[narrator] More than 40 million Americans have served
in the United States Armed Forces.
Of those, fewer than 3,600 have been awarded the military's highest honor.
[bomb dropping]
Take cover!
[gunfire]
[inhales]
[groans]
[ ♪♪♪ ]
[Ronald Reagan] Where did we find such men?
We find them where we've always found them, in our villages and towns,
on our city streets, in our shops, and onÂ our farms.
[Dwight H. Johnson] Summoned a degree of courage
that stirs wonder and respect
and an overpowering pride in all of us.
[George W. Bush] It recognizesÂ gallantry
that goes above and beyond the call of duty.
[Barack Obama] We may not always hear of their success,
but they are there in the thickÂ of the fight,
in the dark of night, achieving their mission.
[woman] Would you be willing to give your life for your country?
No man can answer that until they areÂ faced with death.
I can't sit in this chair and tell you I'd be willing to die.
It'd be easy to say yes,
but I wouldn't know that until I'm faced with death.
[cannon}
[explosion]
[man] March, 1945, World War II. We're in Germany now.
We had cut off
the major pockets of German forces
on the western side of the Rhine.
[man] We're past Normandy, we're past the Battle of the Bulge,
we're past the "Bridge Too Far," the airborne invasion of Holland.
We're at the point where the American Army
is gonna cross the Rhine into Germany.
So, it's the end game that's coming up.
[woman] Crossing these big rivers in Germany was the last really big obstacle
that the Allies faced, in then,Â making the great race to Berlin.
Private Ed Carter finds himself in a tank,
commanding a crew of other privates
to try and cross into Nazi Germany.
[Galloway] We're dealing with a need to takeÂ the German heartland.
German soldiers have to be dealt with,
or the entire advance comes to a grinding halt.
This is it. This is driving the dagger into the heart of Nazi Germany.
[soldier 1] Hey, Sarge.
How you say, "I'd love to see you naked" in German?
[speaks in German]
- [soldiers laugh] - Hey, really?
Just go into the city and try it.
Why? 'Cause it worked so well for him in English.
- [soldier 1] You can kiss my ass. - [soldiers laugh]
[soldier 2] You hold onto that gun any tighter,
- Mrs. Carter gonna get jealous. - [laughs]
I take care of her, she takes care of me.
Mm, see that? Spoken like a true soldier.
- Aye, aye, Captain. [chuckles] - [soldier 3] Soldiers?
We're just a bunch of damned pawns.
Chess, now that's a thinking man's game.
[sergeant] You gotta know when to defend, when to attack,
when to sit still and wait.
And know when to go in for the kill.
And if you play it right, those pawns become queens.
Strongest players in the game.
[man] The American military
in World War IIÂ was a segregated military.
[male announcer] Thousands of men and women over the nation
are now taking their places in our war effort.
[Gibran] The rumor startedÂ after World War I
that black soldiers are incapableÂ of fighting
and that they are not reliable soldiers.
[Cucolo] Stephen Ambrose,
the great, World War II historian,
has a quote: "The world's greatest democracy
fighting the world's worst racist,
Hitler, with a segregated army."
[woman] The Army didn't feel that they would makeÂ good soldiers.
They felt that they were lazy, they were cowards.
You do the trucks, you do the runs, you're a mechanic,Â you build the bridges,
but you don't fight. That's reserved for the white soldiers.
[Cucolo] If you can imagine, by 1944,
when we had a number of German prisoners of war in the United States,
a black military police unit guarding German prisoners of war
could not eat in the same restaurant
that was contracted to feed the German prisoners of war.
African American soldiers having to give up their seats on trains
for German prisoners of war.
But overseas,
African Americans pining for combat duty, "Let us fight,"
and being relegated to
quartermaster duty, service and support, no combat duty.
[Allene] In January of 1945,
there was a heavy casualty loss. I mean, severe.
And they realized that they needed replacement troops.
