Jim McCloughan was 23 years old, an Army medic with shrapnel in his body, when he decided he was not leaving. For two days in 1969, under heavy enemy fire in Vietnam, he refused to be evacuated and kept running back into the kill zone to pull wounded soldiers out. By the time it was over, 10 American soldiers and one Vietnamese man were alive because of him. Decades later, after a long career as a high school teacher and coach in South Haven, Michigan, he summed it up this way: “I wasn’t counting, I was just doing what I had to do.”
This week, McCloughan helped bring the people who understand that sentence better than anyone to his home state. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s national convention came to Detroit, and for four days the city that once built the weapons that won World War II hosted the men who embody what those weapons were meant to protect.
Why Detroit, and Why It Matters
The convention is the largest annual gathering of living Medal of Honor recipients in the country, and this year’s event, held Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, was a first for Michigan. According to The War Memorial in Grosse Pointe, it is also the first Medal of Honor convention in the Midwest since 2009, and it coincides with the country’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
Detroit’s pitch was its history. Valde Garcia, deputy chair of the planning committee, told The War Memorial that when organizers made their case, “I told them that Michigan has a history of supporting the military and was the Arsenal of Democracy.” That nickname is not marketing. During World War II, Detroit’s auto plants converted to turn out tanks, aircraft and engines on a scale that helped decide the war.
The decision was announced on Nov. 2, 2025, in front of a packed Michigan Stadium during the Wolverines’ game against Purdue. Former Army Capt. William Swenson, who received the Medal of Honor for rescuing wounded and missing soldiers in Afghanistan, made the announcement. As CBS Detroit reported, Swenson said that recognizing sacrifice and the symbolism of veteran service “is what gives our country meaning.”
What the Week Was Built Around
A Medal of Honor convention is not a reunion with speeches and a buffet. The recipients spend much of their time on outreach. According to DBusiness, the Detroit host committee planned for recipients to meet with Detroit students, honor local veterans, dedicate a monument at Spirit of Detroit Plaza and close the week with the Patriot Awards Gala, which recognizes business and national leaders who reflect the values the medal stands for.
The money did not come from the government. Planning committee chair Russell Schomberger and the host committee raised it from companies, foundations and civic leaders. “Your support honors America’s heroes and ensures their legacy of courage, service, and sacrifice inspires generations to come,” Schomberger said in the fundraising appeal.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society scheduled the gala for Saturday, Oct. 3, at the MotorCity Casino Hotel. Its honorees included Michigan musician Kid Rock, who received the Bob Hope Award for Entertainment for more than 10 major overseas trips to entertain troops and for his foundation’s support of veterans, service members and first responders. Former Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist was named for the Distinguished Citizen Award after more than 30 years in military and national security service. Longtime Detroit broadcaster Mort Crim was selected for the John R. “Tex” McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism.
McCloughan, speaking for the recipients, put it warmly: “The Medal of Honor Recipients are excited to be in the beautiful city of Detroit, the Arsenal of Democracy.”
Jim McCloughan: The Medic Who Kept Going Back
McCloughan, now 79 and living in Saugatuck, served as the convention’s Medal of Honor liaison and is one of Michigan’s living recipients, according to The War Memorial. His story is the kind that makes people lean forward.
In 1969, as a private first class and combat medic, he went into the kill zone roughly six times while badly wounded by rocket-propelled grenade shrapnel, according to CBS Detroit. He refused evacuation for two days so he could keep treating the wounded. “I’m glad that 10 of them got to lead a full life because of Doc McCloughan,” he later said.
Recognition took nearly five decades. Congress passed the measure that allowed the award, and on July 31, 2017, President Donald Trump placed the medal around his neck in the East Room of the White House. McCloughan was the first person to receive the Medal of Honor from Trump. In between combat and that ceremony, he spent his career shaping teenagers as a teacher and coach. If you are looking for a single picture of what this convention is about, that is it: a man who saved lives at 23 and then spent a lifetime investing in kids.
