Penerima Medal of Honor Kenang Pengorbanan Tentara pada Memorial Day

Dua veteran penerima Medal of Honor, Letkol (Purn) William Swenson dan Sersan Mayor Komando (Purn) Matthew Williams, merefleksikan makna pengorbanan militer dalam rangka memperingati Memorial Day pada wawancara stasiun televisi CBS News, Minggu, 24 Mei 2026.

Penghargaan tertinggi untuk keberanian militer tersebut diberikan atas aksi heroik mereka saat bertugas di Afghanistan. Selain refleksi dari kedua veteran, penghormatan terhadap para peraih Medal of Honor yang gugur juga dilakukan di wilayah Northland, Duluth, untuk menjaga nilai sejarah para pejuang.

Dalam sesi wawancara, pembawa acara Margaret Brennan menjelaskan definisi tanda kehormatan tertinggi tersebut berdasarkan keterangan dari Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

"It's the highest award for military valor in action, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society describes it as representing the values of bravery, courage, sacrifice, integrity, a deep love of country and a desire to always do what is right. What does it mean to you?" tanya Brennan, pembawa acara Face the Nation.

Letkol (Purn) William Swenson menjelaskan bahwa setiap individu yang mendaftarkan diri ke militer telah memahami risiko besar demi membela negara yang merdeka.

"One of the things about military service is there's a universal component to it. Everyone who signs up to serve our country believes in the ultimate ideals of what we represent. As citizens, we have a free country. Being part of the military service is one of the ways to serve our country. In that service, you sign up potentially at great risk to yourself. In our cases, I think that we did nothing more than do our jobs. We were given the right training, we were given the right opportunities, but ultimately we were told that we needed to do something on that day specifically, and what set us apart is actions we did take, but ultimately there were actions that any other service member would have taken on behalf of that service." kata Letkol (Purn) William Swenson.

Brennan kemudian memastikan kembali apakah Swenson meyakini bahwa prajurit lain juga akan melakukan tindakan heroik yang sama dalam situasi tersebut.

"You really believe that? Anyone else." tanya Brennan.

Swenson membenarkan hal tersebut secara singkat sebelum pembawa acara mengalihkan pertanyaan mengenai makna penghargaan kepada Matthew Williams.

"I do." ujar Letkol (Purn) William Swenson.

Brennan lalu menanyakan pandangan Williams mengenai arti dari kehormatan yang ia kenakan di lehernya.

"Will, what do you think? What does this honor mean to you?" tanya Brennan.

Sersan Mayor Komando (Purn) Matthew Williams sepakat dengan pandangan Swenson dan menambahkan bahwa medali tersebut mewakili patriotisme serta pengorbanan demi sesuatu yang lebih besar dari diri sendiri.

"Yeah, I think Will's exactly right. It's- it means the medal itself embodies service and sacrifice and patriotism and serving something greater than yourself, you know. And I think, you know, I think we both can say we joined the military at a time of great need. The country was in need of young men and women to serve and go fight, and in a war that was on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan, you know. And I chose my, my path specifically within special operations. And I was surrounded by phenomenal human beings every time we stepped out of the wire, you know, I was presented with- with an opportunity that day to serve the men to the left and right of me, and that's what I chose to do. And I'll echo what Will said. I don't think that, I firmly believe that everyone I've served with would do the same thing if given that opportunity. And you know, the fascinating thing about the medal itself is, is our story was captured and- and that's why we sit here today with this award around our necks, a lot- just like the 3500 other Americans that have been awarded the medal over our history. But I'll tell you with all honesty, I believe there's much more valor and heroism- heroism that has happened on the battlefield every single day. There's stories that just don't get captured. They don't get told, and that's what this medal actually represents. It's not me and Will here. It's, it's not who, who else wears the medal today. It's those that have never had their story told, or- or the folks that received the medal, you know, a relative picked it up at the White House in a shadow box because they never made it home. I think that's what this medal represents, and that's why it's so important." kata Sersan Mayor Komando (Purn) Matthew Williams.