On one hand, they wanted to use the black troops, on the other hand,
they had a problem. This is not an integrated army.
So, how are you going to integrate these black troops
and send them to the front line?
What happened was, in January, 4,500 negro troops volunteered.
They wanted to go bad.
They couldn't supervise white soldiers,
so they had to agree to relinquish their stripes.
Didn't matter what rank you had at the time, you were a private.
[Gibran] Edward Carter was a staff sergeant,
so he was not able to take his rank with him when he became a rifleman.
So, he had to start out as a private.
[Allene] He was an experienced soldier.
When he got called up, he was probably one of the first to agree to go.
He was assigned to the 12th Armored, March 12th.
March 23rd, they were taking Speyer, Germany.
[Cucolo] Carter's unit,
the 12th Armored Division, was called the Mystery Division.
They covered all of their insignia on the uniforms because
the Allied Forces wantedÂ the Germans to be completely in the dark,
on the size, and most importantly, the composition
of the units facing them.
Carter's unit was advancing slowly because they're scanning
what's to their front. They don't know what they have.
I mean, this is a classic, "movement to contact" is what it's called.
I don't know what's in front of me,
so I'm going to send a unit forward
to discover what's in front of me. It's extremely dangerous.
[bomb drops, explodes]
[sergeant] Take cover!
[volley of gunfire]
Fall back!
Suddenly, bazooka fire, uh. erupts.
So, they're attempting to kill the tank.
[Gibran] After the machine gun fireÂ died down,
he recognized where the gunfire was coming from.
It was coming from a warehouse
that was about a hundred and fifty yards
across an open field.
[Cucolo] Carter sees
a combination of bazooka, infantry,
and an 88 millimeter gun, originally considered to beÂ an anti-aircraft gun
and just became so effective
against Allied vehicles and troops.
It could cause an airburst to explode in the air,
it made a noise that was frightening...
[loud boom]
The 88 was a deadly and feared weapon.
Standard tactic,
when a tank receives fire in complex terrain like this,
you would send the infantry in to fight the other infantry.
Carter volunteers to do that,
not knowing how large a force they were dealing with.
I'll go, sir.
I can't have a private running pointÂ out there.
All due respect, sir, I became a private to serve on the front line.
Two months ago, I was a staff sergeant and a squad leader.Â I can do it.
[lieutenant] Get it done.
[Galloway] Carter was supremely confident in his own abilities.
He knew that there was danger. He knew that he might be killed,
but the mission is the mission and he went anyway.
I can't tell you whether that's made or born,
but I can tell you that that kind of soldier is rare indeed.
[Cucolo] Carter was a warrior through and through.
From the age of 15,
he had seen combat.
[Galloway] He grew up overseas, the child of a missionary father.
Born in India, grew up in China,
uh, during the time of the civil wars.
Ran away from home when he was 15 to be a soldier in the Chinese Army.
[Gibran] He fought
for two years,
and then his father turned him in because he was too young.
So, he left and he ended up in Spain,
and he joinedÂ the Abraham Lincoln Brigade of Americans
who were fighting against the fascists.
[Cucolo] You have this young man, in Carter,
who found a home in combat.
He found a sense of purpose.
He had command of at least three, if not four languages,
and one of those is German.
[Galloway] Eddie Carter,
by the time heÂ joined the US Army, was a superb soldier.
He had been there, done that,
knew what it was all about.
All he wanted to do was get to the fight.
- Thanks, boys, but you sit this one out. - [soldier 1] And so should you.
No tank cover,Â open terrain...
You really think you'll gain their respect by dying out there?
Respect isn't given. It's earned.
Yeah, well, we're coming with you.
No, you're not.
Okay.
Stay low in the grass. We go up the middle,
we spread out at 50 yards, get a good look at this thing.
And that respect is a thousand yards that way.
My lead.
[Cucolo] Crossing an open field is near suicide.
Extremely vulnerable, very dangerous.
