he got his first job yesterday meeting bill clinton at westpoint. he posted this picture this morning. he's a cute one. thanks for joining us. i'm dana. here's shep. >> shepard: it's 3:00 in the east coast. the supreme court decided the travel ban has been upheld. it was the first big legal test of this president's policies and power. and it is no doubt a victory for president trump. it also carries far-reaching implications we're now told for how this nation will deal with immigrants. a topic that is already the subject of tense debate. plus, this hour, honoring an american hero. a kentucky farmer that went to war. lieutenant garland connor fought off hundreds of nazis.

today, his widow receives the nation's highest military tribute. the medal of honor. we'll watch it live with you. let's get to it. good tuesday afternoon from the fox news deck. now reaction is pouring in after a divided supreme court upheld the president's travel ban against people from several muslim majority countries and could strengthen the president's powers when it comes to immigration at a time when that topic is front and center in the national debate. the ruling was 5-4 with the conservative justices in favor of the ban. chief justice john roberts wrote in the majority opinion, the ban is squarely within the scope of the presidential authority and rejected the challenge it discriminated against muslims. some of the liberal justices read their dissents allowed from

the bench. judge sotomayor compared the ruling to world war ii when the japanese were placed in interment camps. this is the third version of the ban. restricts people from these five muslim majority countries from entering the u.s. for national security concerns. it also restricts limits, travel from north korea and venezuela. the decision reverses a series of lower court rulings which found the travel ban unconstitutional or just plain illegal 0. it also hands a significant victory to the president who vowed to ban muslims from entering the united states during the run up to the 2016 presidential election, this ban is note nearly as strong as his earlier version. the president does acknowledge that. in fact, last year he tweeted the justice department should have stayed with the original travel ban, not the watered down

politically correct version that they submitted to the s.c. the court mde clear its ruling is about presidential powers. not about this this particular policy. chief justice roberts and the other four did not address the tweets and the comments on immigration and muslims. on the travel ban they added we express no view on the soundness of the policy. the white house released a statement in which the president called the supreme court decision a tremendous victory and a moment of profound vindication. his initial reaction was somewhat more concise on twitter noting the news and commenting with one word. wow! our john roberts will have more from the white house later. first, let's go to shannon bream who has covered the supreme court for us for years. shannon, there was back and forth between the justices about the japanese internment camp

comparison here. >> that was a flash point between the majority and the dissent. john roberts revoked that. he didn't want there to be any comparison. here's what he said. "whatever rhetorical advantage the dissent may see, a case that had to do with japanese interment has nothing to do with this case, a fourth relocation of citizens to concentration camps soly on the basis of race is unlawful and outside the scope of presidential authority. but it is more like the order to neutral policies allowing certain foreign nationals the privilege of admission." justice sotomayor is one of the two that read her dissent. she said it was a silver lining today. there was this explicit reputation of the decision. the case isn't over yet. what happens now is it goes back to the lower courts to be decided on the merits but with plenty of supreme court guidance, shep. >> shepard: that issue, more in

a minute. the justices ruled on crisis pregnancy centers in california today. can you explain that issue? >> the state of california passed a law that is for pro life pregnancy centers. people would show up to a clinic and would have to be provided information where they could go to find low costs or abortions. the clinics fought back saying that violates free speech. our mission is to not women to seek out pregnancies and carry to term. the court found 5-4 they'd the crisis centers have a chance to succeed on the merits. they sent it back to california to hammer it out. tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m., is the final day of the supreme court term. we're waiting on a decision for public sector employees. that could impact millions. a gentleman out of illinois is challenging this. he said i don't want to pay dues into a union whose activities

and messages i may or may not agree with. we'll see there. we'll be on watch for any potential retirements, shep. >> it's not over yet. let's turto bob bianci. the court made clear, bob, this is not about the policy at all. they made clear this is about presidential powers. your thoughts. >> right. the presidential powers have been enshrined from the constitution from the inception of the founding fathers. conceded their powers to the president in 8 usc 98-f. it deals with the president's ability to be able to stop people from coming into this country who are not citizens, how we stop them, when he stops them and why he stopped them, a lot of power is given to the president because there's imminent national security

