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Two senators and an Army National Guard soldier who saved a life before losing his own headline the 2019 NGAUS individual award recipients approved by the association board of directors.
Several of the awards will be presented during the General Conference & Exhibition in Denver this week.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., are co-recipients of the association’s highest honor, the NGAUS Harry S. Truman Award.
Established by the association’s then-executive council in 1968, recipients have made sustained contributions of exceptional and far-reaching magnitude to the defense and security of the United States.
Previous recipients include presidents, members of Congress, cabinet-level secretaries and senior military officers.
“The Truman Award is reserved for a special collection of patriots, people dedicated to protecting American lives and values,” said retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, the NGAUS president. “Senator Hoeven and Senator Manchin are worthy of inclusion in this distinguished group.”
The board typically confers no more than one Truman award annually. This is only the sixth time there are co-recipients.
Hoeven and Manchin are not the only members of Congress on the association’s 2019 award list. Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., are recipients of the Charles Dick Medal of Merit. The award is reserved for elected officials — local, state or national.
The medal recognizes Charles Dick, the NGAUS president from 1903 to 1909, a major general in the Ohio National Guard, a member of the House of Representatives and later a senator. He was the driving force behind the Dick Acts of 1902 and 1903 that established the modern National Guard.
Two recently retired adjutants general, Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Orr of Iowa and Maj. Gen. Carol A. Timmons of Delaware, are co-recipients of the association’s second-highest award, the Montgomery Medal.
Named for the late Rep. G.V. Sonny Montgomery, known as Mr. National Guard during his three decades in Congress, the award recognizes outstanding support in the pursuit of NGAUS objectives.
In all, the award list includes 54 individuals from 24 states and territories.
One is posthumous. Staff Sgt. David W. Gallagher of Nevada is the recipient of a Valley Forge Cross for Heroism. He prevented a soldier from being thrown and likely killed from a tank during a rollover at the National Training Center on Fort Irwin, California. Gallagher died in the training accident, the other three members of the crew were injured.
Staff Sgt. Gallagher’s wife and kids will accept the award on his behalf on Sunday.
