life so his brothers in arms could live theirs. with us today, ten of the men that fought alongside jim and five of those he saved. to bill, randy, mike, joe, kent, robert, john, charles, michael, morestes, thank you for your service and sacrifice. stand up wherever you may be. where are you? [applause]
fixed and worked but he got the wounds fixed and lifted the soldier to a medevac helicopter. his lieutenant ordered jim to get in, he said. get in, get in he said, but jim refused. he said you re going to need me here. as jim said, he would have rather died on a the battlefield than the men not having a medic. jim fired at enemy soldiers, suffered a bullet wound to his arm and continued to race into gun fire to save more and more lives. and yet as night approached again, after nearly two days of no food, no water and no rest, jim volunteered to hold a blinking light in an open field
are in awe of your actions and your bravery, but let me tell you one thing, and one more story about jim. on the second day of that bloody fight, jim found a few soldiers, and a fellow soldier who had been shot badly in the stomach. he knew the soldier wouldn t make it if he flung him on the back. he lifted him up and carried him in his arms, as he was carrying a soldier, a thought flashed through his mind. though jim had always been close to his father, he realized it was not since he had been a young boy that he had told his dad those three very simple but beautiful words i love you. in that moment jim offered up a prayer. he asked god, if you get me out of this hell on earth so i can
jim volunteered to hold a blinking light in an open field to signal for a supply drop. he would not yield. he would not rest. he would not stop. and he would not flinch in the face of sure death and definite danger. though he was thousands of miles from home, it was as if the strength and pride of our whole nation was beating inside of jim s heart. jim did what his father had taught him. he gave it his all and then he just kept giving. in those 48 hours jim rescued ten american soldiers and tended to countless others. he was one of 32 men who fought until the end. they held their ground against more than 2,000 enemy troops. jim, i know i speak for every
now, jim s name will stand forever alongside theirs in our history and in our hearts. i want to take a few minutes to tell you about jim and how he earned this place among legends. jim was raised in bang or, michigan. his father built their house from scratch and worked 40 years at a piano factory. jim s dad taught him a simple but powerful lesson. never do anything halfway. always do your best. jim took that help very much to heart. he played for four varsity sports in high school and three in college. in august of 1968 jim was drafted into the army. within six months he was trained as a medic and arrived in