concerns. republican or democrat, doesn't make a difference. >> shepard: on the matter of policy that the supreme court did not delve into that area to you is perfectly on point or something else? >> that they didn't delve into the -- >> shepard: the policy. >> absolutely. once you start to do that, you're down a slippery slope. what the chief justi said is so long as there's a rationale basis. this is a legal term. if the presidential authority is solid in the law, even if there's a discriminatory intent to the law, if you can find a rationale basis for it, i.e. national security, it's okay. he listed a number of things with the president and the administration tried to tailor and limit. it's 8% of the muslim countries. countries that i can tell you as a homeland security person that don't have proper vetting processes that represent a danger to the community. from previous administrations, congress itself, intelligence security people said that represent adanger. so as you can see, shepard, and i find interesting what the supreme court did as well a couple of countries taken off

the list when they finally came into compliance with vetting people coming in to the country. it's a very legitimate security concern. >> shepard: all right. that's that matter. now we have breaking news. this just in t fox news channel. 17 sta and the district of columbia are suing the trump administration over separation of families at the border. specifically trying to force the trump administration to reunite those families who have been separated due to his zero tolerance policy, which is now at least on hold. part of the writing here by tearing children away from their parents and sending them hundreds of miles away, the trump administration has caused unfathomable trauma to these children while undermining new york's fundamental interests in protecting their health, safety and well-being. that's the new york attorney general. one other quote to give you here. quoting from the western district of washington. keeping children separated from

their parents is unhumane, unconscionable and illegal and we're filing suit to stop it. do they have a stand something. >> they have a standing. it's legitimate and needs to be addressed. everybody will point to the fact that other administrations dd it, too. two wrongs don't make it right. what is happening with these kids being separated, some don't know where their parents are. there's not a great tracking system, it's a legitimate concern, especially since it's our people doing this as they're coming over here. different than the issue we're dealing with -- >> shepard: certainly. >> they have no standing no constitutional rights here. it's a legitimate case. >> shepard: one of the questions here is some of these have come to the united states to seek asylum. the triangle and central south america, extreme upheaval and violence. the united states has accepted people for safety on matters of asylum. these children separated from their parents, some cases they're not able to communicate

and certainly questions about how to be brought together. overriding that, the government will do this of, by and for the people but not show the people what the they have done. very carefully keeping the media who informs the people away from these facilities. >> there's a lack of transparency with respect to the media and the congressman and the senators. it's problematic. if you have nothing to hide, you hide nothing. let's take the decision that happened today. one of the reasons the supreme court justice did what he did is because he said that they are trying to make sure th people are not abused in the process. that there's a certain level of due process that is involved. in fact, they can seek asylum themselves. so why wouldn't we allow these people to seek asylum, make applications. moreover, how can we separate children from parents. >> shepard: this is just in. staff at one voluntary agency in the state of new york have

informed local government officials -- i'm reading from the suit -- that the ages of most children in the ag many of whom were separated from their families at the border are between the ages of 4 and 12. and the youngest child so far was a 9-month-old baby. in addition to not yet verbal toddlers. that means they can't tell those who are keeping them their parents names. >> this is a huge difference. an adult that has the ability to make the decisions is one thing. when you have children that can't speak or defend themselves, americans in general would agree let's give these kids an opportunity to at least be heard. that will be done via the lawsuits being filed. >> shepard: reading more again, just in, the children whom the trump administration has separated from their parents and sent to new york are suffering from extreme trauma. a south american boy that was separated from his father at the mexican border was rushed to the

