Dua veteran penerima Medal of Honor, Letkol (Purn) William Swenson dan Sersan Mayor Komando (Purn) Matthew Williams, merefleksikan Maksud pengorbanan militer dalam wawancara di program “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” pada 24 Mei 2026. Penghargaan tertinggi Buat keberanian militer ini dinilai mewakili nilai-nilai keberanian, integritas, dan Kasih tanah air.
Swenson menjelaskan bahwa setiap orang yang mendaftar Buat bertugas di militer memercayai cita-cita tertinggi dari negara. Menurutnya, tindakan yang membawa mereka meraih medali tersebut merupakan hal yang juga akan dilakukan oleh prajurit lain demi tugas negara.
“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 William Swenson.
Ketika Pemandu acara memastikan kembali keyakinan tersebut kepada Swenson, sang veteran menegaskan kebenaran pandangannya itu.
“I do.” ujar Will Swenson.
Williams menyetujui pernyataan Swenson dan menambahkan bahwa mereka berdua bergabung dengan militer di masa-masa kritis Begitu negara membutuhkan prajurit Buat bertempur di Irak dan Afghanistan. Menurut Williams, medali tersebut sebenarnya mewakili kisah-kisah kepahlawanan di medan perang yang Bukan pernah terdengar atau terdokumentasi.
“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 Matt Williams.
Williams kemudian memaparkan pengalamannya Begitu bertugas di luar pangkalan militer atau menghadapi musuh secara langsung. Kesiapan tersebut didukung oleh pelatihan yang matang serta kepercayaan penuh terhadap sesama rekan prajurit di medan pertempuran.
“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 Matt Williams.
Sebagai penutup perbincangan mengenai latar belakang sebelum kedinasan, Williams merespons pertanyaan mengenai kecenderungan bawaan mereka yang selalu mengarah pada bidang pelayanan publik seperti penegakan hukum.
“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 Matt Williams.
Di sisi lain, laporan Northern News Now pada 26 Mei 2026 mencatat sejarah lokal Area Northland yang menjadi rumah bagi enam penerima Congressional Medal of Honor. Tiga di antaranya gugur Begitu menjalankan tugas, termasuk Henry Courtney yang memimpin pasukannya di Okinawa, Mayor Richard Ira Bong yang merupakan pilot ulung Perang Dunia Kedua, dan Dale Wayrynen yang gugur di Vietnam pada 1967.
“He was quite an athlete and he was known as the “Blonde Giant” at Central High School,” kata Jay Hagen dari Veterans Memorial Hall mengenai masa muda Henry Courtney.
Courtney kemudian bergabung dengan Reserve Korps Marinir dan dikirim ke Guadalcanal hingga Okinawa. Begitu bertempur di Sugar Loaf Hill, ia membangkitkan semangat pasukannya sebelum akhirnya gugur.
“He stood up and rallied his forces and said let’s go take this before we’re taken out,” kata Jay Hagen.
Penerima lainnya, Major Richard Ira Bong, mencatatkan 40 kemenangan udara di Teater Pasifik sebelum ditugaskan menjadi pilot uji coba jet tempur. Penerbangan terakhirnya terjadi pada 6 Agustus 1945 Begitu jetnya mengalami kegagalan fungsi.
“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.
Sementara itu, spesialis Angkatan Darat Dale Wayrynen mengorbankan nyawanya demi menyelamatkan pletonnya dari ledakan granat Begitu bertempur di Vietnam.
“He jumped on a grenade and saved his platoon giving his life and earning the Medal of Honor.” kata Jay Hagen.
