master sergeant rodella's stroortd heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are inng with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the united states army. [ applause ] >> i just want to ask santiago and melvin to return to the stage, please. this is a remarkable moment, and as they come up i'd like to recall -- as they take their positions, i'd like to recall the words of a poet. though much is taken, much abides, and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are. when uniwall temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and faith and strong and will to strive to seek, to find and not to yield, santiago arriva, melvin morris, jose rodella in the thick of the fight all those years ago, for your comrades and your country, you refused to yield, and on behalf of a grateful nation we all want to thank you for inspiring us, then and now, with your strength, your will and your heroic hearts. please give them a big round of applause. gentlemen, thank you. please take

jose rodella was a sergeant with the green berets in september of 1969 when a viet kong unit opened one >> they were laughing at us. >> they were laughing at you. >> yes. they had us pinned with their machine gun. >> i finally got up close to them and got all three of them. >> you took out the machine gun. >> oh, yes, i did. >> ask him how he feels about receiving the medal of honor all these years later. >> joe hega and rudy, two of my friends, they didn't come back. >> ask him about his buddies. >> in my memory they'll be there, and i'll see. >> reporter: and he will see their names inscribed in black marble on the vietnam memorial. neither has ever been to the wall but they'll go there wearing their medals of honor. david martin, cbs news, san antonio. [ yodeling plays ] worst morning ever. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! and irresistible aroma of nescafe clasico stir what's inside of you. ♪ [ engine revving ] [ tires screech ] ♪ [ male announcer ] that was bold. real bold. >>> here's another look at this mor

there are three survivors, master sergeant jose rodella, sergeant first-class melvin morris and sergeant santiago rivea. they will be in the east room along with relatives of those who have passed on when president obama will award the medal of honor. >> this is different from other ceremonies? >> this will be the first time there will be such a large group. one single group of people being awarded the medal of honor at the same time of course, most of them posthumously. >> and different in the way the awards came about. yeah, what happened was they were looking for anomalies. for example in an earlier review involving japanese americans they noticed that the 442nd combat unit that fought in italy had been the highest decorated regiment in world war ii but none of the members received a medal of honor. the question was why. obvious answer discrimination. the pentagon acknowledged that visited throughout the u.s. military. that instance, they awarded 20 medal of honors including one who became a u.s. senator inoe from hawaii. >> and this also came about because of colin powell who wanted

himself and his unit and the united states army. [ applause ] >> master sergeant first class jose rodellamaster sergeant jose rodela above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the company commander detachment b-36 company a 5th special forces group airborne and during combat operations against an armed enemy in republic of vietnam on september 1, 1969. that afternoon, master sergeant rodela became under intense morter and rocket and machine gun fire. ignoring the fire he placed his men into defensive positions to prevent the enemy from overrunning the entire battalion. repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire, master sergeant rodel moved from position-to-position providing suppressive fire and assisting the wounded and himself wounded in the back and head by a b-40 rocket while recovering a wounded comrade. he salted and knocked out the b-40 rocket position before successfully returning to the battalion's perimeter. master sergeant rodela extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty is the military services and reflect great credit upon himself, his un

melvin morris, and santiago rivera and rodella. most say that he is a quiet man who mows his neighbor's lawns. >> jose is such a humble guy who did not mention this to his neighbors who are going to be shocked to turn on the news tonight to see that the guy that cuts their lawns is getting the medal of honor. >> president obama noted that all of the resip yents faithfully served a country what did not see them as equals, and reminded us that sometimes the here e rows are those who are right in front of us. >>> and a report of why a little girl was taken out of foster care and put back into the home weeks before she was murdered. >>> narrow road and lots of car. isnarrow road big enough for a bike lane? adam tuss with that story coming up. >> and the jackpot >>> now, at 6:30, outrage over to the death of a toddler in maryland, and some say that the justice system failed her by putting her back in harm's way. >>> and new details on a story we broke first on news4. the controversiatakedown on dash cam video, and why the charges gaiaga

today we remember how 32-year-old sergeant first class rodella fought through his wounds in vietnam and8 hours of constant combat. most days you can find melvin morris at home in port st. john florida. 72 years old. a retired salesman and a greatgrandfather. you'll find him working on his boat, going fishing, reading the bible, spending time with his beautiful wife mary. married 53 years this month. y you're going to have to give me some tips. [ laughter ] we're not that far along yet. today we remember how 27-year-old staff sergeant morris, one of our nation's very first green berets. think about that. that's legendary. how staff sergeant morris recovered a fallen comrade in vietnam, took out several enemy bunkers, and kept going even after he was shot three times. and on most days, you can find santiago eravia at home in san antonio. he's a 68-year-old retired postal worker. he's fixing up his house typically, tending to the garden, beginning on walks with his wife. or doing some push-ups to stay in shape. today we remember how 23-year-old specialist 4 eravia, under a hail of bullets