hospital because he was able to jump out of a second story window of the group home where he was sent in early june after being forcibly separated from his family. the distraught child verbalized that he wanted to jump because he missed his family. 12 other young immigrant children that were separated at the border have been treated for physical our mental illness in new york cities hospital. one child was suicidal and others treated for depression and anxiety. the lawsuit by 17 states and the direct against the trump administration seeking among other things for them to put the families back together. thanks, bob. the president says he will continue to fight for an immigration system that serves for america's interest. we've heard a great deal of debate over the best way to do that. do that involve eliminating the contusions right to due process? as the president has suggested at least in some circumstances. or building a wall? in minutes, we'll take you to texas a border state in the

middle of this fight. that's coming up from the fox news deck on a tuesday afternoon, a medal of honor ceremony scheduled in 18 minutes. we'll have live coverage here. es puts me at greater risk for heart attack or stroke. can one medicine help treat both blood sugar and cardiovascular risk? i asked my doctor. she told me about non-insulin victoza®. victoza® is not only proven to lower a1c and blood sugar, but for people with type 2 diabetes treating their cardiovascular disease, victoza® is also approved to lower the risk of major cv events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. while not for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (announcer) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients.

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>> shepard: we just heard about a toddler, a number of them were not old enough to speak t own parent's names. >> and shep, if i can add, one of the questions we asked yesterday, what do you do if they say my parent is this person or that person. hhs insists they have paperwork and they're not losing track of them. it's one of those questions that we had. like you mentioned earlier, if the kids can't talk, how are they able to tell people where they're going or what family member they are? >> shepard: thanks very much. reporting live there from the border. a trade show down with china that country's leader has threaten to hit back. does the chinese leader have the stomach to go toe to toe with

the united states on trade? can its economy keep up? the secret taught from america's allies. jonathan swan from axios on what foreign officials are saying about working with the white house. your heart doesn't only belong to you. so if you have heart failure, ask your doctor about entresto. it helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant. it c cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. entresto, for heart failure.

is coming to theaters jurassic on june 22nd. kingdom

and now xfinity customers can get movie tickets by using their x1 voice remote. get tickets. don't miss it. because at the very end there's this scene... [ dinosar drowns out bryce's words buy tickets with your xfinity x1 voice remote. just say "jurassic world" to watch the trailer, then say "get tickets" for local showtimes from fandango. and it's just like, "wild." only with xfinity x1. >> shepard: the president sending an open threat to harley-davidson. tweeting a harley-davidson should never be built in another country, never. their employees and customers are already very angry at them. if they move, watch. it will be the beginning of the end. they quit. the aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before. just last year, president trump brought harley-davidson executives to the white house and thanked them for building

things in america as he put it. now he's accusing that same company of waving the white flag of surrender, this comes after they announced they will move some production overseas in order to avoid european union taxes on goods. the e.u. taxes are in retaliation for the president's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. president trump urging american businesses to be patient. >> countries are coming back now to negotiate. if they don't, we'll tax their cars. they send bmws in and mercedes in and play almost no tax. >> as the trade battle continues, the united states is inching towards a full scale trade war with china. now there's word that beijing could be getting cold feet. the report is from bloomberg news. it reports folks in china are starting to wonder whether the

country's economy can sustain a u.s. attack. harley-davidson's stock took a dive. but it changed. >> yeah, it's off the lows, but harley-davidson does not want to be the target of president trump's ire. they have come a long way from being iconic, the visit to the white house. but it's a business. they would have paid like a 31% tariff on every shipment of these bikes to europe. the company says it's going to cost us between 90 and $100 million a year, just the cost that we'll have to eat, if we pass it along to you if you wanted to buy a motorcycle in europe. it would be another $2,200. they said yes, we are going to move some manufacturing from kansas city to parts of thailand. we did see the president's reaction. but listen, this is what happens when you begin to talk about

tariffs. very specific industries are affected. that is a direct response to steel and aluminum tariffs which are big ingredients in motorcycles. >> shepard: i mentioned the reports out of beijing. bloomberg, for one. maybe the chinese not so sure they can withstand the attack. >> there's signs of slowing. we're not talking about a complete drop-off. maybe a 1/4 of a percentage point of gdp. so it does seem as if their economy is slowing. what is more to the point that in the u.s., we're a consumer driven economy. what we buy, what we want, 2/3s of gdp, 2/3s of the economic growth. china does not have that consumer class as we do yet. so we are in some ways a little more insulated. we consume about 80% of what we produce. china's economy is very much trade-based. so the idea here is that some within china according to bloomberg, ministers, former

