""These five soldiers, in their separate moments of supreme testing, summoned a degree of courage that stirs wonder and respect and an overpowering pride in all of us," he continued. "Through their spectacular courage, they set themselves apart in a very select company. They represent the contribution of more than half a million young Americans to a world of order and of peace.""
""Five heroic sons of America come to us today from the tortured fields of Vietnam," the president said. "They come to remind us that so long as that conflict continues, our purpose and our hopes rest on the steadfast bravery of young men in battle.""
"His muscles, he later said, "jumped like frogs.""
Dwight Hal "Skip" Johnson, a 21-year-old from Detroit, received the Medal of Honor at the White House on November 19, 1968. The presentation included General William Westmoreland, Secretary of the Army Stanley R. Resor, members of Congress, and Johnson's mother, younger brother and fiancée. President Lyndon B. Johnson praised the five honored soldiers for bravery and sacrifice and described their courage as representing a large American contribution to peace and order. Johnson's hands trembled during the ceremony, and he later described his muscles as having "jumped like frogs." He quietly said "Thank you" as the medal was placed around his neck. Three years later, Johnson was killed in an attempted robbery at age 23.
Read at Smithsonian Magazine
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