Veteran Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Britt Slabinski shared with Newsmax's "Saturday Report" what receiving the award meant to him.
Speaking with host Rita Cosby, Slabinski recollected that May 24, 2018, the day he received the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump, "was such a solemn day."
"A lot of the recipients have said you're really reliving some of the worst days of your life. It was really important for me that day to have as many of my teammates in the audience as possible, as many of the Gold Star family members there that day, because it was really about all of us. I truly do feel that this is about what we all do together."
Slabinski received the award for leading a rescue mission on March 4, 2002, to save his teammate, Neil Roberts, who had fallen from a helicopter onto a mountaintop in Afghanistan known as Takur Ghar. A battle to rescue Roberts lasted 14 hours.
"You know, as citizens, sometimes you're faced with a friction point, an impossible situation that's put in front of you, and you wish that could be put on someone else — someone else had to make that decision," he said.
"But that's just a dream. And you have to face the reality the situation's yours to deal with, and you can only do that through the strength of your team that is around you. And ... that day was just so important to share that moment with them, because this is something that that we all went through."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.