President Obama bestows the Medal of Honor on retired Staff Sgt. Clinton ... more >Just a day after receiving the Medal of Honor by the president of the United States, former Army staff sergeant Clinton Romesha has declined an invite by the first lady to be her guest at the State of the Union address Tuesday night.
He said that after some soul searching he decided he’d rather spend the evening with friends from his former unit, his wife Tammy — with whom he celebrates a wedding anniversary Tuesday — and their families, CNN reports.
SEE RELATED: Former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha awarded Medal of Honor for bravery in Afghanistan
“As much as a great honor it would be to be a guest of the first lady, it’s also kind of hard to break away from the friends and the family and all the great guys here,” he told CNN.
“I really feel bad about not being able to go. But a lot of these guys I haven’t seen a really long time and I’d like to hang with them just a little bit more,” he added.
Mr. Romesha was awarded the prestigious medal Monday for “courageous leadership” during a 2009 firefight in Afghanistan, where eight Americans were killed.
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Jessica Chasmar is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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