Trump awards Medal of Honor to three veterans for extraordinary battlefield valor

President Donald Trump on Thursday awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s highest decoration for bravery, to three veterans whose acts of courage saved lives and helped repel enemy forces during wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Marine Corps Maj. James Capers Jr. and Army Maj. Nicholas Dockery received the honor in person, while Marine Corps Col. John W. Ripley was recognized posthumously. Ripley died in 2008.

“These are great men, great people,” Trump said during the White House ceremony. “We thank you, and we will never, ever forget you.”

Capers honored for leadership under fire in Vietnam

Capers, 88, was recognized for his actions during a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam in 1967 that turned into a fierce multi-day battle against North Vietnamese forces.

On the fourth day of fighting, Capers and his team were ambushed by a larger enemy force. Despite suffering a broken leg and severe abdominal wounds from a mine explosion, he continued to command the battle.

“After a shot of morphine, Jim asserted command of the firefight,” Trump said. “He took over like nobody’s ever seen before.”

Capers coordinated air support that helped repel the attack and, when a rescue helicopter arrived, ensured all wounded Marines boarded before he climbed aboard himself.

The ceremony featured a warm exchange between Trump and Capers as the president carefully adjusted the medal around the veteran’s neck, drawing a smile from the usually stoic Marine.

Ripley recognized posthumously for halting enemy advance

Ripley was honored for a daring mission during the Vietnam War in 1972, when he destroyed a strategic bridge at Dong Ha to stop a massive North Vietnamese offensive.

According to his citation, more than 30,000 North Vietnamese troops and 200 tanks were advancing toward the bridge when Ripley spent five hours placing 500 pounds of explosives on the structure while under enemy fire.

“John completed not one, not two, but five such trips,” Trump said.

After completing the task, Ripley detonated the explosives, collapsing the bridge and halting the enemy advance. His three sons and other family members attended the ceremony to accept the honor on his behalf.

Dockery honored for heroics in Afghanistan

Dockery was recognized for his actions during an intense battle in Afghanistan’s Kapisa Province in 2012, when his platoon came under attack from an estimated 150 Taliban fighters.

Despite heavy fire, Dockery rallied his scattered troops, searched for missing soldiers and repeatedly risked his life to rescue wounded comrades.

At one point, he killed two insurgents who were approaching an injured American soldier before administering CPR to revive him. He later shielded the wounded soldier from incoming mortar blasts with his own body.

After hours of combat, Dockery used smoke grenades to mark enemy positions for US gunships and refused to leave the battlefield until every wounded soldier had been evacuated.

“You were the last man to depart the battlefield that day,” Trump told him. “And you left it a legend and a hero.”