diplomats are saying maybe we shouldn't get into a head on head trade war with the u.s. i think a trade tiff, which we've seen, is manageable from both sides. $50 billion. when you start talking about $200 billion, that is a trade war category. our markets we saw yesterday in the red. >> shepard: and china's currency at a significant low against the strong dollar. >> there's cracks in the system for sure. >> shepard: interesting. deidra bolton. good to see you. see you on the biz. as trade tension rises, some allies in europe say they're willing to give a little bit. but that they're concerned nothing will be enough to satisfy president trump. that's according to our next guest. one senior european official tells him that the relationship between the united states and europe has reached a state of crisis. let's turn to jonathan swan from

axios.com. an article sent out today, he writes that our allies are rattled by president trump and are worried about a key nato meeting scheduled for next months. good to see you. for what reason are they worried? >> they're worried because just what happened at the g-7 where president trump went to the g-7, had very, very contentious conversations with some of their closest allies. left on terrible terms with the canadian leader in particular and got on a plane to singapore and had a warm meeting with kim jong-un. they worry that that will repeat themselves at nato. a lot of them worry about russian aggression and they need to present a unified front against russia. what they're really worried about, let's say donald trump comes to nato and spends most of the team not paying on defense, which is what he's preoccupied with and sees vladimir putin. he's preparing a summit and

maybe has much warmer scenes with vladimir putin. if that pattern repeats itself, would put more crack in the trans atlantic alliances. >> shepard: you report the relationship with germany is especially bad. >> yeah, the germans have committed in trump's mind several sins. they know this and they don't know how to get passed them. sin number 1 is they're not paying enough in terms of their defense commitments, their budget commitments. increasing them a little bit but not enough. point number 2, he's very fixated on the automobile issue. he says to angela merkel privately, he said i see german cars everywhere on american roads. do you ever see an american car on a german road? he very much wants to target germany on auto tariffs. the third issue is about gas, russian gas. he doesn't want germany baying russian ga he wants them buying american gas but it's more expensive. that's the third issue.

it's the same situation with other european allies where trump views these countries as they owe america money. one european official said that he's a landlord and we're the tenants and he's calling on rent. >> shepard: do the europeans as a whole have a strategy to deal with it? if so, what is it? >> no. they've been doing different strategies. angela merkel has pretty much been tough all along. you've seen emmanuel macron, the french leader who has really sucked up to trump for the longest team. more recently i think has come up against the limits of that strategy. so he's pivoted a little bit. the britts probably somewhere in between. they have -- no one has figured out how to talk to trump. none of the european leaders have. certainly none of the three that i mentioned. >> shepard: jonathan from

axios.com. thanks. >> thank you. >> shepard: in just a few minutes, the nation will award its highest military honor to the widow of a man that risked his life to save his fellow soldiers. the ceremony live from the white house uninterrupted on fox news channel after this. you do all this research

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switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. >> i'm lea gabrielle with a fox report. more of today's headlines. a teenager in michigan surviving a small plane crash that killed two others. happened in detroit on sunday. we just gots video. the boy stumbling out of the plane. he's in critical condition. the pilot said he was low on fuel or out of fuel, a man ramming into the headquarters of a major newspaper in the netherlands. the suspect was seen crashing in the building, lit the van on fire and ran away. nobody was hurt. it's being called an attack on

free press. and cops arrested a woman that was so unhappy at the service at a nail salon that he pushed over a display. police are using the video to help identify her and arrested her yesterday. the news continues with shepard smith after this.

