I'll always have the memories of guys I lost in Vietnam. And I've lost friends since the war, but I'll always have the memories. The riches are great, but riches aren't everything, because when you go you can only take your memories and your word and your honor to the grave with you.

Medal of Honor belongs to every man and woman who gives us the freedom today to be able to hold our flag and hold our heads up high and say we have the greatest country in the world. And that goes with the men and women in the past, and the men and women of today, and the men and women of the future. As long as Mike Thornton lives, that medal will always stand for all them. Not for me. Not for what I've done, but for what I was trained to do and what they have been trained to do to give us our freedom today.

I'll always have the memories of guys I lost in Vietnam. And I've lost friends since the war, but I'll always have the memories. The riches are great, but riches aren't everything, because when you go you can only take your memories and your word and your honor to the grave with you.

War stinks! There's nothing good about it. But you know the whole thing, it's you or them.

This Medal of Honor does not belong to me. This medal belongs to every man and woman who has ever served their country. We were doing what we were trained to do. We were doing our job.

I was never afraid to step out and make a decision. It might have been the wrong decision. I'm not afraid to tell somebody if I think they're wrong, as long as I know that I'm right. I would always try to make sure that I was right and then I'd voice my opinion.

Just be happy with life itself, period. I mean, I live every day to the fullest, you know. Yeah, set your goals out there but make them reachable, because, you know, every day every situation changes, and that's in everyday life. That's not just in the war, you know.