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(somber music)

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- His eyes were so captivating.

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You could just see down into his soul

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that he was a good, decent person.

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- When he was loyal,

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you had his commitment, you
knew you had a teammate,

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a teammate for life.

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- John's sacrifice in the line of duty

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on March the third and
March the fourth of 2002,

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was all about putting
others ahead of himself.

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- [Val] I knew he was as
trained as he could be,

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and if something did happen,

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that is just the way it was meant to be.

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- After losing one teammate out
of the back of a helicopter,

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he immediately started
working with a gunship

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to put eyes on, uh,

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to recover him to get back home.

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- He decided in his own mind

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that to safeguard his teammates lives

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that he couldn't do that
and protect his own life.

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John sacrificed himself for others.

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When I went to Valerie's doorstep

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to tell her that John wasn't coming home,

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and I saw those two, those
beautiful little girls,

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they were five and three at the time,

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and I thought,

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you know they're gonna grow
up without their daddy.

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I just, I think of that every time I

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think of John.

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(somber music)

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- [Soldier] If John was to
find out he was receiving

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the Medal of Honor he'd
be very humbled by it.

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He was doing his job,

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and that's what he would tell you.

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- He would probably want to recognize

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the other men that lost their lives.

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Even though he did something
that he will be rewarded

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the Medal of Honor for, he
would not want the other guys

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to be forgotten, you know,

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they were part of the team together.

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And I think he would say that

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part of this Medal of
Honor was not just for him,

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but it was for all of
the guys who were lost

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on that mountain.

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- He was an authentic, true hero.

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And I'm glad and proud to say that I was

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one of his teammates.

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- Thank you,

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for giving your life to our country.

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And I'm very proud of you.

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(dramatic music)