Medal of Honor Recipients for Bush-Cheney '04

John Baker, Jr., South Carolina
Donald E. Ballard, Missouri
Harvey C. Barnum Jr., Virginia
Patrick H. Brady, Washington
Paul W. Bucha, Connecticut

James M. Burt, Pennsylvania
Hector A. Cafferata Jr., Florida
Jon R. Cavaiani, California
Francis S. Currey, South Carolina
Sammy L. Davis, Illinois

George E. Day, Florida
Drew D. Dix, Arkansas
David C. Dolby, Pennsylvania
Roger H.C. Donlon, Kansas
John W. Finn, California

Bernard F. Fisher, Idaho
Michael J. Fitzmaurice, South Dakota
Harold A. Fritz, Illinois
Charles Hagemeister, Kansas
Rodolfo P. Hernandez, North Carolina

Thomas J. Hudner, Massachusetts
Robert R. Ingram, Florida
Jack H. Jacobs, New Jersey
Don Jenkins, Kentucky
George C. Lang, New York

Howard V. Lee, Virginia
Peter C. Lemon, Colorado
James E. Livingston, Louisiana
Jose M. Lopez, Texas
Allen J. Lynch, Illinois

Walter J. Marm Jr., North Carolina
Lewis L. Millett, California
Ola "Lee" Mize, Alabama
Robert J. Modrzejewski, California
Robert Nett, Georgia

Thomas R. Norris, Idaho
Robert O'Malley, Texas
Robert M. Patterson, North Carolina
Richard A. Pittman, California
Gordon Roberts, Georgia

Joseph C. Rodriguez, Texas
James M. Sprayberry, Alabama
James A. Taylor, California
Michael E.Thornton, Texas
Leo K. Thorsness, Arizona

Jay Vargas, California
Louis Wilson, Alabama
Gary G. Wetzel, Wisconsin

BUSH-CHENEY '04 NATIONAL VETERANS STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Colonel Joe Acinapura (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Vermont. He served in the U.S. Army from 1961-1989 and commanded at various levels in Vietnam and NATO forces in southern Europe. He served two tours in Vietnam and served as chairman of the Governor's Veterans Advisory Council and as a member of the Vermont Veterans' Home Board of Trustees and is a past commander of the Brandon VFW.

Paul Adams (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Nevada Veterans State Chair and a national veterans steering committee member from Las Vegas, Nevada. He serves as COO of a service connected, veteran owned company that offers manufacturing related consulting services to the U.S. government. He graduated from West Point in 1976 and was commissioned as a Military Intelligence Officer with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii where he served as an Infantry Battalion S-2, the Interrogation Section Chief and the Division Intelligence Training Officer. In 1979, he was selected for the Judge Advocate General's Funded Legal Education Program, ultimately graduating from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Bevan Alvey (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Lincoln, Nebraska. He was commissioned as R.O.T.C. Second Lieutenant in May 1970 and was one of the last non-West Point officers to received orders for Vietnam. He was assigned to D Troop 2\17th Air Cavalry Squadron, 101st Airborne Division in I Corp, and served as light infantry air mobile Platoon Leader. He served in the Minnesota National Guard for seven years as an Aide-de-Camp to assistant division commander and later as a J.A.G. officer. He is an attorney.

Perry Anderson (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from San Diego, California. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17 and served combat tours in Korea from 1951-52 and Vietnam from 1966-67 and 1969-70. In 1979, he began work at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station as a security officer. He retired from Southern California Edison, an electricity company, after 15 years in 1994.

Colonel Ray Boland (U.S. Army National Guard, Ret.) serves as the Bush-Cheney '04 Wisconsin Veterans State Chair and national veterans steering committee member. He enlisted in the Wisconsin Army National Guard in January 1956 and served two tours of combat duty in Vietnam as an Army aviator and commanded an attack helicopter unit. He has earned numerous military awards including the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart.

