    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 8, 2008]
    [Pages 487-489]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting Posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor to
    Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor
    April 8, 2008

        Good afternoon, and welcome. Please be seated.
        The Medal of Honor is America's highest decoration for military
    valor. Over the years, many who have received the medal have given their
    lives in the action that earned it. The name of Petty Officer Michael
    Anthony Monsoor will now be among them.
        September 2006, Michael laid down his life for his brothers in arms.
    Today we remember the life of this faithful Navy SEAL. And on behalf of
    a grateful nation, we will present Michael Monsoor's family with the
    Medal of Honor that he earned.
        I welcome the Vice President. Secretary of
    Defense Gates, thank you for coming;
    Secretary of Veterans Affairs Peake;
    Secretary Don Winter of the Navy; Admiral
    Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,
    and wife Deborah; General James
    Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and
    Annette; Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, and wife Ellen; Senator John McCain;
    Congressman Ed Royce; Congresswoman Loretta
    Sanchez.
        Previous Medal of Honor recipients, thank you for joining us.
        I appreciate Chaplain Burt, Navy SEALs,
    the finest warriors on the face of the Earth, the Monsoor family, and
    everybody else.
        The Medal of Honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one
    could rightly be expected to undertake it. Yet those who knew Michael
    Monsoor were not surprised when he did. The son of Orange County,
    California, grew up in a family where helping others was a way of life.
    Mike's father was a marine; his
    mother, a social worker. Together, they raised
    their four
    children to understand the meaning of service
    and sacrifice.
        From a very early age, Mike showed the strength of his own
    convictions. Apparently, going to kindergarten wasn't one of them. Mike
    had no complaints after the first week of school, until someone broke
    the news to him that he had to go back the next week. [Laughter] Many
    mornings, Mike refused to put on the nice clothes for school. Instead,
    he insisted on wearing mismatched outfits. Mike's mother soon discovered there was no stopping the determined
    young boy from mixing plaids and stripes. And years later, there would
    be no stopping an even more determined young man from donning a uniform
    of navy blue.
        In some ways, Mike was an unlikely candidate for the Navy. He
    suffered from terrible asthma as a child. On some nights, his coughing
    fits would land him in the hospital. But Mike would not lay low for
    long. He strengthened his lungs by racing his
    siblings in the
    swimming pool. He worked to wean himself off his inhaler. He built
    himself into a superb athlete, excelling from sports like football to
    snowboarding.
        After enlisting in the Navy, he began preparing for the ultimate
    test of physical endurance: SEAL training. Less than a third of those
    who begin this training become SEALs. But Mike would not be denied a
    spot. In September 2004, he earned the right to wear the Navy SEAL
    trident.
        The newly minted frogman became a beloved member of the SEAL team
    community. His teammates liked to laugh about the way his shiny Corvette
    would leave everybody in the dust. But deep down, they always knew Mike
    would never leave anybody behind when it counted. He earned their
    confidence with his attention to detail and quiet work ethic. One of
    Mike's officers remembers an instructor once asking after an intense
    training session, quote: ``What's the deal with the Monsoor guy? He just
    says, `Roger that,' to everything.''

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        When Mike deployed with his team to Ramadi in the spring of 2006, he
    brought that attitude with him. Because he served as both a heavy
    machine gunner and a communications operator, he often had a double load
    of equipment, sometimes more than 100 pounds worth. But under the glare
    of the hot desert sun, he never lost his cool.
        At the time, Ramadi was in the clutches of Al Qaida terrorists and
    insurgents. Together, the SEALs and the Army 1st Battalion of the 506
    Infantry Regiment took the offense against the enemy. The SEALs carried
    out a broad range of special operations, including providing sniper
    cover in tough urban conditions and conducting raids against terrorists
    and insurgents. Overall, Mike's platoon came under enemy attack during
    75 percent of their missions. And in most of these engagements, Mike was
    out front defending his brothers.
        In May 2006, Mike and another SEAL ran into the line of fire to save
    a wounded teammate. With bullets flying all around them, Mike returned
    fire with one hand while helping pull the injured man to safety with the
    other. In a dream about the incident months later, the wounded SEAL
    envisioned Mike coming to the rescue with wings on his shoulders.
        On Saint Michael's Day, September 29, 2006, Michael Monsoor would
    make the ultimate sacrifice. Mike and two teammates had taken position
    on the outcropping of a rooftop when an insurgent grenade bounced off
    Mike's chest and landed on the roof. Mike had a clear chance to escape,
    but he realized that the other two SEALs did not. In that terrible
    moment, he had two options: to save himself or to save his friends. For
    Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself onto the grenade, and
    absorbed the blast with his body. One of the survivors puts it this way:
    ``Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, `You cannot take my
    brothers. I will go in their stead.' ''
        Perhaps the greatest tributes to Mike's life is the way different
    servicemembers all across the world responded to his death. Army
    soldiers in Ramadi hosted a memorial service for the valiant man who had
    fought beside them. Iraqi Army scouts, whom Mike helped train, lowered
    their flag and sent it to his parents. Nearly every SEAL on the west
    coast turned out for Mike's funeral in California. As the SEALs filed
    past the casket, they removed their golden tridents from their uniforms,
    pressed them onto the walls of the coffin. The procession went on nearly
    half an hour. And when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had
    become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten.
        For his valor, Michael Monsoor becomes the fourth Medal of Honor
    recipient in the war on terror. Like the three men who came before him,
    Mike left us far too early. But time will not diminish his legacy. We
    see his legacy in the SEALs whose lives he saved. We see his legacy in
    the city of Ramadi, which has gone from one of the most dangerous places
    in Iraq to one of the most safest. We see his legacy in the family that
    stands before us filled with grief, but also with everlasting pride.
        Mr. and Mrs.
    Monsoor: America owes you a debt that can never be repaid. This Nation
    will always cherish the memory of your son. We will not let his life go
    in vain. And this Nation will always honor the sacrifice he made. May
    God comfort you. May God bless America.
        Come on up. And now George and
    Sally Monsoor will be here; a Military Aide
    will read the citation.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:07 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Rear Adm. Robert F. Burt, USN,
    Chief of Navy Chaplains. Following the President's remarks, Lt. Col.
    Gina C. Humble, USAF, Air Force Aide to the President, read the
    citation.

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