He doesn't knowÂ how large an enemy force there is.
He just knows that, "I have infantry
with tank killing weapons in this building.
- [grunts] Get down! - [bullet thuds]
- [grunts] I'm hit! - No, no. Just grazed you good, brother.
[bullets whizzes]
[gunfire continues]
Monroe?
Where's Swifty? Swifty, you okay?
Swifty!
[softly] Jesus!
[panting]
[soldier 1] Hey, that's more than three or four guys.
[soldier 2] Shit! We gotta get back and tell the convoy.
No, we put our backs to that farmhouse, we won't make it past two yards.
[Cucolo] He realizes that he's up against a much stronger position than he thought.
There are multiple machine-gun positions,
which are deadly to him and his men,
and so much more than just that lone 88
that he thought was there to disrupt the movement of the armored formation.
[Carter] Okay.
I'm gonna flank right 20 yards, see if I can thin these guys out.
Maybe I'll draw enough fire to help you escape.
No!
You don't have to do that, Sarge. We can get out of this.
Eddie, we can get out of this.
I'm gonna draw their fire and help you escape.
[volley of gunfire]
[yells] Ah!
[groans]
[grunts] [coughs] [clears throat]
[breathes heavily]
[gunfire]
[bullets whizz]
[gunfire continues]
[Cucolo] Now, Carter is all alone.
Probably a sense of duty,
combined with a sense of rage,
combined with a singular purpose,
Carter gets up and advances alone.
[gunfire continues]
[German soliders groan]
[grunting]
[Dailey] I don't understandÂ how heÂ could do it physically. I can understand how
someone could haveÂ that kind of will
in that circumstance to do what he was trying to do.
I don't understand how he actually managed to do it.
[groans]
[gunfire]
[breathes shakily]
[Cucolo] It's an amazing thing to see
what adrenaline does to the human body.
[muffled gunfire]
[Cucolo] The feeling when facing
potentially death, but also feeling like,
"I have the training. I have the knowledge.
I can dominate this situation."
[gunfire continues]
- [grunts] - [grunts]
[bullet thuds]
[softly] Oh!
- [pin clicks] - [grunts]
- [explosion] - [German soldier screams]
[gunfire continues]
[grunts] [breathes shakily]
- [gun clicks] - [frustrated groan]
[pin clicks]
[ ♪♪♪ ]
Hey, Mrs. Carter.
Hey, Mr. Carter.
[heavy breathing]
Shh.
[both laugh]
[Mrs. Carter sighs, chuckles lightly]
I miss this.
Yeah, me, too, baby.
What time is it?
A little after five.
Oh, damn it! I gotta go.
Training starts at 0600.
[exhales]
[grunts softly]
What?
You know what.
Mils, we've been over this.
I just don't understand.
- It's my job. - It's not your job!
It's your entire life!
And it's not just you and me anymore.
[sighs] Mils...
I want to give our children
a father to be proud of.
And when people ask them about their father, they'll say,
"He was a fighter."
They will remember me.
[labored breathing]
[gasps]
[scrub rustles]
[Cucolo] The Germans are now advancing across the open field, towards Carter,
to see what they've got, to see if anyone else is alive.
He's just had the near-death experience.
He's bleeding out.
He knows from experience that he only has a certain amount of time
before he might become weak or lose consciousness,
and yet he has the presence of mind
to wait until they got so close.
[shouts in German]
[soldiers shout back in German]
He kills six of these Germans and capturesÂ the other two.
[Galloway] And EddieÂ used them
as human shieldsÂ while he backed back across that field
to his commanding officer and the troops.
And as he walks backwards and sideways,
limps backwards and sideways,
back to American concealment and cover, and the American position,
he's interrogating them in German.
[jeep engine roars]
Get him to a field hospital!
[Carter] Wait! [breathes heavily]
They have concealed artillery and mortar crews stationed at Heidelberg.
[lieutenant] How the hell do you know that?