General Pat Brady (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the former president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. He spent over 34 years in the U.S. Army in various positions including the Chief of Public Affairs for the Army, Secretary to the United Nations Military Armistice Commission in Korea, and Inspector General I Corps at Fort Lewis. Brady is from Sumner, Washington. He is identified in The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War and other books as the top helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Using his tactical and foul weather flying techniques, he earned the Medal of Honor for a series of rescue missions that began before sunrise and ended after dark. During one day, he evacuated a total of 51 severely injured patients, many of whom would have died without expeditious medical evacuation. In two tours in Vietnam, he flew over 2,000 combat missions and evacuated over 5,000 friendly, as well as enemy, wounded.

Robert Carbonneau (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Mathias, West Virginia. He is former national director of AMVETS.

Paul Chevalier (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 New Hampshire Veterans State Co-Chair and national veterans steering committee member. He began his military career in 1954 and served three tours in Vietnam. He has served as state commander of the New Hampshire VFW and many years on the VFW National Legislative Committee. He is also a member of the Marine Corps League, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans.

Chad Colley (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Colley has served as former vice chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and past national commander of the Disabled American Veterans.

Lieutenant General John Conaway (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Virginia. He served as chief of the National Guard Bureau from 1990-1993. He serves as chairman and CEO of a company which specializes in representing defense and information technology companies.

Major General Boyd M. Cook, Sr. (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Maryland. He served as commander of the National Guard 29th Light Infantry Division.

Milton Copulos (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Maryland. He served two tours of duty in the Vietnam where he was awarded several medals including the Bronze Star and Army Commendation medal. He retired from the Army on full disability in 1970 and has authored more than 1,000 publications and is the president of the National Defense Council Foundation.

Colonel Kenneth Cordier (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Dallas, Texas. He flew 175 missions during two combat tours in Vietnam. He was shot down in 1966, 85 miles north of Hanoi, and held in four different prisons until his release on March 4, 1973. After the war, he served in a number of flying and staff assignments, culminating as Air Attach to the United Kingdom. He retired in 1985, and then represented British Aerospace in Washington D.C. He is now a private management consultant in Dallas, Texas and has held leadership positions in several veterans organizations, including NAM POWs.

Kevin W. Delicker (U.S. Air National Guard, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Pennsylvania. He is a two-time combat veteran intelligence officer with the 193rd Special Operations Wing in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. He was first mobilized in the War on Terror in 2001, just after September 11, 2001. He was deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom and wasagain called to active dutyin March 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he spent three months in combat conducting information operations.

Lieutenant Richard DeNoyer (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Massachusetts. He is the past state commander of the Massachusetts VFW and also served as vice chair of the VFW National Committee.

Admiral Jeremiah Denton (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a former U.S. Senator from Alabama. Admiral Denton's 34-year naval career included service on a variety of ships and in many types of aircraft. On July 18, 1965, Denton was leading a group of 28 aircraft from the USS Independence in an attack on enemy installations, when he was shot down and captured by local North Vietnamese troops. He spent the next seven years and seven months as a prisoner of war, suffering severe mistreatment and becoming the first U.S. military captive to be subjected to four years of solitary confinement. In April 1973, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. In his last tour of duty, Admiral Denton served as Commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia, for three and a half years. Denton was elected to the United States Senate in November 1980. In addition to his leadership of the Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation, Denton presently lectures on national and international affairs. He resides in Theodor.

Colonel Roger Donlon (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Leavenworth, Kansas. Colonel Roger Donlon was born and raised in Saugerties, New York. His military career began with enlisted service in both the Air Force and Army. Commissioned through Officer Candidate School as an Infantry Officer in 1959, he spent the next 29 years serving in assignments based on a triad of his specialties as an Infantry, Special Forces and Foreign Area Officer. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 July 1964, Colonel Donlon became the first American soldier to be awarded the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.

Miles Epling (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) serves as the Bush-Cheney 04 West Virginia Veterans State Chair and national veterans steering committee member. He served in the Marine Corps from 1968-1969 in Vietnam. He was medically discharged from the Marine Corps in 1969 and is a past national commander of the American Legion where he serves as State Adjutant General.

Colonel Richard "Dick" Esau (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Pleasantville, New York. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War and was awarded the Purple Heart in 1967 after he was injured in two separate incidents by a grenade and mortar fire. He also served as the national commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Thomas Evans (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Florida. He served on active duty in the Marine Corps from 1952-1954 as a platoon leader during the Korean War, and was awarded a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. He was chairman of the board of trustees of Teachers College at Columbia University for eight years.

