working to make sure his courage were documented and honored. it s a testament to the love he inspired and the legacy he left behind. sergeant cashe is the seventh individual to receive the medal of honor for his actions in iraqi freedom. the first african-american to receive it since the vietnam war. to his family, i am so honored to award your husband, dad, brother, recognition here. i know it s tough. as honored as you are, it s got to be tough to be here today. he will be remembered forever. sergeant seliz was an army ranger through and through.
to the medal of honor. sandra: the president will begin speaking. good afternoon. welcome to the east room of the white house. decorated for the holiday season. to celebrate the gift of gratitude. it s an appreciate back drop for this ceremony because our hearts are overflowing with gratitude today we honor the courage and commitment to duty and indisputable gallantry it s hard to explain where the soldiers got the courage they got. late sergeant first-class cashe and cell is. and early plumley.
extracted the driver. during the course of extinguishing the flames cashe s uniform ignited and ignoring his painful wounds he continued to it aid his fellow students. at this time, the enemy began to direct their fire on his position. when another element of the company engaged the enemy, cashe seized the opportunity and aided 4 of his soldiers to escape the burning vehicle. then he noticed 2 other soldiers had not been accounted for. he entered the building to retrieve them. reenforcements arrived. despite the severe burns covering the majority of his body, sergeant cashe encouraged his fellow soldiers to receive needed medical care.
realizing the danger the attack posed to his team. cell is exposed himself to small arms fire to allow the u.s. supporterer forces to maneuver to a secure location. the evacuation helicopter arrived it was engaged by enemy fire. sergeant celis exposed him to enemy fire. the sergeant made a conscious effort to ensure to act as a shield for the crew of the aircraft. as the casualty was loaded, he alone remained in the aircraft returning a high volume of fire
of duty. john: what is interesting about sergeant cashe, he is the first african-american since 9-11 to receive the medal of honor. in the other two cases there was a bureaucratic nightmare for cashe and for plumley as well. awarding the medal of honor. cashe s center said after 16 years of emotional torture for us he will get what he deserves. plumley was up for the medal of honor but went with the silver star instead. the other case was innocent question. it s interesting that silver stars were going to be awarded to two and they were upgradeed