WEBVTT

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(lively band music)

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- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,

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the President of the United States.

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("Hail to the Chief")

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(audience applauding)

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- The writer of sacred scripture declares

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I wait for the Lord, my soul waits.

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I will hope in his word,
my soul looks to the Lord

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more than watchmen look for the morning,

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more indeed than watchmen
look for the morning.

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Loving Lord, as a people,
we thank you for those

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who wear the uniform
and stand as watchmen,

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devoted in service to
you and our great nation.

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Our hearts are especially
grateful today for the courage,

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honor, and extraordinary
service of one such watchmen,

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Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins,
a warrior whose bravery

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communicated to all the
soldiers' sacred calling,

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a commitment to comrades,
and a devotion to duty.

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As his actions reflect
his love for his country,

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fellow soldiers, and a commitment
to service before self,

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so may your faithfulness
and unconditional love

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continue to inspire and guide us all

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to greater acts of service.

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Grant us heart eager to do your will

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as we strive to preserve life, liberty,

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and the pursuit of happiness
in this great nation.

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I pray these things in your holy, mighty,

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and majestic name, Lord, amen.
- Amen.

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- Thank you very much, please, thank you.

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And thank you, please, sit down, please.

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Thank you, Chaplain Solhjem,
Vice President Pence.

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Thank you, Mike.

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Members of Congress, and
distinguished military leaders.

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We are here today to award
America's highest honor

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to a fallen hero who made
the supreme sacrifice

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for our nation, Staff
Sergeant Travis Atkins.

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Please join me in welcoming

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the entire Atkins family
to the White House.

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Thank you very much.

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you, thank you.

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Please, stand up.

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you very much.

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Joining us to accept the
Congressional Medal of Honor

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on behalf of Travis is his son, Trevor.

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Thank you very much, Trevor.

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We're also grateful to be
joined by Travis's parents,

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his mother Elaine, as
well as his father Jack,

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who served as an Army
paratrooper in the Vietnam War.

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Thank you, thank you very much, thank you.

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(audience applauding)

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Also here with us is
Travis's sister Jennifer,

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along with his uncle,
Sumner, and cousin, Douglas.

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Both are military veterans

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of great distinction, I might add.

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Thank you very much, thank
you, thank you very much.

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(audience applauding)

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To the entire Atkins
family, we can never measure

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the true depth of our
gratitude or the full magnitude

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of your loss, but we can
pay everlasting tribute

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to Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins,

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his truly immortal act of valor.

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It was indeed, thank you.

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We're also joined for today's ceremony

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by Acting Deputy Secretary
of Defense David Norquist.

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Thank you, David.

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

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somebody who is doing a fantastic job,

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General Joseph Dunford.

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Thank you, General, thank you, Joe.

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Vice Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff,

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General Paul Selva.

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Paul, thank you.

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Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper.

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Mark, thank you, Mark.

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Army Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley.

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Thank you, General, thanks, Mark.

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Chief of the National Guard
Bureau, General Joseph Lengyel.

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And Sergeant Major of
the Army, Daniel Dailey.

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Thank you, thank you
all, thank you very much.

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Great people, they're
doing an incredible job.

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I have to say that.

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Thank you as well to Senators
Steve Daines and Jon Tester.

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Thank you, thank you, Jon, thank you.

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And Representatives Jim
Banks, Greg Gianforte,

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Elise Stefanik, Pete
Stauber, and Michael Waltz.

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Thank you all, thank
you, fellas, thank you.

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(audience applauding)

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And finally, we are privileged
to be in the presence

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of five previous Medal
of Honor recipients,

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Ty Carter, Harvey Barnum, William Swenson,

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Ronald Shurer, and Brian Thacker.

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Thank you very much, brave people.

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you, thank you.

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Today, the name of Staff
Sergeant Travis Atkins

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will be etched alongside of the names

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of America's bravest
warriors and written forever

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into America's heart.

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Travis grew up on a farm
in Bozeman, Montana.

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He was also and always most at home

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in the middle of the wilderness,
he loved the wilderness.

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He loved to camp and to fish and to hunt.

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And he loved to race that
snowmobile, as you know, right?

