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Skriven 2005-09-23 23:33:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0509232) for Fri, 2005 Sep 23
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President Presents Medal of Honor to Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 23, 2005

President Presents Medal of Honor to Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin
The East Room

President's Remarks
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2:45 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Laura and I welcome you to the White House. This is a
special occasion for our nation. We're here to pay tribute to a soldier
with an extraordinary devotion to his brothers in arms, and an unshakeable
love for his adopted homeland of America.

Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin's many acts of courage during the Korean War
saved the lives of hundreds of his fellow soldiers. In the heat of battle,
he inspired his comrades with his fearlessness. And amid the inhumanity of
a Chinese prisoner of war camp, he gave them hope. Some of those soldiers
are here today, and they have never forgotten what they owe this man. And
by awarding the Medal of Honor to Corporal Rubin today, the United States
acknowledges a debt that time has not diminished.

It's our honor to welcome Ted's wife, Yvonne; daughter, Rosie -- a 2nd
grade teacher, I might add -- (laughter) -- Frank and Lai, welcome. Glad
you all are here.

Mr. Vice President, thank you for coming. Mr. Secretary, we're proud you're
here. I appreciate Senator John Warner, the Chairman of the Armed Services
Committee; Congressman Robert Wexler, of Florida -- welcome. Thank you for
being here. Former Congressman Ben Gilman and Georgia are with us.
Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey; Pete Geren, acting Secretary of the
Air Force; "Admiral G," Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is with us.
General Pete Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the United States Army. And,
Rabbi, thank you very much for your blessings.

I want to thank Ambassador Andras Simonyi, the Ambassador of Hungary to the
United States, for joining us -- proud you're here. Yes. (Laughter.)

So honored to have the four Medal of Honor recipients with us: Barney
Barnum, with the United States Marines; Al Rascon, the Army; Bob Foley, the
Army; and Jack Jacobs, of the Army. Proud you're here. Thanks for being
here.

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery that a President can
bestow. It is given for acts of valor that no superior could rightly order
a soldier to perform. And that is what we mean by "above and beyond the
call of duty." By repeatedly risking his own life to save others, Corporal
Rubin exemplified the highest ideals of military service and fulfilled a
pledge to give something back to the country that had given him his
freedom.

Born in Hungary in 1929, Ted and his family were rounded up by the Nazis
and taken to concentration camps when he was just 13 years old. He was
taken to Mauthausen Camp in Austria, where an SS officer told the prisoner,
"You, Jews, none of you will ever make it out of here alive." And many did
not. Before the war was over, both of Ted's parents and one of his sisters
were lost in the Holocaust. Ted Rubin survived the camp for 14 months, long
enough to be liberated by U.S. Army troops on May the 5th, 1945.

These American GIs gave Ted his first real taste of freedom. Their
compassion for the people in the camp made a deep impression on this
teenage survivor. It was his first experience with soldiers who were
fighting to protect human life. That day Ted made a promise to himself, if
he ever made it to America, he would show his appreciation to this great
land by enlisting in the United States Army. He did move to America after
the war, and the young immigrant made good on his pledge. Even though he
was not yet a citizen, he volunteered to serve his new nation in uniform,
and seven months after taking the oath of a U.S. soldier, he was sent to
Korea.

The conditions were brutal, the fighting was intense, and the bitter cold
was unrelenting. And it was in these grueling circumstances that Corporal
Rubin impressed his fellow soldiers in the 1st Cav Division as one of the
best ever to wear our nation's uniform.

Those who served with Ted speak of him as a soldier of great skill and
courage. One night near the Pusan Perimeter, Corporal Rubin had been
assigned to hold a hill that was essential to the 3rd Battalion safe
withdrawal. For 24 hours this lone rifleman would defend the hill against
an overwhelming number of North Korean forces. By his actions Corporal
Rubin inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, saved the lives of countless
soldiers, and gave the unit time to withdraw.

Those who served with Ted speak of him as a soldier who gladly risked his
own life for others. When Corporal Rubin's battalion found itself ambushed
by thousands of Chinese troops, the Americans' firepower soon dwindled to a
single machine gun. The weapon was in an exposed position and three
soldiers had already died manning it. That was when Corporal Rubin stepped
forward. He fought until his ammunition was gone. He was badly wounded,
captured and sent to a POW camp. He risked his life that day to protect his
fellow American soldiers, and his heroism helped many of them escape.

Those who served with Ted speak of him as a soldier whose many acts of
compassion helped his fellow GIs survive the nightmare of imprisonment. As
a teenager, Ted had taught himself how to survive the horrors of a Nazi
death camp. He was resourceful, courageous, and unusually strong. And in
Korea, he drew on these qualities to help keep many of his POWs alive.
Whenever he could, at the risk of certain execution, Corporal Rubin would
sneak out and steal food rations from the guards, and then he shared them
with his fellow soldiers. Throughout this ordeal he nursed those who were
sick back to health, and said the Kaddish prayers for those he buried.

And when his captives offered to release him to Communist Hungary, with the
guarantee of a good job and nice clothes and plenty of food, Corporal Rubin
refused. He said, "I was in the U.S. Army, and I wouldn't leave my American
brothers because they need me here." Ted's decision was in character.

As a Jew and non-citizen serving in uniform, he had experienced prejudice
in the Army. And he knew that the America he fought for did not always live
up to its highest ideals. Yet he had enough trust in America's promise to
see his commitment through. He saw it as his personal duty to live up to
our nation's promise, and by doing so he set an example of what it means to
be an American.

Many heroes are remembered in monuments of stone. The monuments to Corporal
Rubin are a legacy of life. We see his legacy in the many American families
whose husbands, fathers, and sons returned home safely because of his
efforts. We see his legacy in the free and democratic South Korea that grew
on the soil of his sacrifice. And we see his legacy in a new generation of
American men and women in uniform who were inspired to their own acts of
courage and compassion.

Today, we remember the mother, father and sister that Corporal Rubin lost
to an unspeakable evil. We admire the determination of a young man who
sought to repay his American liberators by following in their footsteps,
and we recall the selfless acts that gave his comrades strength and hope in
their darkest hours.

In the years since Abraham Lincoln signed into law the bill establishing
the Medal of Honor, we have had many eloquent tributes to what this medal
represents. I like Ted's description. He calls it "the highest honor of the
best country in the world." And today, a grateful America bestows this
award on a true son of liberty.

I now ask the Military Aide to read the citation. (Applause.)

(The citation is read. The medal is presented.) (Applause.)

END 2:58 P.M. EDT
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