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your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. other side effects include upper respiratory tract infection and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ♪ otezla. show more of you. >> shepard: a live look now at the east room of the white house where the widow of a world war ii veteran is about to acc set the medal honor from the president of the united states. garland connor died two decades against. on a snowy dade in northeastern france, lieutenant garland was in the hospital recovering from a hip injury. he disregarded doctors orders and his own safety to sneak out to the front lines. some 600 german troops advanced

towards his fellow soldiers. he uncoiled telephone wire to redistrict artillery fire. he ordered artillery on his own position. willing to sacrifice his own life in order to stop the enemy. lieutenant garland survived that day. he returned to his far in kentucky and his widow, pauline, that just entered the east room said he never spoke about his bravery. not a word. today many will speak of what he did that day for our nation as our nation remembers a soldier and honors a hero. trace gallagher has more. trace? >> shep, you mentioned president trump will present the medal of honor to garland's widow. the first time she met her future husband, she looked at his 5'6", 120-pound frame and she said this.

watch. >> i heard so many stories about what he had done in the local newspapers and so forth. i couldn't imagine it. they don't want me to say it but i'm going to say it anyway. i said to my mother, that little wharf rat couldn't have done all he said he did. >> but he did. garland connor is the second most decorated world war ii veteran. he took part in ten campaigns and was wounded seven times. he was awarded three purple hearts, four silver stars and the distinguished service cross, which today in moments is being upgraded to the medal of honor, shep. >> shepard: lieutenant connor's brave actions came at what was really a key time in that war. >> true. because for context, the battle that you talked about where lieutenant connor helped push back the 600 german soldiers

came after the battle of the bulge. the germans were on their heels. it was critical that american forces keep pushing in to end the war. if the germans regained the upper hand against the third infantry, the war could have gone on longer and it's anyone guests how many more lives were lost. even today the generals still gave garland the highest price. his ability to shoot, move and communicate is how current soldiers are being taught to fight future wars. watch this. >> so from humble beginnings, greatness comes, this is a legacy for soldiers to remember and embrace. what may be called upon to do in times of adversity. >> yeah, not only did garland connor receive awards from the united states but also earned foreign medals from the french. >> shepard: trace gallagher, thank you.

we'll tell you about this. garland connor was inducted into the army an march 1, 1941. sent to fort lewis, washington for training. while he was there, garland was assigned in company k, third battalion seventh infantry regimen. now he will be honored. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> let us pray. almighty god in this moment and in the company of those gathered here, we seek your presence and grace. as a nation today, we lift up, honor and give thanks for your strength and power reflected in the heroic acts of lieutenant connor. let this man's heroic actions give our nation, our world courage and hope. to always act in the face of danger and overwhelming forces that seek to destroy. lord, fill all who hear and remember with gratitude and resolve to protect and continue the mission no matter the costs

or dissent. we ask all of this in your holy name, amen. >> thank you very much. thank you. and thank you, chaplain hurley. we're honored to be joined today by members of congress, military leaders and distinguished guests. i want to recognize deputy secretary of defense, patrick shanahan. where is patrick? please stand up, patrick. you're doing a great job. [applause] i have four star john kelly. a special guy. where is john? special man. [applause] cretary of the army, mark esper. army chief of staff, thank you. thank you, mark. [applause] a very good negotiator.

the general mark millie. i can see in his eyes when i talk about the cost of those bombs. [applause] he's good at throwing them but good at pricing them. i see it. sergeant major of the army, daniel daly. thank you very much. [applause] also want to thank congress and we have some members here. buddy carter. thank you, buddy. [applause] martha mcsally. [applause] james comber. thanks for being here. thanks very much. special day. though he could not be here this afternoon, i want to thank majority leader mitch mcconnell for his years of work to make this day very special. he worked hard and he's working hard right now on a lot of other things. i will say he worked very hard. we thank mitch. to all of the guests that travel

from two of my favorite states and places, kentucky and tennessee. they like me in kentucky and tennessee. welcome to the white house. two great places. today we tell the story of an incredible hero that defended our nation in world war ii, first lieutenant garland merle connor. although he died 20 years ago today, he takes his rightful place in the eternal chronicle of american valor. that is what this is, this is the great, great men and women. it's american valor. we're thrilled to be joined by his amazing wife, pauline. don't get up. save it for lawyer. [applause] i got to know her in the oval

