Trump Awards Medal of Honor to Iraq Vet Sergeant Major Thomas Payne

President Donald Trump will bestow the Medal of Honor on a U.S. soldier Friday for his role in a daring 2015 mission to rescue dozens of hostages who were set to be executed by Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Trump picked the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks to honor Sgt. Maj. Thomas “Patrick” Payne, who negotiated a barrage of enemy gunfire and repeatedly entered a burning building in a harrowing effort that saved nearly 70 hostages.

The White House, in a statement, highlighted Payne’s “small-town America” upbringing and his family’s commitment to public service. The soldier grew up in Batesburg-Leesville and Lugoff, South Carolina. His wife Alison is a nurse, his father a police officer, and his two brothers serve in the Army and Air Force.

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