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After Travis graduated high
school, he worked as a painter

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and mechanic before he joined
the Army at the age of 24.

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In March of 2001, his parents
went to his basic training

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graduation ceremony at
Fort Benning, Georgia.

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When they reunited with
their son, he told them,

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this basic training was the best time

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I've ever had in my life.

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In other words, he loved it.

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(audience laughing)

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Travis quickly excelled in the Army.

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He was offered a number
of different assignments,

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but always he chose the
infantry, he loved the infantry.

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That's where he wanted
to be, defending freedom

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on the frontiers with
his fellow foot soldiers,

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and they were all his great friends.

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In 2003, Travis served on
his first deployment in Iraq

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with the historic 101st Airborne Division

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and participated in
Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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After he completed the
harrowing deployment,

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Travis returned to civilian life.

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But not for long.

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The fact is, he was bored.

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You know that, he was very bored.

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He wanted back in.

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As his mother Elaine has
said, Travis loved the Army

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and he loved everything
about being with the troops.

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He just loved it.

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In 2005, he re-enlisted
and joined the legendary

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10th Mountain Division,
based at Fort Drum, New York,

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where he was, honored to visit last year.

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In August of 2006, Travis left

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his second deployment to Iraq.

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He was stationed in a hotbed of terror

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and terrorist activity known
as the Triangle of Death.

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Not a good place.

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On the morning of June
1st, 2007, in a town

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outside of Baghdad, Travis
and his three-man squad

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received a report that
several suspected terrorists

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were walking toward an
intersection nearby.

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Nothing good was going to
happen, they all knew it.

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Travis directed his squad
immediately to the location.

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When they arrived, he
got out of the Humvee

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and walked toward the two suspicious men.

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And he knew right from the beginning.

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As Travis began to search
one of the insurgents,

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the man resisted and
became totally violent.

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Travis engaged him in hand-to-hand combat.

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As Travis wrestled to
get the enemy's hands

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behind his back, the man
began to reach for something,

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and Travis knew what it was.

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He realized the man was
wearing a suicide vest.

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Just as the terrorist was about to set off

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the deadly explosives,
Travis wrapped his arms

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and his entire body around him
and threw him to the ground,

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away from his troops, who
were right next to him.

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He put himself on the top of the enemy

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and he shielded his
men from certain death.

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The terrorist detonated his suicide vest,

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and Travis was instantly killed.

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In his final moments on
Earth, Travis did not run.

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He didn't know what it was to run.

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He did not hesitate.

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He rose to the highest calling.

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He laid down his life to save the lives

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of his fellow warriors.

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In so doing, he embodied
the deepest meaning

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of the motto of the
10th Mountain Division,

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he climbed to glory.

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Now Travis is looking down
from above on all of us,

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on all of his fellow
warriors, on his great family,

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wrapped in glory, the loving
glory of Almighty God.

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We are grateful to be joined
by the three squad members

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that Travis saved, Private
First Class Michael Kistel.

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Michael.

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Where are you, Michael, thank you.

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Please, stand, stand, thank you.

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you.

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Specialist Travis Robertshaw.

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Travis, where are you?

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Travis, thank you.

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you, Travis.

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And Specialist Sand Aiyo.

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Sand, thank you very much, good.

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you, appreciate it.

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Today, we are privileged also to be joined

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by more than 50 soldiers from
the 10th Mountain Division,

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including those who
served alongside Travis,

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knew he was brave from day one.

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They really loved him,
they wanted to be here.

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Would you please stand?

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(audience applauding)

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Thank you very much,
thank you for being here.

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Your lives of service
do honor to our country,

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to Army values, and your
fallen brothers-in-arms

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like Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins.

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And he's looking down.

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He loves you all.

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Just a few days before that
June morning when Travis left

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on his last mission, he
called his son Trevor

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to wish him a very, very
special 11th birthday.

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Trevor didn't know that he would speak

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to his dad for the last time.

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But in the 12 years since, he's
always known that his father

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gave his life for our
nation and for our freedom.

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He knew that his father was a
hero right from the beginning,

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long before today.

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Trevor has said that he wants our nation

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to remember his dad as the
best father and best soldier

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that anyone could ask for.

