Cleo Lee of Newport, AR, served this nation in uniform for three decades and three wars. At 92 years old, he is unable to be here tonight to accept his medallion. Accepting on his behalf is Mr. Dwight Henderson.

Mr. Lee entered the Army in 1942 at Camp Robinson and deployed to Italy, serving as a section chief of C Battery, 599th Field Artillery. He fought in three major battles and earned the Purple Heart medal for wounds suffered in action. Upon returning stateside, he served in the Army Reserve while earning a football scholarship as a walk-on at UAPB, where he earned a BS degree in agriculture and became the captain of the football team.

Called back to active duty for Korea, he served as First Sergeant, Headquarters Battery, 10th Field Artillery, and NCO in charge of the medical collection station for the 65th Infantry Regiment. It was during this period that his interest in the Medical Corps grew. From 1957 to 1977, he rose to the rank of Command Sergeant Major and served in numerous Medical Corps capacities with tours in Germany and again in Korea. During his service in Vietnam from 1968-69, he served with the 312th and 91st Evacuation Hospitals near Đà Nẵng, which endured numerous enemy artillery and rocket attacks. During one such attack, the intensive care unit was hit, and patients were evacuated. Missing was one nurse, whom Lee found mortally wounded after returning under fire to the ward.

He completed his distinguished career as Command Sergeant Major of Brooke Army Hospital in Fort Sam Houston, TX. Among his many decorations, he has earned the Legion of Merit and four Army Commendation Medals.