always. a special woman with a special family. she's 89 years old today and s.e's going strong, i have to going strong. keep it going. she hoped and prayed she would live to see this day. pauline is truly a wonderful and incredible person. it's my privilege to be with you today as we award your late husband, our nation's highest military honor. for today's congressional medal of honor presentation, we're also joined by pauline and merle's son, paul. thank you, paul. they're grandchildren, rachel, kara, kaylynn and brett who serves in the navy. stand up, please. submariner. [applause] along with their four great grandchildren, ethan, iden,

annabelle and bella rose. thanks for being here. it's great. great genes. lieutenant connor must be looking down from heaven, proud of this incredible honor and prouder of the legacy that lives on in each of you. so proud. finally to the two previous medal of honor recipients that joined us today. we salute your service and we thank you on behalf of one very large, very powerful and very grateful nation. thank you. where are you sitting or standing? please thank you very much. [applause] thank you very much. a great honor. the american hero we honor today came from a farm near albany, kentucky. merle was one of 11 children.

he grew up during the great depression and dropped out of school after theighth grade to help provide for his family. wonderful family. they weren't rolling in cash, right? but they were comfortable. in march of 1941, merle is listed in the army and joined the third infantry division. for 28 months straight, he fought on the front lines in ten campaigns. he was wounded seven times. but he couldn't stop. he loved it and he loved our country. on the shores of sicily, the beaches of anzio and the snow-covered mountains of france, he fought with everything he had to defeat the nazi menace. in january of 1945, as the final days of the battle of the bulge

well-known fight, general, that was a tough one, right? they taught you that? i know you weren't there. but that was -- i hope you weren't there. kelly was there. [laughter] that was a rough one. study that one. the u.s. third infantry division was engaged in a fierce battle with the nazis in northern france. at the time lieutenant connor was in a field hospital being treated for a painful help wound. one of many. and he was scheduled to be sent back home. he was wounded so often, so much but he didn't want to go home. he snuck out of the hospital and made his wake back to his unit. his doctors, his nurses were not happy. lieutenant connor wasn't done fighting were yet. in fact, it wasn't even close. soon after he arrived, he shaw

it was impossible to tell the strength and position of the germans. he volunteered to go to the front line and observe the enemy and to help direct fire. in order to communicate with the command post, he took a telephone and hundreds of yards of telephone wire. that was a long time ago before we had what we have today called a cell phone. he ran 400 yards, dodging shrapnel, bullets. shells everywhere. artillery. trying to hit them. they saw him. he was going every different way. looked like an nfl star. all the while, laying telephone wire wherever he went. when he reached the edge of the forest, he raced 30 yards in front of the american line. merle laid a shadow ditch and he laid down in this hole, this

shallow ditch where they could still see him. only one foot deep. in front of the lone american soldier, six german tanks and hundreds of german soldiers. as bullets flew around him, lieutenant connor directed artillery fire each time successfully decimating the enemy. they knew he was there and they couldn't get him. at one point a german soldier came within five yards of lieutenant connor before being shot and killed. for three hours, the bloody battle waged on. in the last attack, swarms of german soldiers rushed forward. when they were nearly on top of lieutenant connor, he ordered fire on his own position, exactly where he was. courageously choosing to face death in order to save his

battalion and achieve victory for freedom. those people that were with him, many of them now gone, said it was the single bravest act they have ever seen. he had shells dropped right on him. aim at me, he said. aim at me. well, they missed him by feet. he kept calling in more rounds, more rounds. until the blanket of fire broke the german advance and the enemy retreated saving so many american lives. lieutenant connor's courageous actions killed roughly 50 german soldiers, injured 100 more and saved so many american lives. they don't even have the count. somehow lieutenant connor survived the attack. less than four months later, the nazis surrendered.

that was a big, big day. soon after merle came home, his town organize add parade to celebrate his heroic deeds. one of the speakers was the legendary world war i hero, sergeant york. you know all about sergeant york. all my generals know about sergeant york, right? it was at this time that pauline first caught a glimpse of her future husband. right, pauline? i don't think you were impressed either, were you? she said no, i wasn't. as she put it, i was expecting a giant of a man. he was a big hero already. she hadn't met him. but they were giving a parade. i was asking her about it. she expected this big powerful guy. when she saw merle, he was 5'6" tops.