Arthur Fellwock (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Evansville, Indiana. He is a past national commander of the VFW and also served as the chairman of the VFW's political action committee.

General Ronald "Ron" Fogleman (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the USAF on 1997 after 34 years of active commissioned service. On his final tour of duty, he served as the 15th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. From 1992 until 1994 he was Commander in Chief of the U.S. Transportation Command (CINCTRANS) where he served as the senior uniformed officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of 750,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. He also served as a military advisor to the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the President. He is chairman and CEO an international aviation consulting firm.

Colonel Jeff Gault (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Alexandria, Virginia. He served on active duty for 29 years which included seven overseas tours throughout Europe and the Middle East. He is a life member of the VFW, the American Legion, and the Disabled American Veterans. He has worked in the defense industry in Northern Virginia since his retirement from the Army.

John Geiger (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Chicago, Illinois. He served in the 11th Armored Division in World War II and served as national commander of the American Legion in 1972.

Lieutenant Colonel Denny Gillem (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Michigan Veterans State Chair and a national veterans steering committee member from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served as the senior Army advisor to the Michigan Army National Guard and is a veteran of the Vietnam War where he served with the 101st Airborne Division from 1966-1968. He is the director of education for the Olympia Career Training Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Master Chief John Hagan (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Virginia. He served as the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy from 1992-1998. Prior to his appointment, he served on the U.S.S. Philippine Sea in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Strom. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal. He works for a defense contractor in Washington, DC.

John Hale (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a member of the national veterans steering committee from West Virginia and a former intelligence officer for the Air Force.

State Representative Ted Heidrich (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) (R, House District 64) is the Maine Veterans State Chair and a national veterans steering committee member. He served from 1951- 1953 in the Korean War. He then owned and operated a small business in New York. He is serving his third term in the Maine House of Reprentatives. He is active in several organizations, including the Marine Corps League, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion.

Clayton Hering (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Portland, Oregon. He served in the Marine Corps for three years, including service in Vietnam where he attained the rank of Captain. He joined a real estate firm in Portland, Oregon in 1972 and is now president of the firm.

Bob Hipps (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Virginia. He served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War, flying over 225 combat sorties. He recently retired from the York County School Division where he worked as a senior repair technician.

Rear Admiral Grant Hollett, Jr. (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Missouri. He was commissioned as an Ensign in 1964 upon graduation from the Naval R.O.T.C. program at Duke University. Following initial sea duty on U.S.S. Hull and Nuclear Power qualification school, he served as an Auxiliaries Officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise underway in the Vietnam War. He served four Vietnam War combat tours and qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and as the youngest Engineering Officer of the Watch. From 1992 to 1994, he served as commander of Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region 13 at Great Lakes, Illinois. He is the chairman of a technology company in Joplin, Missouri.

Cooper Holt (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Maryland. He was appointed executive director of the VFW in August 1963 and retired from that position in 1989. He is a World War II Veteran where he served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre.

Major General Evan "Curly" Hultman (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Iowa State Veterans Chair and a national veterans steering committee member. He is the former executive director of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States and is presently the international representative of the Greater Des Moines, Iowa, Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also serves as the U.S. member of the Confederation Interalliee des Officers de Reserve (CIOR) (NATO Nations).

State Representative Jack Jackson (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) (R, House District 89) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Missouri Veterans State Chair and a national veterans steering committee member from St. Louis, Missouri. He was a Colonel in the Marine Corps stationed in North Carolina. He served in Vietnam. He is the recipient of four Distinguished Flying Crosses and has also been honored with the Laurels Award from Aviation Week Magazine, Legion of Merit, Outstanding Young Men of America, 1974 & 1975, and the State of Indiana "Sycamore Award" for Outstanding Citizen. He is chief test pilot for an aeronautics company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Sergeant Richard "Dick" Johnson (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Virginia. He is a former enlisted Marine who served as a rifleman in the Vietnam War. He left the service in 1977, and joined the staff of the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, where he served in various capacities, and recently retired as executive director.

