Arrested and Unarmed, He Led a Cavalry Charge and Became the First Italian-American Medal of Honor Recipient
On June 17, 1863, Col. Luigi Palma di Cesnola was forced to watch his men get slaughtered near the village of Aldie, Virginia. Just hours earlier, his superior officer had placed him under arrest for protesting the promotion of a less experienced officer. His saber and sidearm had been stripped away. But the 30-year-old Italian […]
Hellacious Firefight in Vietnam Changes Life for Medal of Honor Recipient
Army Lt. Col. Harold Fritz was mere weeks away from leaving the Vietnam War unscathed and heading home to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, until he found himself amid a bloody firefight that would change his life and earn him the prestigious Medal of Honor. Fritz, 81, was born in Chicago but in 1949, his family moved […]
'Cautiously Optimistic': War Hero’s Medal of Honor Awaits Trump Decision
The paperwork is finished. The decision is not. A Staten Island soldier’s Medal of Honor case has reached the president’s desk more than a decade after his death in Afghanistan, placing the final call in the hands of President Donald Trump. Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, a Staten Island native assigned to the 10th Mountain […]
Strangers Come Together to Honor Fallen Veteran with No Known Family
A community in Arizona came together earlier this week to honor a veteran most did not know. Hundreds came to the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Marana, Arizona, on Tuesday to pay their respects to Darrell Lee Arelt, a Vietnam veteran who had no known family to contact after he died from a short illness […]
Remains of WWII Medal of Honor Recipient, Killed as a POW, Finally Comes Home
Capt. Willibald C. Bianchi, an Army Medal of Honor recipient who survived many obstacles in World War II, only to be killed in a terrible mistake, will finally return home to receive proper burial 80 years after he was declared missing in action. Bianchi, whose remains were properly identified on Aug. 11 by the Defense […]
U.S. World War II Veteran, 103, Receives French Legion of Honor
Leggio “Lee” Sassi’s military career started off as a precocious teenager, lying about his age to enter the Army. Almost 90 years later, he received France’s most prestigious service award. Sassi, 103, was given the French Legion of Honor – similar to the U.S. Medal of Honor – during a special event last week in […]
Local Communities Across Nation Honor Service Members With 'Wreaths'
Ernest Hemmingway once said that, “Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name.” Steve Nash of the Navy League of the U.S. Vallejo Council and many others are making sure that second death never comes for men and women buried at the Mare […]
The Veterans Who Shaped Call Of Duty, Medal Of Honor, And Other Military Video Games
If you’ve ever cleared a room in Call of Duty or rappelled into a hot LZ in Ghost Recon and thought, “This feels… weirdly real,” there’s a reason. In this guide, we look at the real veterans and military advisers behind games like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, and America’s Army — and […]
Vietnam DUSTOFF Pilot Who Saved 3,000 Earned Gold Medal Honor for MEDEVAC Crews
Warrant Officer Stephen Peth was making his final turn at treetop level when he looked through the green Plexiglas above his head. In the landing zone below, South Vietnamese soldiers were standing upright — usually a good sign. Suddenly, enemy rounds punched through the helicopter. Peth felt the impact in his right arm and pulled […]
Hegseth Says Wounded Knee Soldiers Will Keep Their Medals of Honor
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that he has decided that the 20 soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their actions in 1890 at Wounded Knee will keep their awards in a video posted to social media Thursday evening. Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, ordered the review of the awards in 2024 […]