I interrogated 'em.
I can't believe you're still standing.
I am,
but my men's bodies are in that field.
We won't leave them. You have my word.
[groans]
[exhales, breathes heavily]
[Allene] I don't know of many soldiers that would keep going.
You see it in the movies, but not in real life.
But in real life, Carter came back.
[Galloway] They sent EddieÂ off to the hospital,
but we're talking a... such a soldier
that three, four weeks later,
Eddie turns back up.
He's still got bandages on his wounds, but he's come back,
joins... rejoins his unit,
they're gonna fight the rest of the way into Germany.
The commanding officer gets a callÂ from the hospital,
they say, "This Sergeant Carter
has gone AWOL from the hospital."
And they said, "Oh, don't worry about that. He's back here with us."
This is the kind of man we're talking about,
the quintessential soldier.
[Allene] Anytime you get shot,
it's called a million-dollar wound. The soldiers would say,
"You got a million-dollar wound. You're going home."
He didn't accept that. He went back to combat.
He did not come home.
[Cucolo] There's no question that destroying that position in the warehouse,
uh, he saved the lives of other soldiersÂ in his unit.
That's number one.
[Allene] That next day, they took Speyer.
I mean, they took that town. They rounded up the German soldiers.
[Galloway] He pointed out
where the German machine gun nests were,
and then they could crank the guns down,
take those out, the roadblock is finished,
and they crossed the Rhine into Germany.
[Cucolo] Everything about Carter's act
says above and beyond the call of duty.
His being wounded and engaging the enemy and...
and having the presence of mind to interrogate in their language
[chuckles] and then render an intelligence report while you're bleeding out. I...
Tell me any of that is expected.
[Allene] The irony of this all is that
these men never got credit for anything.
Carter never got credit.
The white officers felt likeÂ the Negro troops,
because they volunteered in February,
they really weren't a part of the full war.
[narrator] For his actions,
Edward Carter received the Distinguished Service Cross,
the second-highest award for valor.
But he would not be recommended for the Medal of Honor.
They had an opportunity to meet his commanding officer
and he said, "In my heart, I knew he deserved the Medal of Honor,
but no black would get it. And rather than him not getting anything,
I put him inÂ for the Distinguished Service Cross,
the second-highest medal."
[Dailey] To think that the commanding officer of this man, who has just
done, you know, incredible feats
at risk of his life,
um, to know that and to think "I can't even...
try to get him the honor he deserves,"
gives a sense of just how
powerful the racial hierarchy still was at that time in the Army.
[narrator] What Carter didn't receive in decorations,
he did experience in heartfelt appreciation
after he returned from the front.
[Allene] He was a hero when he got home,
I mean, he was in the newspapers,
everybody was just raving about what a great man this was.
[man] People would say when you pass by,
"That's Edward Carter's son!"
They knew who we were right away, you know.
[narrator] Carter, his wife Mildred, and their two sons,
Edward Jr. and William, moved to Washington State,
where Carter joined up with the military police at Fort Lewis.
Despite being denied the high honor he deserved,
he remained a patriot.
[man] He's a good father.
He said, "Love this country. It's the best you can ever be in."
[narrator] The family settled on a Tacoma farm.
In contrast to their father's wandering, war-filled youth,
his boys enjoyed a childhood that was peaceful and pastoral.
[Edward Jr.] He taught us how to fish, how to do everything.
How to treat people, how to treat animals, mostly animals. He was an animal lover.
Taught us how to give orders, and take orders.
Don't give out nothing you can't do yourself.
[William] When we built houses or something like for the pigpens,
or, you know, things like that,
we learned how to work as a team.
That was the best part of it.
[narrator] An idyllic life for two young boys,
but the wider world of their parents was proving far more complex.
Victory abroad had been secured,
but the twin goal for African Americans,
victory at home,Â in the form of greater equality, remained elusive.
[Dailey] There was a campaign during the warÂ called the Double V Campaign.