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Trevor, that is exactly how
will your Dad be remembered.

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He will be remembered
truly as the best father

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and he will be remembered
as the best soldier.

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You can't get better than the
Congressional Medal of Honor.

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You just can't.

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So thank you very much.

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And I'd like you to come on up.

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Please come up.

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Please come up, please.

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(audience applauding)

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Your father's courage and
sacrifice will live for all time.

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And every time we see
our stars and stripes

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waving in the sky, we will
thank our great Travis,

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and we will think of every American hero

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who gave their last breath
to defend our liberty,

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and our homeland, and our people,

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and our great American flag.

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Now I'd like to ask the military
aide to read the citation.

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And I would also like, perhaps,
in honor of your father,

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perhaps you could say just a few words.

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Would you like that?

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Please.

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Thank you.
- Yeah.

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Thank you, everyone, for
being here, first off.

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It's an absolute honor to have
every single one of you here.

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It's something that I can't
really put into words.

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It's something that's surreal.

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And I still haven't fully accepted it yet.

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So, just all over
appreciation for his men.

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Everything you have said to
me over the last few days

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has meant the world to me,

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and it changes my life every, every day.

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The medal is something that
I take a lot of pride in,

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but it's the words that are the real prize

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and what really means the most to me.

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And when it comes to my dad,

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he always had the funniest
stories about you guys.

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And seeing you guys
throughout, I was a young kid,

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but he let me know. (laughs)

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No, I just, I feel so
close with you and to him,

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every story I get to hear.

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And I'm glad that you got to
enjoy his love and his energy.

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Thank you.
- Beautiful, thank you.

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(audience applauding)

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- [Announcer] The President
of the United States

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has awarded, in the name of
Congress, the Medal of Honor

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posthumously to Staff
Sergeant Travis W. Atkins,

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United States Army.

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Staff Sergeant Atkins
distinguished himself

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by conspicuous acts of
gallantry and intrepidity

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at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty

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on 1 June, 2007, while
serving as a Squad Leader

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with Delta Company, 2nd
Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment,

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2nd Brigade Combat Team,
10th Mountain Division,

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in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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While manning a static observation post

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in the town of Abu Samak,
Iraq, Staff Sergeant Atkins

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was notified that four
suspicious individuals,

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walking in two pairs, were
crossing an intersection

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not far from his position.

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Staff Sergeant Atkins immediately

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moved his squad to interdict them.

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One of the individuals
began behaving erratically,

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prompting Staff Sergeant
Atkins to disembark

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from his patrol vehicle and
approach to conduct a search.

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Both individuals responded belligerently

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toward Staff Sergeant
Atkins, who then engaged

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the individual he had intended to search

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in hand-to-hand combat.

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When he noticed the insurgent
was reaching for something

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under his clothes, Staff
Sergeant Atkins immediately

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wrapped him in a bear hug
and threw him to the ground,

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away from his fellow soldiers.

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Maintaining his hold on the insurgent,

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he pinned him to the ground,
further sheltering his patrol.

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The insurgent then detonated
a bomb strapped to his body,

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killing Staff Sergeant Atkins.

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In this critical and
selfless act of valor,

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Staff Sergeant Atkins acted
with complete disregard

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for his own safety, saving the lives

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of the three soldiers who were with him

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and gallantly giving his
life for his country.

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Staff Sergeant Atkins' undaunted
courage, warrior spirit,

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and steadfast devotion
to duty are in keeping

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with the highest traditions
of military service

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and reflect great credit upon himself,

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the 2nd Brigade Combat Team,
and the United States Army.

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(camera shutters clicking)

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(audience applauding)

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- Receive this blessing.

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Beloved God, as our
ever-present help and hope,

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we ask that you enable each of us this day

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to demonstrate watchman
strength of character

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and service to our country.

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Protect all of our now in harm's way

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and sustain our nation's
warriors with faith and fortitude

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as they walk the path of duty
far from hearth and home.

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Restore our souls in
the joy of your spirit

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and teach us your ways,
that we might always walk

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and serve with integrity
and imperishable honor.

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We ask these things in your
holy name I pray, amen.

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- Thank you very much, thank you.

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(camera shutters clicking)

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("God Bless America")