[hail to the chief being played] gentlemen, the president of the United States, accompanied by medal of honor recipient Sergeant Major thomas payne, United States army. [hail to the chief being played] to join me inu prayer. Almighty god, on this day of national remembrance, we pray. Menver us, lord, from evil who plot evil things in their hearts. Maintain the cause of the afflicted and execute justice for the needy. Today, we thank you for the valorous attributes and actions of Sergeant Major patrick payne, that indeed delivered the oppressed. You placed him in a family of love in a nation he loves, fostering the pure motivation of all warriors, who fight for those who stand behind him. Forequipped his hands warfare and forged within him a heart that regarded the liberty of others of greater value than his own safety. In the ranks of those whose common bond is uncommon valor, when terror needed to be boldly confronted. Onlywork through him not preserved life, but preserved the legacy of his team and the ideals of our great nation. Nevertheless, we know that opposing people comes with a great cost, so we pray that the honor of this ceremony and the ministry of your spirit would theort the families and teammates of Master Sergeant josh wheeler and Master Sergeant john dunbar. I pray in jesus name, amen. Thank you, very much, chaplain, a really beautiful job. Thank you for your service. Please. Thank you. It is my privilege to present the congressional medal of honor to a warrior who has devoted the last two decades to fighting the forces of terror. Please join me in welcoming recipient,raordinary Sergeant MajorThomas Patrick payne. [applause] thank you, very much. Joined byteful to be pats really wonderful wife, alison. And allison, thank you very much for being here on this very momentous occasion. This is the big one, you know that. This is the big one. Also with us is patrick and alisons sixyearold son, aaron. Thank you for being here. He got a nice little award back there. A beautiful 10. Youre going to save that a beautiful pen. You are going to save that pen. I wanted to know your dad is one of the bravest men in the world. I think you knew that before we knew it. Congratulations. With us also is our first lady. Thank you, darling. And Vice President mike pence. Mike, thank you very much. Along with secretary of defense mark esper. Mark, thank you. Congressman richard hudson. Richard, richard, thank you very much. Ryantary of the army mccarthy. Thanks, ryan. Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mark milley. Mark, thank you very much. Its amazing the way all these big generals are showing up. This is something. This is the big one, always will be. The army chief of staff, james mcconville. Thank you very much, james. And Sergeant Major of the army michael grinstead. Thank you very much. I want to recognize the three medal of honor recipients that are with us, matthew williams, marman. Yers and walter thank you, very much. [applause] thats great. A lot of brave people are with us today. Town in up in a small south carolina. His dad is a police officer. In worldfather served war ii and korea and vietnam. Service to our country goes through their veins very, very rapidly. Exactly 19 years ago today, and september 11, 2000 one, news of the attack in our nations great, great country. This was an attack just like never has happened to us. But it went through Pats High School and went through is death went through his classroom and pat was sitting there listening. His teacher solemnly told his students that their generation had a fight to win, a fight and a fight to win. In that moment, pat was called to action. He knew his country needed him. 10 months later at the age of 18, pat was in Army Basic Training at fort benning. Soon, he joined the elite ranks of the Legendary Army rangers. Pat became an exceptional soldier and expert sniper. He saw heavy combat in multiple theaters of battle. 2010, during a deployment in afghanistan, his leg was severely wounded by an enemy grenade. While recovering in south carolina, pat met with his wife, alison. That was probably not a bad wound, that was. I hope you never say it was worth it. Less than two years after being against pat competed some of americas top us to one the prestigious best ranger competition, among the most grueling physical contests anywhere in the country. In october 2015, on his 14th deployment, pat was part of a Team Assigned to plan and conduct an operation to rescue over 70 kurdish prisoners being held by isis barbarians in iraq. The team received horrifying intelligence that the terrorists were planning to massacre their captives and bury them in freshly dug graves. Pat and his teammates raced into action. After midnight on october 22, pat boarded a helicopter and departed on a mission to free the hostages from two buildings guarded by dozens of ruthless and bloodthirsty isis terrorists. He was in command of a team clearing one of the compounds. As soon as the wrap to his helicopter went down, pat rushed into a blistering hail of gunfire. Pat and his team swiftly overpowered the enemy, secured