120 pounds. she told her mother, that little guy could not have done all of the things that they said he's done. couldn't be possible, right? she soon saw for herself the courage and devotion that burned light a righteous fire in his soul. it's all about the soul. merle embodied the pure patri patriotic love that builds and sustains a nation, a few months later, merle and pauline were husband and wife. they lived, loved and thrived threw 53 years of a good marriage. was it good or great? it was great. i'm glad she said that. we might have had to cancel the rest. that would have been terrible. she said it was great. we paid contribute to this kentucky farm boy that stared

down evil with the strength of a warrior and the heart of a true hero. lloyd ramsey, merle's commanding officer, described him this way. i've never seen a man with as much courage and ability as he had. i usually don't brag on my officers, this is one officer that nobody could brag enough about and do him justice. he was a real soldier. some quote from his commander. lieutenant garland, merle connor, was indeed a giant in his daring, his division and his duty, he was larger than life. that he was. he will never ever be forgotten. we will never forget his story. we will always be grateful to god for giving us heros like

merle and you two gentlemen. we didn't forget you. by the way, all of these great soldiers and truly brave warriors that do such an incredible job protecting the people of this country, and we mean that 100%. so everybody in uniform here today, we thank you. i would like to ask pauline to come and accept the congressional medal of honor for her husband and for the military aide to read the citation. thank you. thank you very much. [applause]

[laughter] >> the president of the united states of america authorized by act of congress, march 3, 1863, has awarded in he the name of congress medal of honor to first lieutenant garland m. connor for gallantry at the risk of his life a above and beyond the call of duty. first lieutenant garland connor distinguished himself by acts of gallantry by serving in the infantry, third infantry division on the morning of january 24, 1945 in france. german forces counter attacked the front left frank of the seventh infantry regiment 600

troops, six tanks and tank destroyers. lieutenant connor having recently returned to his unit after recovering from a wound received in an earlier battle was working as the intelligence officer in the third battalion command post at the time of the attack. understanding the devastating effect that the advancing enemy armor could have, lieutenant connor ran straight into the heart of the assault. with complete disregard for his own safety, lieutenant connor maneuvered 400 yards through the enemy artillery fire that destroyed trees in his path and rained shrapnel around him. while unrolling telephone wire to communicate with the battalion command post. upon reaching the front he continued to move forward under the enemy assault to a position 30 yards in front of the forces where he plunged into a ditch.

with rounds impacting all around him, lieutenant connor calmly directed multiple fire missions, adjusting round after round from his prone position until the enemy was forced to halt its advance and seek cover by a nearby dyke. for three hours, he remained in his compromised position enduring the repeated onslaught of german infantry. as they regrouped and began to mass in an overwhelming assault, he ordered friendly artillery to concentrate on his position. having to resolve to dry if necessary or stop the advance. ignoring the friendly shells blanketing his position and exploding feet from him, he continued to direct artillery fire on the enemy assault swarming around him until the german attack was broken. by his heroism, he stopped the

enemy advance. the artillery that he directed while under fire killed approximately 50 jgermans. his actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the third infantry division and the united states army. [applause]

>> let us pray. almighty god, i ask you these moments here together in the heroic acts of lieutenant -- of this lieutenant garland connor become for us a lifetime of strength. we ask you always for your continued presence for all of our american heros serving home and abroad in military service, continue to pour your wisdom on our leaders and fill pauline and her family and our entire nation with your peace today and always, amen. [laughter]