Jan. 3 (UPI) — President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Valor to eight public safety officers Friday at the White House, honoring them with the nation’s highest award for bravery demonstrated by civilian officers.
The eight recipients were seen standing with Biden in front of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as reporters entered the room.
Police officers receiving the award include Sgt. Jeffrey Mathews, Officer Rex Engelbert, and Detectives Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle, and Zachary Plese, all of whom responded to the Covenant School shooting in Nashville in March 2023, killing the suspect.
Other awardees include Sgt. Tu Tran, who saved a woman who had fallen into a frozen pond in Lincoln, Neb.; Lt. John Vanderstar, a New York City firefighter who saved a mother and child from a burning building in October 2022; and New York City firefighter Brendan Gaffney, who in February 2023 rescued a pregnant woman and unconscious child from a fire.
“They saved children, they saved people in serious distress,” Biden said of the honorees, adding, “they literally put their lives at risk.”
Our Covenant School heroes, accompanied by Chief Drake, are at the White House & have just received our nation’s Medal of Valor from President Biden in the Oval Office (photo forthcoming). Attorney General Merrick Garland met with the team in the Roosevelt Room. pic.twitter.com/z2ZWnPgCse— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) January 3, 2025
Of the Nashville officers, the White House said, they “ran towards gunfire to take down an active shooter at The Covenant School, a Nashville elementary school.”
Although the heavily-armed shooter had already killed six people, including three nine-year-old students, the officers “rushed to the scene, and as they arrived, the shooter opened fire on them.
“Still, the officers entered the school, cleared classroom after classroom, and ran towards the sounds of gunfire where they encountered the shooter. They took down the shooter. Later that day, the president addressed the nation and commended the police for their swift response and bravery.”
Later on Friday, Biden was scheduled to also award the Medal of Honor — the country’s highest military award — to a group of veterans.
The Medal of Honor is given to service members and others who have demonstrated exceptional valor in combat.
Six recipients will be honored posthumously. They include Pvt. Bruno R. Orig, Pfc. Wataru Nakamura, Cpl. Fred B. McGee, Pfc. Charles R. Johnson, retired Gen. Richard E. Cavazos and Capt. Hugh R. Nelson, Jr.
Spc. 4th Class Kenneth J. David is the only living veteran who will receive the award on Friday. He drew fire on himself in Vietnam to protect the wounded before being evacuated.
Orig, Nakamura, McGee Johnson, and Cavazos all served in Korea while Nison and David served in Vietnam. Orig, Nakamura, Johnson, and Nelson all died in battle.
Cavazos went on to rise to become a four-star general before dying in 2017.
