MELVIN MORRIS

“THE PRESENTATION OF OUR NATION’S HIGHEST MILITARY DECORATION – THE MEDAL OF HONOR – IS ALWAYS A SPECIAL OCCASION. BUT TODAY, IT IS TRULY HISTORIC”
President Barack Obama

Melvin Morris was astonished when he answered the telephone. The 72-year-old decorated combat veteran had retired from the US Army nearly 30 years earlier and was living quietly in Cocoa, Florida. The voice on the other end belonged to an army colonel, who said that a high-ranking government official wanted to speak to him.

Immediately, Morris thought something dreadful was about to happen. He envisioned government agents at his front door, threatening some dire consequence for a mysterious offence. Although his initial reaction was one of concern, the news he received a short time later was startling.

The telephone rang again, and the familiar voice of the colonel asked Morris to hold a moment for that high-ranking official. Then, on the other end of the line came the unmistakable voice of President Barack Obama, who informed the army veteran that he would be receiving the Medal of Honor, an upgrade on the nation’s second-highest medal for courage in