,v #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cage ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #a1 #bjbe,mr4 ,panetta introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,president to award the ,medal of ,honor to ,thomas ,h4 ,griffin for acts of valor as a member of the ,army during the ,vietnam ,war4 #a4 ,acts of valor described ,congress recognizes the following acts of valor by ,thomas ,helmut ,griffin3 7#a7 ,thomas ,helmut ,griffin distinguished himself by valorous actions against overwhelming odds while serving as a captain in the ,army1 ,senior ,advisor1 #d_/e ,infantry ,battalion1 #bnd ,infantry ,division1 ,army of the ,republic of ,vietnam4 7#b7 ,from ,march #a1 #aifi through ,march #c1 #aifi1 during the ,vietnam ,war1 such battalion was ordered to forestall an imminent attack on ,quang ,ngai ,city threatened by units of the ,north ,vietnamese ,army 7hereinafter1 ,,nva74 ,the #d_/e ,battalion engaged unabatedly with an entrenched ,,nva regiment over the course of three days4 ,captain ,griffin 7hereinafter1 ,,cpt ,griffin7 risked his life and disregarded his personal safety1 all above and beyond his duty1 on some #bj occasions1 to lead his battalion in the fight as well as direct gunships1 air1 and artillery strikes on the enemy positions4 7#c7 ,during the initial phase of battle1 ,,cpt ,griffin made numerous trips across #ej meters of open ground1 while under heavy automatic weapon1 rocket1 and small arms fire1 to advise on the conduct of the battle and better direct strikes against enemy forces4 ,fearing slaughter of his soldiers1 ,,cpt ,griffin1 with one of his counterparts from the ,army of the ,republic of ,vietnam 7hereinafter1 ,,arvn71 charged directly into heavy enemy fire and assaulted a machine gun bunker4 ,,cpt ,griffin continued these runs1 despite the enemy shooting the heels off ,,cpt ,griffin's boots4 7#d7 ,after taking out the ,,nva bunker1 ,,cpt ,griffin brandished the captured machine gun and rocket launcher to exhort his battalion out of the kill zone and continue the assault into the enemy entrenchments while remaining exposed to heavy fire4 ,,cpt ,griffin's raw and intense close combat leadership galvanized his battalion to move out of the kill zone and continue their mission4 7#e7 ,,cpt ,griffin's ,,arvn counterpart was struck by close fire1 and ,,cpt ,griffin unhesitatingly carried the wounded commander to safety while shielding him with his own body against rocket and artillery fire4 ,,cpt ,griffin proceeded to carry four more wounded soldiers to safety while protecting them with his own body1 returning each time against devastating enemy fire4 ,while leading the final attack1 ,,cpt ,griffin was hit three times in the chest by enemy small arms fire1 yet continued to lead at the forefront of his battalion until the mission was completed4 ,under ,,cpt ,griffin's command and leadership1 the #d_/e ,battalion continued to reduce the enemy regiment's fighting capacity4 7#f7 ,,cpt ,griffin's personal leadership in intense close combat resulted in a major win for his battalion against overwhelming odds1 killing #ic enemy soldiers and saving the lives of over #cjj allied soldiers by galvanizing and leading them out of the kill zone4 7#g7 ,,cpt ,griffin's selfless devotion to duty1 his extraordinary heroism1 conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity1 and numerous risks of his life above and beyond the call of duty1 are all in keeping with the highest traditions of the ,army1 and reflect great credit on himself1 the ,armed ,forces1 and the ,united ,states4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following with regards to the original decision to award a ,silver ,star to ,thomas ,helmut ,griffin3 7#a7 ,when awarding him the ,silver ,star1 ,,cpt ,griffin's chain of command was unaware of the full extent of his valorous actions and the numerous risks he took for his soldiers1 all above and beyond the call of duty4 7#b7 ,congress notes that although ,,cpt ,griffin was struck three times by enemy fire1 and at one point was completely surrounded by the enemy1 he continued to fight and lead his battalion against devastating and overwhelming enemy fire4 7#c7 ,congress notes that ,,cpt ,griffin's ,commanding ,officer1 ,colonel ,dean ,e4 ,hutter 7ret471 sent a letter to the ,department of the ,army dated ,november #f1 #bjac1 in which he accounts for the revelation of additional1 substantive and material evidence not known at the time of the decision to award the ,silver ,star1 and in which he describes as compelling the justice of upgrading ,,cpt ,griffin's sustained and varied acts of combat valor to their rightful level of recognition1 the ,medal of ,honor4 7#d7 ,congress further notes that ,colonel ,hutter issued a letter to former ,united ,states ,representative ,sam ,farr on ,september #ae1 #bjaa1 noting his support for an upgrade from a ,silver ,star to a ,medal of ,honor1 having recognized ,,cpt ,griffin's acts of valor as1 numerous1 selfless demonstrations of personal risk in pressing a close-combat attack against a well-entrenched element of a battalion-size enemy formation4 #c4 ,authorization of award of medal of honor to ,thomas ,helmut ,griffin for acts of valor as a member of the ,army during the ,vietnam ,war 7a7 ,authorization ,notwithstanding the time limitations specified in section #gbgd of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of certain medals to persons who served in the ,armed ,forces1 the ,president is authorized to award the ,medal of ,honor1 under section #gbga of such title1 to ,thomas ,helmut ,griffin for the acts of valor described in subsection 7b74 7b7 ,acts of valor described ,the acts of valor described in this subsection are the actions of ,thomas ,h4 ,griffin during the period of ,march #a through ,march #c1 #aifi1 while serving as a captain in the ,army during the ,vietnam ,war1 for which he was previously awarded the ,silver ,star4