By Samantha Harms, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs

FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Dozens of Soldiers, community members and Fort Cavazos leadership gathered to honor seven Medal of Honor recipients who visited as part of the American Airlines and National Medal of Honor Museum “Valor Tour” March 20 at Robert Gray Army Airfield here.

Retired Maj. Gen. Patrick “Pat” Brady, retired Lt. Col. William Swenson, retired Capt. Flo Groberg, retired Command Master Chief Britt Slabinski, retired Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Davis and retired Spc. 5 James “Jim” McCloughan attended, making this the largest known gathering of Medal of Honor recipients at Fort Cavazos.

“Over our history, 50 million Americans have put on the uniform, raised their right hand and sworn to uphold and defend our way of life,” said Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general. “America holds a debt of gratitude to everyone who has served the Armed Forces of our country, and even greater debt to those service members who’ve committed acts of extraordinary heroism.

“In her defense, for more than 160 years, our nation has recognized those heroes with the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest decoration,” he continued. “Since its inception in 1861, the Medal of Honor has been awarded to 3,528 recipients, honoring members of our military who selflessly went above and beyond the call of duty, risking their own lives in their country’s name. These recipients embody the highest ideals of the military and highest ideals of our country.”

This event took place ahead of the grand opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum, located in Arlington, Texas.

“(I) couldn’t think of a better place to be in the days preceding a very, very special time for us in the Medal of Honor community, when we’re about to unveil and deliver the National Medal of Honor Museum to the United States of America,” said Chris Cassidy, president and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum, and a former Navy SEAL and NASA astronaut.

The museum, a project that has been in the works for the past three years, is set to open to the public on National Medal of Honor Day, March 25. There, Cassidy says, visitors will find the histories of great American heroes.

“What you’ll find up there when you come visit us is rich storytelling of great Americans, but great Americans who were just like you guys, ordinary members of the unit, ordinary members of the military, raised their hand to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, just like each and every one of you did, but found themselves in extraordinary measures and answered the call to the country when they needed them to,” he shared to the crowd. “And that’s what we hope to do when visitors come up, is inspire everyone to bring a little courage into your own life through these stories that we’re going to tell in the Medal of Honor Museum.”

As a part of the event, nine Soldiers reenlisted, with Brady administering the Oath of Enlistment.

“It means a lot,” said Spc. James Eady, 43rd Multi-Role Bridge Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, when asked why he chose to reenlist at the ceremony. He decided to reenlist for his son and at the encouragement of his family and his noncommissioned officer. “It is a once in a lifetime type of thing. You don’t really get those type of (events) as a Soldier, so it’s definitely heartwarming and it definitely shows that everyone is here for each other.”

Recipients spoke with active-duty service members following the ceremony, educating them on the values of the Medal of Honor and spoke to the importance of the National Medal of Honor Museum.

“It’s always a good day to be out here on a military base, seeing America’s future, our Soldiers, out here training, preparing to fight America’s wars,” said Swenson. “And of course, today, we saw (nine) of them reenlist because they believe in something. They believe in America. That’s what this is all about today.”

To learn more about each recipient, visit www.cmohs.org. To learn more about the National Medal of Honor Museum, visit www.mohmuseum.org.

For photos of the event, visit photo gallery. For b-roll video of the event, visit DVIDS video page.