i invite you to join me in prayer
almighty god on this day of national
remembrance we pray as the psalmist of
old
deliver us o lord from evil men who plot
evil things in their heart
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
are the one who 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 them
you equipped his hands for warfare and
forged within him a heart that regarded
the liberty of others
of greater value than his own safety
you assigned him in the ranks of those
whose common bond is uncommon valor
when terror needed to be boldly
confronted
your work through him not only preserved
life
but preserved the legacy of his team and
the ideals of our great nation
nevertheless we know that opposing evil
comes with a great cause so we pray that
the honor of this ceremony
and the ministry of your spirit would
comfort the families
and the teammates of master sergeant
josh wheeler
and master sergeant john dunbar i pray
in jesus name
amen
thank you very much chaplain winton
really beautiful job and thank you for
your service
please thank you
today it's 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 today's
extraordinary recipient
sergeant major thomas patrick payne
congratulations
thank you very much we're grateful to be
joined by
pat's really wonderful wife allison
and allison thank you very much for
being here on this very momentous
occasion this is
this is the big one you know that this
is the big one
also with us is patrick and allison's
six-year-old son
aaron aaron thank you for being here he
got a very nice
little award back there a beautiful pen
right
you're gonna save that pen thank you
aaron i want you to know that
your dad is one of the bravest
men anywhere in the world you know that
right
you knew that before i think you knew
that before we knew it
so congratulations to both
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 secretary of
the army ryan mccarthy
thanks ryan chairman of the joint chiefs
of staff
mark milley mark thank you very much
it's amazing the way all these big
generals are showing up this is
something
this is the big one as i say always do
it's always will be
the army chief of staff james pecanville
james thank you thank you very much
james and sergeant major of the army
michael grinston thank you mike thank
you very much
i also want to recognize the three medal
of honor recipients that are
with us matthew williams
edward byers and walter
marm thank you very much
that's great a lot of brave people are
with us today
pat grew up in a small town in south
carolina
his dad is a police officer his
grandfather
served in world war ii in korea vietnam
service to our country really goes
through their veins very very rapidly
exactly 19 years ago today on september
11
2001 news of the attack in our nation's
great great country this was just an
attack like
has never happened to us but it went
through
pat's high school and went through his
classroom and pat
was sitting there listening his teacher
solemnly told the students that their
generation had a fight to win they were
going to fight
and fight to win in that moment pat was
called to action
he knew that his country needed him 10
short 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
in 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 alice said well that
was probably not a bad wound then was it
huh it was worth
i hope you're going to say it was worth
it it was
less than two years after being injured
pat competed against some of america's
toughest warriors
and won the prestigious best ranger
competition
among the most grueling physical
contests anywhere in the country
in october of 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 soon 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 22nd
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 ramp 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 of the
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
let's get into the fight right now let's
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 in the enemy
multiple isis fighters detonated suicide
vests
ripping a portion of the building into
pieces
but pat and his fellow rangers fought
through the fire
the bullets and the deadly blasts 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 all around him pat
succeeded in cutting one of the locks
before scorching sweltering heat forced
him to
leave the building for some air pat
caught 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 he
refused to do so
he didn't 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 wouldn't leave
no matter what they said no matter who
ordered him to do it he wouldn't do it
he was the last one out
it was one of the largest and most
daring rescue missions in american
history
patted his team rescued 75 captives
and killed 20 isis terrorists pat you
embody the
righteous glory of american valor
we stand in all of your heroic daring
and gallant deeds
you truly went above and beyond the call
of duty to earn our nation's
highest military honor pat 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 bet josh was
something you've talked you've said that
before today we're deeply moved to be
joined by
master sergeant willer's wife ashley
wheeler
ashley our hearts break for your loss
a great man that was a great man
ashley where is ashley ashley please
stand up
thank you
thank you very much thank you ashley
our nation endures because fearless
warriors like
josh willing to lay down their lives for
our freedom
our children could grow up in peace
because josh had the courage to face
down evil
our debt to him and to you is
everlasting and again thank you very
much ashley we appreciate it very much
we will honor him forever you know that
very special group of
warriors men great men
patter said that as soon as our soldiers
boots hit the ground
they are ambassadors of the american way
of life
everywhere they go the men and women of
our 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 has
embarked on an astounding really an
astounding
17 deployments in defense of our nation
general milly that's a lot right is that
a lot
that's a lot okay i needed that little
extra confirmation
that's a lot he now serves as an
instructor at the u.s army special
operations command training the next
generation of american warriors
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
it is now my privilege to present
sergeant major
thomas patrick payne with the
congressional
medal of honor i'd 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
payne united states army for conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity
at the risk of his life above and beyond
the call of duty on october 22nd
2015. his heroism and selfless actions
were key to liberating
75 hostages during a contested rescue
mission that resulted in 20 enemies
killed in action
sergeant first class payne's gallantry
under fire and uncommon valor are in
keeping with the highest traditions of
military service
and reflect great credit upon himself
the united states special operations
command
in the united states army
[Applause]
i invite you to join me in prayer
gracious god thank you for the gift of
liberty that you have given us
and for those who have safeguarded
liberty through heroic acts for our sake
and for the sake of others your call
upon each of our lives may 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]
please