And that stood for victory at home and abroad.
So, the victory abroad was beat the Germans, beat the Japanese.
Victory at home was beat racial discrimination
and create full rights for African Americans.
[Allene] They came back to that segregation.
They didn't want them even buried in the same cemetery.
Don't use a V.A. facility.
It backfired because
the war liberatedÂ these black men.
It liberated them to the point where they didn't care.
They didn't come back the way they left.
[Dailey] They came home as new men.
They immediately fought for the right to vote.
They fought forÂ desegregation.
Their children...
were the ones sitting in,Â in 1960.
So, I think
that you can see the changeÂ in American race relationsÂ across the decades,
uh, through the life of Ed Carter.
[Cucolo] His term of enlistmentÂ is up in 1949.
He goes to reenlist, I mean, here he is, the consummate warrior,
Distinguished Service Cross,
multiple Purple Hearts for wounds received in action.
The kind of person you think you'd wantÂ to keep in the Army,
but, unbeknownst to Carter,
anyone who had been involvedÂ in the Abraham Lincoln Brigades in Spain,
in the 1930s, was consideredÂ a communist,
and he was denied reenlistment in 1949.
[narrator] In 1949, the Army issued Carter an honorable discharge.
He found his opportunities limited.
[Allene] He got a job in the tire factory as a vulcanizer,
but it made him feel really bad, because he was an impeccable soldier,
now he's covered in these coveralls.
He got sick and I think it was around December,
and he went into the hospital.
[narrator] The diagnosis, lung cancer,
which doctors attributed to shrapnel lodged in his neck.
Just weeks later, on January 30th, 1963,
Edward Carter passed away
at the age of 47.
[Allene] There was no fanfare.
Eddie Carter's life was over.
Mildred buried him at the veterans' cemetery in LA.
She said, I can tell you where it is, 'cause I can tell you how many nights
I left work and just laid on
his graveÂ and cried and asked him, "Why did you leave me?"
[narrator] Three decades later,
the Clinton Administration would commission a study
to look into the lack of recognition for black soldiers in World War II.
Leading the research,Â Dr. Daniel Gibran
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
[Gibran] In this war,
there were more black soldiers who foughtÂ than any other conflict
that the United States was engaged in prior to World War II.
Not one black soldier
was recommended for the Medal of Honor.
[narrator] The omission glaring given that black soldiers
had receivedÂ the medal in all of the nations the other conflicts,
including the CivilÂ War.
The study focused on those African Americans in World War II
who received the Distinguished Service Cross.
Several of thoseÂ soldiers were felt worthy
of having their awards raised to the Medal of Honor.
For a nation, the study represented a reckoning with a racist chapter
of its more recent history.
For Edward Carter's family,
it meant something more personal.
Official recognition of the heroism represented by this singular soldier.
[man] When victory was complete in World War II,
our government made a pledge to correct cases
in which Medals of Honor were deserved, but not awarded.
Today,
America honors that pledge.
[applause]
[narrator] Edward Carter had earned his medalÂ in a mere day.
Fifty years later,
the world had finally evolved enough
to place it into the hands of his son.
[Edward Jr.] I was proud of him. That's a high honor.
And I thought he deserved it.
[Allene] There was an injustice that could not be tolerated.
I mean, Carter was going to get the Medal of Honor 50 years later.
That was his. He earned it.
You can never talk about World War II
and eliminate these men. It's here to stay.
Somebody acknowledge who we are.
[narrator] It wouldn't be the last honorÂ for the Carters.
Five years later, in another unexpected tribute,
the Army named a ship for Sergeant Carter.
[Allene] Ammunition ship.
See? "Carter back in service."
There it is.
[Allene] The Medal of Honor ceremony, that's a prestigious ceremony.
But that ship? They didn't promise us a ship.
But when we christened that ship,
it came full circle.
