East Room
1:40 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. And on behalf of Michelle and myself, welcome to the White House.
Every day at the White House we receive thousands of letters from folks all across America. And at night, upstairs in my study, I read a few. About three years ago, I received a letter from a mom in West Virginia. Her son, Stephan, a Specialist in the Army, just 21 years old, had given his life in Afghanistan. She had received the condolence letter that I’d sent to her family, as I send to every family of the fallen. And she wrote me back. “Mr. President,” she said, “you wrote me a letter telling me that my son was a hero. I just wanted you to know what kind of hero he was.”
“My son was a great soldier,” she wrote. “As far back as I can remember, Stephan wanted to serve his country.” She spoke of how he “loved his brothers in B Troop.” How he “would do anything for them.” And of the brave actions that would cost Stephan his life, she wrote, “His sacrifice was driven by pure love.”
Today, we are honored to be joined by Stephan’s mother Vanessa and his father Larry. Please stand, Vanessa and Larry. (Applause.) We're joined by the families of the seven other patriots who also gave their lives that day. Can we please have them stand so we can acknowledge them as well. (Applause.) We're joined by members of Bravo Troop whose courage that day was driven by pure love. And we gather to present the Medal of Honor to one of these soldiers — Staff Sergeant Clinton L. Romesha.
Clint, this is our nation’s highest military decoration. It reflects the gratitude of our entire country. So we’re joined by members of Congress; leaders from across our Armed Forces, including Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marty Dempsey, Army Secretary John McHugh, and Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno. We are especially honored to be joined by Clint’s 4th Infantry Division — “Iron Horse” — soldiers, and members of the Medal of Honor Society, who today welcome you into their ranks.
Now, despite all this attention, you may already have a sense that Clint is a pretty humble guy. We just spent some time together in the Oval Office. He grew up in Lake City, California — population less than a hundred. We welcome his family, including mom and dad, Tish and Gary. Clint — I hope he doesn’t mind if I share that Clint was actually born at home. These days, Clint works in the oilfields of North Dakota. He is a man of faith, and after more than a decade in uniform, he says the thing he looks forward to the most is just being a husband and …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House Press Office