We don’t earn grace. We're all sinners. We don't deserve it. But God gives it to us anyway. And we choose how to receive it. It's our decision how to honor it.

What did I do to deserve this?

The Medal of Honor means a lot to me, but every time I put it on, I think about other Marines who deserve the award and didn't get it. I didn't do anything that somebody else in my position wouldn't have done.

I wear that medal for the guys who served with me. I think most of the guys feel that way. We're really a caretaker of the medal, for those who served with us. Because if it wasn't for the guy on your left and the guy on your right, we wouldn't be here now.

I risked my life. I came back and wore the ribbons and medals that my commanding officer told me to wear. And now you have the audacity to challenge me after serving this country? You sleep under a blanket of freedom that I helped provide. You should just say thank you.

I've earned this Goddamn job!

I don't consider the Medal my personal property. As a recipient, I feel I am wearing it to represent all the men and women who have served over the years with the same dedication and courage. Having said that, it did make me very awre of my responsibilities as a recipient, talking to kids, trying to instill the values of service, courage, honor, and duty, so it's been a very good part of my life. Personally and professionally it added a dimension. I certainly don't dwell on events of thirty-one years ago. That was thirty minutes out of my life and it came and went and life goes on. I've led a wonderful life since then.

[Regarding other Medal of Honor recipients] I've never worked at a job to make money. I think most of them try to live up to the Medal and protect and not disgrace it. I have not met any that I would say did not deserve it. And they're a hell of a gang of people. You got every conceivable race, religion. What they have in common is courage, or the absence of fear in a critical situation. It's having courage when it counts.

Earn it yourself so that nobody will say they gave you anything

There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.

You can't wait around for destiny to give you what you think you deserve, you have to earn it, even if you think you've paid your dues.

I Deserve It.
I'd rather be disappointed by the truth than satisfied with a lie. Respect me, not because I respect you, but because I deserve your respect. How pleased would you be if you found out I respected you only because I wanted you to respect me back or because I wanted something in return? I respect you because you deserve it. Don't listen to me just because I listen to you. I listen to you because you deserve to be heard. Don't be nice to me just because I'm nice to you. I'm nice to you because you deserve to be treated right. Don't show me that you care just because you know I care. I care for you because your heart needs care. If your thoughts and feelings are not genuine, point them in a direction other than mine. If I only give you what you deserve, at least keep me away from what I don't deserve.

Six fellow soldiers also received the Medal of Honor with me on that warm, clear day in June, 1971. However, only one man stood beside me. Tragically, the other five were awarded posthumously. Such sorrow reflects the magnitude of the actions of those individuals who are considered for the CMH. A female lieutenant colonel once asked me if I knew why they gave me the medal. She asked the question in such a way that I took it as meaning she knew the reason- did I? Her question pissed me off. I thought, what the hell do you know? How could you, who have never seen combat, possibly know? I was preparing to give it to her with both barrels at the conclusion of her comment.
However, she said something profound that hit the nail right square on the head. She said, "They gave you the medal because they realize that something has happened to you that they can't understand."
You were absolutely right, ma'am. My apologies.

Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another.