Medal of Honor Recipient to Speak at MECC

Colonel Wesley Fox, one of the longest-serving and most highly-decorated Marines in the history of the Marine Corps., will be the guest speaker during a public forum at Mountain Empire Community College on March 8.  The forum will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Goodloe Center of Phillips-Taylor Hall on the MECC campus.  In 1969, Fox received the Medal of Honor "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty".

The Medal of Honor is the highest award of valor in action against the enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.  Generally presented to the recipient by the President in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.  President Nixon presented Fox with his award at the White House in 1971.

As of December 2005, there are only 117 living recipients of the Medal of Honor.  There are 40 surviving recipients from World War II, 16 from the Korean War, and 61 from the Vietnam War. 

Colonel Fox was featured on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series American Valor.  He has also written a book about his military career entitled Marine Rifleman: Forty-three Years in the Corps.   Autographed copies will be available for purchase after the presentation on March 8. 

For more information about the public forum, contact MECC History Instructor Mike Strouth at (276) 523-2400, extension 234 or mstrouth@me.vccs.edu.

Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Wesley Fox will speak at Mountain Empire Community College on March 8 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Goodloe Center on campus.