General P.X. Kelley (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Washington, D.C. He served as commandant of the Marine Corps and was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1983 to 1987. He served as chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission from 1989 to 1994and is serving as chairman again. He has commanded Marine Corps troops and served tours with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and British Royal Marines.

Mylio Kraja (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He served in the Navy during World War II and was the executive director of the American Legion until 1990 and is now retired.

Brigadier General Jerry Laws (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Taos, New Mexico. He served with the 101st Airborne Division and 18th Engineer Brigade during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Army in 1998 and now works as vice president of marketing and business development for a bank in Las Cruces.

Sergeant Major Lewis Lee (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Virginia. He enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1968 and served in the Vietnam War. He was promoted to Sergeant Major in 1984 and appointed Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps in 1995.

Major General James E. Livingston (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from New Orleans, Louisiana. He retired in 1995 following 33 continuous years on active duty in the Marine Corps. His last assignment was as commander of the Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans, Louisiana. On May 2, 1968, while serving as the Commanding Officer in Company E, Second Battalion, 4th Marines, he distinguished himself above and beyond the call of duty in action against enemy forces and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. He sits on The National D-Day Musuem and Medal of Honor Foundation boards.

Colonel Tom Lockhart (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Phoenix, Arizona. He served 26 years in the Air Force that included two tours in Vietnam. He was one of President George W. Bush's instructors during the President's pilot training.

Daniel Ludwig (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member in Minnesota. He is a past national commander of the American Legion.

Arthur Mason (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Washington, D.C. He entered the Army after finishing law school and then served in the infantry as a first lieutenant and captain in Vietnam. As a company commander, he was awarded the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action, the Bronze Star, three Air Medals, a Valorous Unit Citation, and numerous other decorations.

Admiral Thomas Morris (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Florida Veterans State co-chair and a national veterans steering committee member from Palm Beach, Florida. He has held seven commands during his Naval career. His most recent commands before retiring include Commander, Reserve Readingess Region One; Commander Task Unit Second Fleet; and Commander NATO Task Group in the Mediterranean. He was twice awarded the Legion of Merit and is founding director of the Naval War College Foundation.

Major General James Mukoyama (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Illinois. He served for over 30 years in the Army. During his five years on active duty he served as an infantry company commander in the 9th Division in Vietnam. He founded the Army Reserve Association in 1993 and is a former member of the New York Stock Exchange. He is the executive vice president and COO of a securities company.

Lieutenant General Carol Mutter (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Missouri. She served for over 31 years in the Marine Corps and was the first woman in the Marine Corps to attain the rank of three star Lieutenant General.

Brigadier General Michael Neil (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from San Diego, California. He served as a Platoon Commander, Commanding Officer, and Commanding General. He is president of a law firm in San Diego, CA.

Colonel Ladd Pattillo (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Texas. He began his military career as an enlisted soldier in the Texas Army National Guard in 1967, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry upon graduation from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1969. He served in a variety of assignments within the 36th Airborne Infantry Brigade, until transferring to the Army Reserve in 1975. As a field grade officer, he served in two overseas posts as Executive Officer, 1st Battalion 506th Infantry, Camp Greaves in Korea, and as Special Assistant to the Commander in Chief of United States Southern Command, Quarry Heights in Panama.

Lieutenant Colonel Joe Repya (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Minnesota Veterans State co-chair and a national veterans steering committee member. He volunteered for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in August 1990 and joined the 1st Infantry Division in December 1990 as a member of the Aviation Brigade. He spent seven months on active duty in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, flying combat helicopter missions and was credited with one of the largest enemy intelligence finds of the war when he uncovered Iraqi post-Iran war assessments. He is active in the Minneapolis Iraqi community. In September 2003, he visited Iraq as a freelance journalist in Mosul, Balad and Baghdad.

State Senator Bob Robbins (U.S. Army, Ret.) (R, Senate District 50) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Pennsylvania Veterans State Chair and a national veterans steering committee member. He completed two tours of duty in Vietnam and received over a dozen medals for his service including the Soldier's Medal for Heroism, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Army Commendation Medals for Valor and the Combat Infantry Badge. He representes Pennsylvania's 50th Senate District.