Terry Richardson: Michigan’s Newest Recipient
Michigan’s other headline name earned his medal on Sept. 14, 1968, but only received it this year. Terry P. Richardson grew up in Cass City, the oldest of 13 children, working on the family’s 80-acre farm and at his father’s gas station. He was drafted in May 1967 and deployed to Vietnam with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment.
Near Loc Ninh, his platoon was pinned down by North Vietnamese forces. According to Michigan Public, Richardson pulled three wounded soldiers to safety under heavy machine gun fire, then moved to a hilltop to direct airstrikes. A sniper shot him in the leg. He stayed on the radio anyway, directing air support for seven more hours until the enemy pulled back. He is credited with saving 85 American lives.
Richardson came home, and in 1978 he joined the Michigan National Guard, eventually serving as command sergeant major at Camp Grayling until he retired in 2008. On March 2, 2026, President Trump awarded him the Medal of Honor at the White House alongside two posthumous recipients. When a room full of veterans gave him a standing ovation at the Disabled American Veterans state convention this summer, Richardson told UpNorthLive that the honor belongs to his platoon and the company he served with.
That humility is not an act. It is the most consistent trait among recipients, and it is the reason their visits with students land the way they do.
The Two Men Honored Beside Him
The March ceremony also recognized two soldiers who did not live to receive the medal, and their stories show the full range of what the award honors.
Master Sgt. Roderick W. Edmonds was the ranking noncommissioned officer in a German prisoner of war camp on Jan. 26, 1945. When German guards tried to separate roughly 200 Jewish American prisoners, Edmonds ordered all 1,200 American troops to fall out for roll call together, refusing to single anyone out. His son, Chris, spent years interviewing surviving veterans to secure the recognition.
Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis was 24 when insurgents attacked Forward Operating Base Ghazni in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013. He placed himself between a wounded Polish Army officer and an attacker wearing a suicide vest, and he was killed when it detonated. That officer, Lt. Karol Cierpica, attended the White House ceremony. He named his son Michael.
A Medal Rarer Than You Think
The Medal of Honor dates to the Civil War, created for the Navy in 1861 and the Army in 1862. It is awarded by the president, in the name of Congress, to service members who distinguish themselves “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.” Fewer than 3,600 have ever been awarded.
The number of living recipients shifts as new medals are awarded and older heroes pass on. Ahead of the Detroit convention, The War Memorial counted 65. Every one of them is a direct link to a moment when a single person chose others over himself.
What We Can Take From It
It is easy to treat Medal of Honor recipients as statues. They would be the first to tell you they are not. They are teachers, farmers’ sons, Guardsmen and medics who did something extraordinary on one terrible day and then went home to ordinary lives. The point of gathering them in a city like Detroit is to let a new generation see that courage comes from regular people.
At Stucci Media we try to keep those stories in front of you, whether it is a Korean War soldier finally coming home after 76 years, a veteran who found a new mission at the Wheelchair Games, or the policy fights over how this country cares for those who served. The Medal of Honor convention ties all of those threads together. Honor the sacrifice. Tell the story. Pass it on.
If you know a young person who needs a hero, skip the movie theater this month. Look up Terry Richardson or Jim McCloughan, read what they did, and talk about it at the dinner table. That is how legacies are built.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was the 2026 Medal of Honor convention?
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society held its national convention in Detroit from Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2026. It was the first convention ever hosted in Michigan.
How many living Medal of Honor recipients are there?
The number changes over time. Ahead of the Detroit convention, The War Memorial counted 65 living recipients. Fewer than 3,600 medals have been awarded since the Civil War.
Who is Terry Richardson?
Terry P. Richardson is a Vietnam veteran from Cass City, Michigan, who received the Medal of Honor on March 2, 2026, for actions near Loc Ninh on Sept. 14, 1968. He is credited with saving 85 soldiers.
Who received awards at the 2026 Patriot Awards Gala?
Honorees announced by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society included Kid Rock, former Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist and Detroit broadcaster Mort Crim.
Was the convention paid for with tax dollars?
No. Organizers said the Detroit event received no government funding and relied on sponsorships and charitable contributions from companies, foundations and civic leaders.
Rocci J. Stucci is the founder and CEO of Stucci Media and host of The Rocci Stucci Show.