the building, and freed 38 hostages. Then, pat received word that the rest of the assault team was facing harsh resistance in another complex. Pat turned to one of his fellow soldiers and said, lets get into the fight right now. Lets get into the fight. He saw that the other building was on fire, and he knew more of the hostages were still trapped inside. He and his team climbed up ladders to the roof and opened up fire on the enemy. Multiple isis fighters detonated suicide vests, ripping a portion of the building to pieces. But pat and his fellow rangers fought through the fire, the bullets and deadly blast. Pat navigated to the front door and saw the captives were being held behind a metal door secured by two very heavy padlocks. He grabbed a pair of bolt cutters and ran through smoldering flame and smoke. As bullets impacted around him, pat succeeded in cutting one of the locks before scorching, sweltering heat forced him to leave the building for air. Patco his breath in a few seconds and was back. He ran right back into that raging blaze. He sliced the final lock and released the rest of the hostages as the building began to collapse. He received orders to evacuate, but refused to do so. He didnt want to leave anyone behind. Pat ran back into the burning building that was collapsing two more times. He saved multiple hostages and he was the last man to leave. He wouldnt leave, no matter what they said, no matter who ordered him, he wouldnt do it. He was the last one out. It was one of the largest and most Daring Rescue missions in american history. Rescued 75 team captives and killed the 20 isis terrorists. Pat, you embody the righteous glory of american valor. We stand in all of your aerobic daring and gallant deeds. You truly went above the call of duty to earn our nations highest military honor. Path would be the first to remind us that he was not alone that day. In the battle, one army ranger made the ultimate sacrifice, Master Sergeant josh wheeler. Josh was something, right pat . Josh was something. Youve said that before. Today, we are deeply moved to be joined by Master Sergeant wheelers wife, ashley wheeler. Ashley, our hearts break for your loss. A great man. It was a great man. Ashley, where is ashley . Please stand up. [applause] thank you. Thank you, very much, ashley. Our nation in doers because fearless warriors like josh are willing to lay down their lives for our freedom. Our children can grow up in peace because josh had the courage to face down people. And you is him everlasting and thank you very much, ashley. We appreciate it very much. We will honor him forever, you know that. A very special group of warriors, great men. Pat has said that as soon as our soldiersboots hit the ground, they are ambassadors of the american way of life. Everywhere they go, the men and women of the armed forces instill our friends with hope, our enemies with dread and our fellow citizens with unyielding american pride. Over the course of his service, pat embarked on an astounding 17 deployments in defense of our nation. General milley, that is a lot. Is thata a lot is that a lot . Thats a lot. I needed that information. He is now a special instructor training the next generation of american borders. Today, he joins the Immortal Company of our most revered american heroes. Pat, you personify the motto, rangers lead the way. And you inspire us all. Privilege to present Sergeant MajorThomas Patrick payne with the congressional medal of honor. I would like to ask the military aide to come forward and read the citation. Thank you, very much. Attention to orders. The medal of honor is awarded to Sergeant First Class thomas p. Pa yne for gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty october 22, 2015. His heroism and selfless actions were keyed to liberating 75 hostages during a rescue mission. There were 20 enemies killed in action. Paynes first class uncommon valor is in keeping with the highest traditions of , the unitedvice States Special Operations command and United States army. [applause] i invite you to join me in prayer. Gracious god, thank you for the gift of liberty that you have who have and for those safeguarded liberty through heroic acts for our sake and for the sake of others. Your call upon each of our lives might not be to serve as First Responders or warriors on the field of battle, rushing into burning buildings, rescuing others. Even still, may our participation here today, and the strengthening of your spirit, compel us all to live lives of honor and valor, for the good of your kingdom, for the good of our own families, and for the good of the United States of america. I pray in jesus name, amen. [applause] [orchestral background music] [indiscernible conversations] [orchestral background music] [indiscernible conversations] houseo, earlier the white President Trump announced today bahrain joins the United Arab Emirates and establishing diplomatic relations earlier. Here is the president from earlier, in the oval office. President trump thank you, very much. Hosted aents ago, i historic call between prime netanyahu andmin king khalifa of bahrain