Donna Rowe (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Atlanta, Georgia. She was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army in 1966 and served as the head nurse for the Emergency Room/Triage Area at the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon, Vietnam. She serves as a real estate broker and as a volunteer R.N. with Georgia Homeland Security.

General Dennis Schulstad (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney 04 Minnesota Veterans State co-chair and national veterans steering committee member from Edina, Minnesota. He served as Minnesota Chair of Employers Support for Guard and Reserve. He served on numerous boards and commissions, and also served as a Minneapolis City Council member for 22 years.

Ray Smith (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from North Carolina and is a past national commander of the American Legion.

State Senator Ray Soden (U.S. Navy, Ret.) (R, Senate District 23) is a national veterans steering committee member from Illinois and is a past national commander of the VFW. He was appointed in 2003 to Illinois' 23rd Senate District where he serves on the Senate Revenue Committee and the Senate Republican Task Force on Veterans. He is a veteran of the Navy, having served in World War II as a Navy Sonarman 3rd class. He was awarded seven Battle Stars and his ship, the U.S.S. Claxton, was honored with two Presidential Citations.

Colonel Bill Stein (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney 04California Veterans State Chair and a national veterans steering committee member from Orange County, CA. He served in the Marine Corps from 1966-1971 including a tour in Vietnam.

Lieutenant General Gordon Sumner (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He served with the 1st Calvary Division during the Korean War and commanded the Division Artillery of the 25th Division during the Vietnam War. His combat assignments were followed by a series of high-level staff assignments in Washington, D.C. In August 1975, he was assigned chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board. He retired from active duty in 1978 and serves as chairman of the board of a technology and scientific activities company.

Colonel Eugenia "Gene" Thornton (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Delaware. She retired from the Army in February 2000 after 27 years of continuous active duty. Reporting for Active Duty as a Direct Commission from Reserve Status in 1973, she was in Woman's Officer Orientation Course I, a pioneer class of women officers who were specifically chosen and groomed to serve in traditionally male career fields instead of the Women's Army Corps. Her final assignment was as the deputy chief of staff for one of the Army's Major Commands. She was awarded the honorary Horatio Gates Medal, authorized by Congress and struck at the U.S. Mint, on two occasions. She earned a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, six Army Meritorious Medals as well as many other various awards and service ribbons.

Rear Admiral Denny Vaughan (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Seattle, Washington. He served as the chief of the Navy Reserve. He served as the Program Executive Officer (PEO) for the Navy's Mine Warfare; Commander, Naval Reserve Region 22; Deputy Commander, Military Sealift Command Pacific and Far East with responsibilities throughout all the Pacific; and Commander, Naval Inshore Undersea Warfare Group One. He was also president and founder of a boat works company; president of the real estate division of a corporation; and program manager of major defense and aerospace programs.

Colonel Mike Warner (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from New Jersey. He served as the deputy commissioner for Veterans Affairs under Governor Christie Todd Whitman in New Jersey. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart, among many others. He served in the Vietnam War, and served tours of duty in Europe and Korea.

Captain Gene Watts (U.S. Army, Ret.) is the Bush-Cheney '04 Ohio Veterans State Chair and national veterans steering committee member. He served in the Army from 1969-1971, and as a Captain in Vietnam. He was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1984 and served four terms. He served as the first state chairman of the Ohio Chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America and its national executive committee.

Admiral George Worthington (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from San Diego, California. He served with United States Navy SEAL Teams, worldwide command, special operations, counter-terrorism, and operational experience in Asia and Europe; Washington staff tours, Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary of Defense; operations with Naval Special Warfare units; Intelligence Sub-specialty. He was an Aide-de-Camp to a Flag Officer and served diplomatic tours as a U.S. Naval Attach in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He also served four Navy SEAL commands commensurate with rank.

Ronald Ziegler (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a national veterans steering committee member from Pennsylvania. He is the past national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of America. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1966 after six years of active reserve duty. He served as a member of the board of directors of the National Museum of American Jewish Military History.

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. According to the campaign as of the May 11, 2004 announcement there were a total of 132 living recipients of the Medal of Honor.