has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to private first class anthony t.kaho ahanano, for gallantry at the risk of his life above andon the call of duty, anthony t.kahu atanotohu, seventh infantry division distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in the vicinity of chupari, korea, on one september, 1951, on that date, private first class kahu anhananu was in charge of machine gun squadron when a superior enemy force launched his attack. because of the over jem overwith himming numbers friendly troops were forced to execute a limited withdrawal. as the men fell back, private clirs faso first class ordered his squad to
in one of his last letters home he wrote i may not return. that june of 1952, the heat was unbearable, the man soon rains and mosquitoes were relentless, but the seventh infantry division pushed on, probing enemy lines, fighting bunker by bunker, hill by hill. and as henry and his company neared the top of one hill, the rocky slopes seemed to explode with enemy fire. his unit started to falter and that s when henry made his move. he stood up, he looked ahead, and he charged forward into a hail of bullets. those who were there described how he kept firing his weapon, kept hurling grenades and how even after being wounded in the face he refused medical attention and kept leading the charge. that s when an enemy grenade landed among his men. every human instinct, every
about the time that tony was inspiring his men, another young soldier was joining up with the seventh infantry division in korea, private first class henry svala, he grew nup new jersey he loved fishing on the jerszy shore, he was one of six kids, and the youngest son, but the one who seemed to take care of everybody else. his sister dorothy remembers how her mom would be in the kitchen at the end of a long day trying to cook dinner for six kids, henry, a teenager would walk in, grab his mother s hand and dance her around the kitchen. if anybody needed him, said dorothy, henry was there. and he was this for america, in korea, as the war neared its third and final year. henry knew the dangers, and
hands right now? i was in the infantry in south korea, seventh infantry division. i was a sharpshooter. as a gay man, what was it like? you were not in the open obviously. what was your experience in that regard? what did you learn in terms of this issue of whether gay people should be allowed to serve openly? by and large, even in the 60s, chris, i found that gays and lesbians, most were serving in silence then. it was not a big deal. but all gays and lesbians want to serve openly. they want to be honest about their service to their country. and as admiral mullen said today, it comes down to integrity. and every service member counts, gay or straight. peter, what is the argument against in terms of actual performance in the barracks, in
to defend their fellow citizens. for me, personally, it comes down to integrity. theirs is individuals, and ours as an institution. republicans were resistant to the idea of overturning the policy of don t ask, don t tell. so how much of a political fight does president obama have on his hands right now? executive director of service members, and senior fellow for policy at the family research council. let me go first to aubrey. you served in the military. you were in the army. where were you stationed? what kind of unit were you in? i was in the infantry in south korea, seventh infantry division. i was a sharpshooter. as a gay man, what was it like? you were not in the open obviously. what was your experience in that regard? what did you learn in terms of this issue of whether gay people should be allowed to serve openly? by and large, even in the 60s, chris, i found that gays and lesbians, most were serving in silence then.