Brennan kemudian menanyakan lebih lanjut mengenai maksud dari istilah beroperasi di luar garis aman atau luar pangkalan.

"Matt, you mentioned you served with people outside the wire. What do you mean by that? Are you talking–" tanya Brennan.

Williams menjelaskan bahwa setiap kali meninggalkan pangkalan dengan kendaraan atau helikopter untuk menghadapi musuh, seorang prajurit harus memiliki kepercayaan penuh pada rekan di kanan dan kirinya.

"Every time that you you know you leave your fire base, you know you whether you get into vehicles or you get into helicopters or whatever you're going to do, you know you're going to go out there and you're going to face the enemy and and you have to be at peace with that. You have to understand that your training has has prepared you to be effective on the battlefield. And you have to have the trust in the men and the women to the left and right of you, that they're going to be there when, when they- when you need them to be there, and you'll be there for them at the same time. And that's how, that's how you're the most effective in combat operations. But, you know, I think it's more important than that, I think that's how you're most effective as a country. If you're willing to serve those to the left and right, if you serve your community, you know, be a part of something bigger than yourself, then, you know, it kind of puts everything else aside. We don't really have that much to fight about anymore, if you really think about it way." kata Sersan Mayor Komando (Purn) Matthew Williams.

Melihat latar belakang kedua veteran yang awalnya mengarah pada pelayanan publik seperti Departemen Luar Negeri atau penegakan hukum, Brennan menanyakan apakah mereka memang terlahir untuk itu.

"Well, both of you, when we looked at your backgrounds, you were both headed towards the trajectory of some kind of service before you joined the military, whether it was the State Department or, I think, law enforcement, right? Do you think you're just sort of hard wired for that?" tanya Brennan.

Williams merespons sambil berseloroh bahwa dirinya adalah anak kecil yang tidak pernah benar-benar tumbuh dewasa.

"You know, I'll jump in. I think, you know, in a way, I think I was. You know, I like to kind of joke, I was the little boy that never actually grew" kata Sersan Mayor Komando (Purn) Matthew Williams.

Sementara itu, laporan dari Northern News Now di Duluth, Minnesota, menyatakan bahwa wilayah Northland mencatat enam warga peraih Congressional Medal of Honor, di mana tiga di antaranya gugur saat bertugas.

Penerima pertama adalah Mayor Henry Courtney, seorang atlet andalan dari Central High School dan Universitas Minnesota yang bergabung dengan Korps Cadangan Marinir pada 1940. Setelah insiden Pearl Harbor, ia dikirim ke Guadalcanal dan kemudian bertempur di Okinawa hingga meraih Medal of Honor di Sugar Loaf Hill.

"He was quite an athlete and he was known as the “Blonde Giant” at Central High School," kata Jay Hagen dari Veterans Memorial Hall.

Hagen menambahkan bahwa Courtney gugur setelah menggerakkan pasukannya di medan perang Okinawa.

"He stood up and rallied his forces and said let’s go take this before we’re taken out," kata Jay Hagen.

Pahlawan kedua adalah Mayor Richard Ira Bong, pilot pesawat tempur P-38 "Marge" asal Wisconsin yang mencetak 40 kemenangan udara di Teater Pasifik pada Perang Dunia Kedua.

"Major Bong was born in Superior and lived in Poplar on the family farm and he joined the Army Air Force early in the war." kata Briana Fiandt dari Bong Veterans Historical Center.

Bong gugur pada 6 Agustus 1945 saat bertugas sebagai pilot uji coba jet tempur awal yang mengalami kegagalan fungsi di atas area padat penduduk.

Penerima ketiga adalah Spesialis Angkatan Darat Dale Wayrynen asal McGregor yang bertempur di Vietnam pada tahun 1967.

"He jumped on a grenade and saved his platoon giving his life and earning the Medal of Honor." kata Jay Hagen.