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Vietnam hero on film gets highest honor for valor

WASHINGTON -- Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall's heroics in Vietnam were immortalized in a movie and a critically acclaimed book.

More than 40 years after Crandall repeatedly risked his life to rescue American soldiers fighting one of the toughest battles of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military officially recognized his heroism Monday, when he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor.

"For the soldiers rescued, for the men who came home, for the children they had and the lives they made, America is in debt to Bruce Crandall," President Bush said during the awards ceremony."It's a debt our nation can never really fully repay."

Related Links

  • Crandall recounts 1965 battle in Ia Drang Valley (video)
  • Read entire article at CNN