Florida Reps. Michael Walt (R) and Stephanie Murphy (D) have joined Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R) in a bipartisan effort to authorize President Trump (R) to posthumously award Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe with a Medal of Honor.
The bill comes after the Secretary of Defense issued a letter to the three lawmakers extending his support to upgrade Cashe’s Silver Star to the Medal of Honor, noting that Congress needed to enact legislation that waived the five-year time limitation.
In statements provided after the bill was introduced, all three lawmakers expressed their thoughts on why this is an important move to honor the fallen soldier.
Murphy explained that “for well over a decade, there has been a painstaking effort by. SFC Cashe’s family, friends, and former comrades to have. His Silver Star upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which is clearly justified by the facts of this case.” Moreover, she stressed that “with the introduction of this bipartisan bill today, my colleagues and I are working together to remove the one remaining technical obstacle. That stands in the way of this incredible soldier receiving the recognition he earned.”
Noting that “Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe saved his men’s lives,” Texas rep. Crenshaw added that Cashe “risked his own life as he pulled them out of a flaming Bradley Fighting Vehicle and went back – again and again.”
Finally, Waltz commented that Cashe is deserving of such a recognition for enduring “extraordinary circumstances” wherein he sacrificed “his life. To save his fellow soldiers, true to the end to the soldier’s creed.”
