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Military

Two Vietnam War Soldiers Awarded Medal Of Honor On Monday

President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to two Vietnam War soldiers at a White House ceremony Monday: Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins, 80, and Army Spc. Four Donald P. Sloat, who was killed in combat in 1970 at the age of 20.

Adkins and his wife of 58 years, Mary Adkins, made the trip from their home in Opelika, Alabama to attend Monday's ceremony.

According to Stars and Stripes, the Army drafted Adkins in 1956 when he was 22 years old.

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Adkins received the Medal of Honor for his actions "during 38 hours of close-combat fighting against enemy forces on March 9 to 12, 1966," as his Army biography reads:

During the 38-hour battle and 48 hours of escape and evasion, Adkins fought with mortars, machine guns, recoilless rifles, small arms, and hand grenades, killing an estimated 135-175 of the enemy and sustaining 18 different wounds.

Dr. Bill Sloat accepted the Medal of Honor on behalf of his brother, fallen Army Spc. 4 Donald Sloat.

Sloat was on patrol Jan. 17, 1970 — just a month shy of his 21st birthday. The lead soldier on that patrol tripped a wire that was booby-trapped with a grenade:

When the grenade rolled down the hill toward Sloat, he had a choice. He could hit the ground and seek cover, or pick up the grenade and throw it away from his fellow Soldiers. After initially attempting to throw the grenade, Sloat realized that detonation was imminent, and that two or three men near him would be killed or seriously injured if he couldn't shield them from the blast. In an instant, Sloat chose to draw the grenade to his body, shielding his squad members from the blast, and saving their lives.

Former Pfc. DeWayne C. Lewis Jr. was a rifleman on patrol with Sloat the day he died. Lewis is quoted on the Army's website as saying:

“I was only five to eight feet behind Don, when the grenade went off. His act saved my life.”