Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21) will attend today's White House ceremony for 24 Army veterans being awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama. Today's awards are the result of a review initiated by Congress in 2002 to ensure that extraordinarily heroic soldiers of Jewish and Hispanic origin were not denied the Medal of Honor due to prejudice. Last fall, Congressman Deutch passed an amended version of the National Defense Authorization Act to ensure that all soldiers discovered during the review to deserve the Medal of Honor receive their awards. 

Those being awarded the Medal of Honor today include Private First Class Leonard Kravitz, the childhood friend of South Florida resident Mitch Libman, who will also be present at today's ceremony. For decades, Mitch Libman worked tirelessly to find out why PFC Kravitz, who gave his life during the Korean War in an extraordinary act of heroism, never received the Medal of Honor he was recommended for. His advocacy eventually led to the inclusion of the comprehensive review initiated in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2002. PFC Kravitz, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, sacrificed himself for his platoon when he took over a machine gun, fired into an ambush of Communist forces, and stayed behind so that his fellow soldiers could withdraw safely. Kravitz is also the uncle and namesake of rock musician and actor Lenny Kravitz.

President Obama will award Private First Class Leonard Kravitz and the 23 other soldiers with the MEdal of Honor today at 3:30 pm in the East Room of the White House. For more details, please see the White House schedule.