Medal of Honor mail call 2018

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  • A display of the letters, packages and other mail en route to Medal of Honor recipients from school classrooms and others, thanking them for their acts of courage. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • Wililam Swenson poses with some of the mail he received during a Medal of Honor luncheon March 22. Swenson earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan in 2009, helping fend off an enemy ambush and making multiple trips into a “kill zone” to recover fallen comrades. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • Janine Stange, also known as “The National Anthem Girl” (she’s performed the anthem in all 50 states), shows off the mail she collected from students and others to deliver to Medal of Honor recipients at a luncheon in advance of National Medal of Honor Day. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • A student’s letter to (and portrait of) Dakota Meyer, who earned the Medal of Honor as a Marine corporal for his heroism in the face of an enemy ambush in Afghanistan in 2009. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • Roger Donlon shows off some of the mail he received at a luncheon honoring Medal of Honor recipients March 22. Donlon, the first man to receive the Medal of Honor for service during the Vietnam War, also was the first-ever Special Forces soldier honored with the award. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • Donald (“Doc”) Ballard poses with Janine Stange, who delivered Ballard and about 30 other Medal of Honor recipients mail from students and others during a March 22 luncheon. During a 1968 ambush in Quang Tri Province, then-Navy corpsman Ballard’s efforts to save his Marines comrades included leaping on a grenade. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • A student’s letter to Ryan Pitts, whose actions defending an observation post while an Army sergeant in Afghanistan in 2008 despite near-fatal injuries earned him the Medal of Honor. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • Walter Marm, who earned his Medal of Honor for actions while an Army first lieutenant in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley in 1965, poses with his letters during a March 22 luncheon honoring Medal of Honor recipients. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • A student’s portrait of Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, who earned the Medal of Honor for his heroism on Iwo Jima in 1945. (Courtesy of Janine Stange)
  • Gary Lee Littrell, who earned his Medal of Honor for his actions as an Army sergeant first class in Vietnam while his battalion endured a four-day bombardment, poses Janine Stange and his letters (Courtesy of Janine Stange)