That's the bottle, Ashli,
[narrator] Allene Carter is also determinedÂ to share
her father-in-law's legacy beyond the family,
publishing an inside account of his remarkable story.
A story now enshrined... here.
[man] Welcome to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
I am Krewasky Salter...
[woman] This is my first time seeing the Smithsonian,
and it was a really great experience to see
all these African Americans and theirÂ accomplishments,
and what they've done for the country.
[Krewasky]...and Double Victory was an official campaign coined
during World War II, in 1942.
The time period, you know, that yourÂ father,
your uncle, your grandfather,
your father-in-law served. So the military...
[Krewasky] It's important to have an exhibit like the Double Victory.
It allows us to tell those American stories
that have not been told in history.
[Allene] Moving up here, there's your great-granddad!
He finally made it.
This is the history that's gonna stay.
This is the legacy that she's gonna carry on.
[Allene] This is us now. This is our history.
He is a part of our history, the stories that will be told.
Yes, ma'am! [laughs]
That is a big thing.
This is an honor. This is history that can't go away.
They can't deny this.
You can't talkÂ about World War II anymore
without talking about these seven. Vernon Baker...
[Ashli] It makes me think thatÂ I can do anything that I put my mind to, that...
To see how just intelligent
and how smart he was, and how he was just brave,
it makes me feel like I can doÂ the same thing.
Anything I put my mind to, I can do.
Anything I want to accomplish, I can do with my family,
and they support me, and they're gonna be by my side.
[breathes shakily]
[voice breaks] It made me cry.
'Cause... [voice breaks]
so...
[tearfully] so many people...
that helped this country.
When I saw my father,
I cried.
[Krewasky] Now it's a little overcast,
I can't see it,Â but if you come and stand right here
and look in that clump of trees,
if you see some of those white spots and dots,
that's Arlington National Cemetery. On a great clear day, it's easy to see.
[Allene] I said when he died,
there wasÂ lessÂ than 30 people at his funeral.
He deserved a hero's burial and he never got it.
[narrator] Thirty four years after his death,Â in 1997, he did.
Sergeant Carter's body was movedÂ from Los Angeles
and the day after his family received his medal from the president,
they gathered at Arlington for his reinterment.
Soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry rendered full military honors,
including a three-volley rifle salute.
[mournful orchestral music]
[William] Father and mother, kid. You can't beat it.
It's a team.
[Allene] I'm glad they're here. They deserve it. They're right here.
He's where he's supposed to be, among those heroes of honor.
And so, that's what makes my heart feel good.
It was a long journey, but it was worth it. Every bit of it.
[narrator] Edward Carter. Section 59,
Site 451,
taking his place alongside some 400 Medal of Honor recipients buried here
in the rolling hills of the Potomac.
Resting in peace after a long, complicated journey.
Mirroring that of the nation he fought so bravely to protect.
Carter didn't getÂ his Distinguished Service Cross right away.
He had to write them and say, listen, you know,
I haven't been awarded my Service Cross yet. What happened?
He didn't get the Service Cross until he got back home in LA.
And they got... They contacted one of the...
veterans' groups just to give it to him.
There wasn't anybody big that awarded him, but he didn't care. He got it.
And, you know, even before he left Germany,
uh, they were going to board the ship,
the white officers wanted Carter to take off that 12th Armored patch
and put on his quartermaster patch.
They did not want him coming back to the United States with that patch on.
All of a sudden, things changed now.
We were done fightin'.
You were a quartermaster, you go back to being a quartermaster.
At Christmas time, he bought us allÂ single-shot rifles.
Yeah, 22s.
[William] And he could hear the turkey.
I brought my gun.
He said, "Okay. I'm gonna hit that lead bird.
I'm gonna hit him in this eye, it'll come out the other side."
And he... he rolled the window down, he never had to sit in the game.
He said, "Bam!"
Bird fell, he said, "Okay, go out and get it."
'Cause at that time, we were starving.
Really trying to eat.
We saw the bird, we pick it up.
