Medal of Valor Ceremony from last week

This was meant to be posted last week.  somehow it didn't.  so here it is.

Today was completely incredible.  and completely crazy.  The public serviceman medal of valor ceremony is put on every year by the office of justice programs in the department of justice, and my office does most of it.  So at ten this morning, 12 medal recipients and their families came in to our office and the festivities began.  first the assistant attorney general laurie robinson gave a speech, and then we took them on a tour of the capitol.  it was amazing spending time with these men and their families.  they were flown in from all over the country and had amazing stories. 

medal of valor recipients with assistant attorney general robinson, attorney general holder, and Vice President Biden

One of my favorite people I met was a firefighter from Boston (with a thick boston accent) who came with his parents, his mother in law, his wife and three sons.  While putting out a huge fire in a buildingran into flames to save other firefighters, and there was a backdraft and the roof caved in and he got second degree burns all over, but managed to make it out with his fellow firefighters.  There was a police officer from texas that was involved in a huge shootout, got shot in the face, and still managed to drag a wounded officer out of the fire, take her to the EMTs that were a safe distance away, then guide the swat team in to the fray.  Then there was a pair from Oklahoma who rescued hurricane victims.  One flew a helicopter so that it's base was under water, and the other hung on to it and went into the water after people.  There were several other amazing stories, and I was blown away by them.  I proof-read all of their biographies and their accounts of their experiences, so I knew all about them before they came.  It was really great to spend the day with all of them, getting to know their families and hearing their stories.  They were amazing people, and their families are so great.  I can't imagine how hard it is for them to let their husbands and fathers go to work doing such dangerous things everyday, and the recognition is long overdue. These men really are the salt of the earth, doing the hardest and most dangerous jobs for the smallest paychecks.  That amazes me, because I don't think I could do it. 

President Biden with Department of Justice Interns

 

There was one family that I got to spend more time with than the others, and it was the firefighter from Boston that I mentioned above.  His father was also a firefighter, and a great one, and he was the reason his son had chosen that path.  The father and mother are now in their mid-eighties, and trooped around DC all day with us.  The reason I got to spend more time with them was that they both have bad knees and I would always take them to find elevators instead of climbing all the crazy stair-cases in the elevators.  Then at the end of the tour the buses were far away because they can only pull so close to the capitol.  So I rode with them in the cab and pointed out different things along the way.  They had never been to DC before, so this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them.  The son (who was recieving the award) and his wife kept apologizing for all the extra things we had to do to take care of their parents, but I was just glad that they got to come.  That kind of opportunity at that age is probably rare, and to get to see their son recieve that award was probably one of the greatest experiences of their lives.  And I got to be there for it. 

 

 

In the evening we went to the Medal of Valor Ceremony at the White House.  The Attorney General and Vice President both gave great speeches, and they were very heartfelt.  President Biden spoke candidly of the car accident that killed his wife and daughter, and would have killed his sons too if it weren't for firefighters who got them out of the car using the jaws of life. He is a great speaker, and it really set the tone for the rest of the ceremony.  After it was all over, and everyone had recieved their medals and plaques, he announced that he wanted to meet the families of all the recipients, and he was really friendly and even used peoples cell phones to make calls to the recipients family members that couldn't come. After all of that we got to meet him, and talk to him for a few minutes.  he was really friendly, and asked all of us about ourselves, where we're from and he even thanked us for our work.  We got a picture with him that i will have to put up on here later.

Attorney General Holder

After the ceremony and the reception (which had delicious food, btw) I hurried off to Arlington to get to Chess, which is playing at a cool little theater about ten minutes from the Pentagon City metro station.  I had found out it was playing the night before and really wanted to go, but the tickets online were seventy dollars.  Luckily kristy got involved and found that if you go an hour before and buy them, they are only thirty.  So we got to sit in the fourth row for less than half of what almost everyone else paid.  The play was great.  The music was incredible, the stage and sets were crazy and lit up all over the place, most of it felt like a Billy Idol meets Madonna music video.  But it was great, and I am glad I got to make it.  It was a great way to cap a fantastic day, probably the best I have had in DC yet.