point, the last evacuation helicopter had left. So Adkins led his fellow soldiers into the jungle, where they evaded enemy soldiers and even a tiger before being evacuated 48 hours later.
Adkins, walking with a cane, stood tall in his blue uniform and epaulettes, saluting fellow troops after Obama draped the medal around his neck. Adkins now lives in Opelika, Alabama.
“This Medal of Honor belongs to the other 16 Special Forces soldiers with me,” Adkins said after the ceremony.
Sloat, of Coweta, Oklahoma, was 20 when his squad was patrolling a stretch of territory known for frequent North Vietnamese and Viet Cong activity. Unwittingly, the soldier at the head of the pack triggered a tripwire, detonating a booby-trap set by enemy forces.
The grenade rolled down the hill toward Sloat, and when he picked it up, he realized it was too late to throw it out of harm’s way. So with the explosion imminent, Sloat held on to the grenade, pulling it close and bending over so that his body would shield his fellow soldiers from the blast.
Sloat’s brother, William, accepted the medal from the president.
Medal of Honor recommendations typically must be made within two years of the act of heroism, and the medal presented within three years. But Congress granted a special exemption for Adkins and Sloat.