And there it was. Under the eye, came out the back.
He said, "Now, bring it here." He said, "You see how big he is?
Eat him."
In the schools, like in the history books,Â you have
you have your European history, your modern world history,
your U.S. history, but you don't have our history.
And, my goal is to establish a place for him in these history books
for the next generations to come.
And if I can't do it alone or independently,
I will find or, um,
work with historical organizations to help me do so,
because his story is a legacy
and it deserves to be told and it shouldn't be left out.
I hope it's clear from the presentation
of this Medal of Honor story that...
we cannot take for granted
the state of mind...
the appropriate state of mind...
of an African American male,
in uniform,
in harm's way.
I... To...
To go there and perform, uh,
incredible feats of courage,
whether it's driving the Red Ball Express, whether it's flying in theÂ 332nd,
um, Squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen,
uh, who lost numerous pilots in combat, over Italy in particular.
I... They did that knowing...
full well what they lived through in the 30s back in the United States,
and what they would probably come home to,
from the stories they had from their parents after World War I.
[inhales]
We cannot take for granted that they still went into harm's way.
They still sacrificed themselves.
They still performed above and beyond.
I hope that's clear...
when this story's told.
You cannot take that for granted. This is part of the American journey.
And to me, it makes Carter's act...
even more incredible.
[Allene] There were soldiers there, high-ranking soldiers, men of color,
and they formed a receiving line
and as they approached me,
this soldier, he just held my hand and he just looked in my eyes,
and I looked in his eyes,
and he was just staring. He didn't say anything.
He didn't have to. I knew what he meant.
"Somebody acknowledged who we are,
and I thank you for that."
I'd like to begin by thanking Shaw University,
its president Talbert Shaw, and all the authors of the Shaw Study,
on the nomination of outstanding African American soldiers
for the Medal of Honor in the United States Army
during World War II.
I also want to commendÂ the department of the Army officials, former and present,
who commissioned this study and saw it through.
Together, your support and painstaking research made this day possible.
Without it, we would not be able to meetÂ our obligation as a people
to an extraordinary group of soldiers to whom we owe the greatest debt.
Because of the hard work you have done, history has been made whole today
and our nation is bestowing honor on those who have long deserved it.
Fifty two years ago, on an August day,
Harry Truman stood where I stand now
and awarded 28 Medals of Honor
to veterans of World War II
in the largest such ceremony ever held.
President Truman described those medal recipients
as a great cross-section of the United States.
"These men love peace,
but are able to adjust themselves to the necessity of war," he said.
I believe Harry Truman was one of our greatest presidents.
He had not a shred of discrimination in his bones.
He integrated the Armed Forces.
But that day, something was missing from his "cross-section of America."
No African American who deservedÂ the Medal of Honor
for his serviceÂ in World War II received it.
Today we fill the gap in that picture.
And give a group of heroes who also love peace,
but adapted themselves to war,
the tribute that has always been their due.
Now and forever, the truth will be known
about these African Americans who gave so much
that the rest of us might be free.
Today we recognize seven men as being among the bravest of the brave.
Each of them distinguished himself with extraordinary valor
in the famous words, "At the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty."
In the greatest struggle in human history,
they helped to lead the forces of freedomÂ to victory.
Their deeds remind us anew
of the indomitable power of the human spirit,
and they always will be remembered by men and women who cherish liberty.
As recipients of the Medal of Honor,
their names join the rolls of America's heroes.
Along with Sergeant York, Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle,
Audie Murphy, General Robert Foley, and Senator Bob Kerrey,
and only some 3,400 Americans
in the entire history of the United States.
For these men, heroism was a habit.
Edward Carter, the son of missionaries,
was crossing an open field in Germany
when he was wounded five times.
But Staff Sergeant Carter continued to advance
and when eight of the enemy tried to capture him,
he killed six, took two prisoner,
and brought them back for interrogation.
