I.V. veteran honored at White House House
From our weekly issue dated October 28, 2009
Illinois Valley resident Charles Giles, 67, was among 86 Vietnam veterans honored during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Giles and his fellow veterans were honored with a Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor that can be given to a military unit. According to an Oct. 20 press release from the White House, approximately 100 of the citations have been issued since their creation in 1941, during World War II.
In his speech marking the occasion, President Obama referred to it as “a moment 40 years in the making.”
On March 26, 1970, Giles and the other members of the U.S. Army 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Troop A, 1st Squadron, volunteered to rescue an infantry company of around 100 men that was surrounded by enemy forces near the Cambodian border.
Despite being outnumbered, the men managed to save their endangered comrades. The hellacious firefight and the troop’s heroics remained largely forgotten, until Capt. John Poindexter chronicled them in his 2004 book, The Anonymous Battle.
Giles was informed of the ceremony last spring, and flew out of Rogue Valley Medford International Airport on Sunday, Oct. 18. He arrived in Washington, D.C. that afternoon and attended a dinner reception honoring the commendation.
There, Giles had the chance to reconnect with some of his former Army buddies. Giles said that was a pleasant surprise, especially since he had never expected to see any of them again.
“It was kind of a rush seeing all of them,” Giles said. “But it was hard to recognize anyone.” The next day, Giles went to the White House for the ceremony, where Obama praised the veterans.
“As these men will tell you themselves, this isn’t the story of a battle that changed the course of a war,” Obama said. “It never had a name, like Tet or Hue or Khe Sanh. It never made the papers back home. But like countless battles, known and unknown, it is a proud chapter in the story of the American soldier.”
Obama said that the soldiers “define the meaning of bravery and heroism.”
“We have an obligation to all who served in the jungles of Vietnam,” Obama said. “Our Vietnam vets answered their country’s call and served with honor. But one of the saddest episodes in American history was the fact that these vets were often shunned and neglected, even demonized when they came home.
“That was a national disgrace. And on days such as this, we resolve to never let it happen again.”
Giles also visited the Pentagon during his trip, and shook hands with Secretary of the Army John McHugh.
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