Medal of Honor recipients attend swearing-in ceremony at Joint Base Andrews| 7Salutes

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews, a large crowd gathered for a small group of recruits who were ready to swear in and dedicate their lives to this country.

Some of the attendees in the crowd were very eager to offer words of encouragement, including veterans who just so happened to be awarded the Medal of Honor, like retired Army Captain Flo Groberg, who spoke to the recruits.

“You are making a decision that goes beyond anything about yourself. You are committing to a mission, you’re committed to brothers and sisters, you’re committing to our nation, you are committing to our flag,” said Froberg.

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Captain Groberg knows the risks of this commitment. In 2012, he tackled an Afghan suicide bomber and nearly died trying to save his army buddies.

He was one of six Medal of Honor recipients who took part in this swearing-in ceremony to inspire the next generation.

The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest award for military valor in combat. It’s been awarded to 3,528 individuals since 1861, and 61 recipients are still alive today.

Like retired Navy SEAL Britt Slabinski. He was awarded the medal for leading a bold rescue attempt on an Afghan mountainside in 2002, where he was outmanned and outgunned in dangerously cold conditions.

“The medal that we wear, and although our name is on the back of the medal, it doesn’t belong to the one individual. It is not a singular distinction; what the medal really is, is a reflection of the many,” said Command Master Chief Britt Slabinski (Ret.)

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Army Lt. Colonel Will Swenson and his team were caught in an ambush in 2009. Refusing to surrender, he valiantly led the fight against Afghan forces. He put his life on the line to recover his fallen comrades.

“The award really represents service to the nation. It represents what we’re willing aspirationally to do on behalf of that ideal,” said Lt. Col. Swenson.

These heroes flew in on the Flagship Valor, a specially wrapped American Airlines plane, which they later took to Arlington, Texas, for the grand opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum. It honors the lives and legacies of these extraordinary recipients.

But these men continue to stress that they are not heroes, and they are no different than these newly minted recruits.

“Everyone that had a hand in making you be the person you are today, some of their DNA is also in this medal,” said Slabinski.

Medal of Honor recipients reflect the best of us, and they emphasize that any one of these recruits, and any one of us, is capable of being heroic.

There are currently plans in the works to establish a Medal of Honor monument in D.C. It’s expected to be built near the Lincoln Memorial sometime in the next couple of years.