President Obama next Monday will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Pfc. Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano and Pfc. Henry Svehla, Korean War soldiers. Both displayed conspicuous gallantry in combat that cost them their lives. When faced by an enemy with overwhelming numbers on Sept. 1, 1951, Kaho’ohanohano ordered his squad to take up more defensible positions, while he faced the enemy alone. When his ammunition ran out, he engaged the enemy hand to hand until he was killed. Svehla, a rifleman, charged enemy positions on June 12, 1952, when his platoon came under heavy fire. He inflicted heavy casualties. When an enemy grenade landed near his comrades, Svehla threw himself on the grenade and was mortally wounded. Members of both men’s families will be on hand to accept the medals during the ceremony in the White House’s East Room. (White House release)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.