On behalf of the United States Congress,
I award the Medal of Honor,
our nation's highest military award,
to Vernon Baker, Edward Carter, Jr.,
John Fox, Willie F. James, Jr.,
Ruben Rivers, Charles Thomas, and George Watson.
A soldier who receives the Medal of Honor
usually needs no further description.
But we must remember something else here today.
These heroes distinguished themselves in another almost unique way.
In the tradition of African Americans
who have fought for our nation as far back as Bunker Hill,
they were prepared to sacrifice everything for freedom,
even though freedom's fullness was denied to them.
We remember Edward Carter, who unsuccessfully requested
combat duty for three years
because until 1944, African Americans were not allowed into action.
When his request was finally granted,
it was at the cost of his sergeant's stripes,
because an African American was not allowed to command white troops.
Now, those injustices are past.
Our military is among the most integrated institutions in America,
a beacon to society,
and among the most successful, for America isÂ stronger than ever.
In the service of General Colin Powell, General Benjamin Davis,
General Chappie James, and countless other outstanding African Americans,
we see the enormous strength that America's diversity has given us.
The men we honor here today
helped to make their historic progress possible.
They were denied their nation's highest honor,
but their deeds could not be denied
and they cleared the way to a better world.
Today America is profoundly thankful
for the patriotism and the nobility of these men
and for the example they set,
which helped us to find a way to become a more just, more free nation.
They helped America to become more worthy of them
and more true to its ideals.
To the families of the recipients who are gone,
may you take comfort in the honor
that has finally been done to your loved ones,
and may God embrace their souls.
And God bless you, Vernon Baker,
and God bless America.
Commander, post the orders.
[Commander] The President of the United States of America,
authorized by act of Congress, has awarded, in the name of the Congress,
the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter, Jr.,
United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
at the risk of his life above and beyondÂ the call of duty.
Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter, Jr. distinguished himself
by extraordinary heroism in action on 23 March, 1945.
At approximately 0830 hours, 23 March, near Speyer, Germany,
the tank upon which Staff Sergeant Carter was riding
received bazooka and small arms fire from a large warehouse.
Staff Sergeant Carter volunteered to lead a three-man patrol to the warehouse
where other unit members noticed the original bazooka fire.
From here, they were to ascertain the location
and strength of the opposing position
and advanceÂ 150 yards across an open field.
Enemy small arms fire covered this field.
As the patrol left its covered position,
they received intense enemy small arms fire,
killing one member of the patrol instantly.
This caused Staff Sergeant Carter to order the other two members of this patrol
to return to the cover position and cover him with rifle fire
while he proceeded alone to carry out the mission.
The enemy fire had killed one of the two soldiers
and seriously wounded the remaining soldier
before he reached the covered position.
An enemy machine gun burst wounded Staff Sergeant Carter three times
in the left arm as he continued the advance.
He continued and received another wound
in his left leg that knocked him from his feet.
As Staff Sergeant Carter drank from his canteen,
the enemy shot it from his left hand, with a bullet going through his hand.
Disregarding these wounds,
Staff Sergeant Carter continued the advance by crawling
to within 30 yardsÂ of his objective.
The enemy fire became so heavy that Staff Sergeant Carter took cover
behind a bank for approximately two hours.
As eight enemy rifleman approached Staff Sergeant Carter,
he killed six of the enemy soldiers and captured the remaining two.
These two enemy soldiers later gaveÂ valuable information
concerning the number and dispositionÂ of enemy troops.
Staff Sergeant Carter refused evacuation until he had given full information
about what he had observed and learned from the captured enemy soldiers.
Staff Sergeant Carter's extraordinary heroism
was an inspiration to the officers and menÂ of the 7th Army
Infantry Company Number One Provisional,
and exemplified the highest traditions of the military service.
Accepting the Medal of Honor for Staff Sergeant Carter is his son,
Edward Carter, the Third.
[audience applauds]
[inaudible dialogue]
[applause continues]