WEBVTT

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Hey team . I'm Lieutenant General Scott

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Spellman , 55th chief of Engineers and

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commanding general of the US Army Corps

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of Engineers . And with me today is

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command Serge Major Doug Gaelic , the

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15th command , sergeant major of the US

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Army Corps of Engineers . And we are

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coming to you today from Stony Point ,

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New York along the banks of the Hudson

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river . It was at this location in July

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of 1779 . That one of the heroes of our

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regiment , Lieutenant Colonel Francois

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de Fleury demonstrated exceptional

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leadership under fire for his actions .

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That day , Lieutenant Colonel Francois

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de Fleury was later recognized by the

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Continental Congress who struck a medal

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in his honor . The de Fleury medal was

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named in honor of Francois , Louis ,

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Tes de de Fleury , a French military

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engineer serving in the Continental

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Army . In 1777 De Fleury volunteered to

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serve with the American army in our

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fight for independence from Great

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Britain . The Continental Congress

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appointed De Fleury a captain of

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engineers and quickly proven himself at

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the battles of Fort Mifflin and

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Brandywine . He was promoted to

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Lieutenant Colonel . On June 1st 1779

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the British captured Stony Point New

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York , on the western side of the

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Hudson river in Verp Planks Point

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directly across the river to the east ,

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possession of the two strategic forts

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brought a key part of the river under

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enemy control and also threatened the

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American's position at West Point ,

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located less than 15 miles upriver .

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After reinforcing Stony Point , the

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British Commander regarded it as a

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little Gibraltar , recognizing the

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danger . General Washington planned a

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daring surprise assault on the night of

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July 1516 , he ordered a recently

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formed light infantry corps led by

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Brigadier General Mad Anthony Wayne to

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attack Stony Point . The force

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consisted of four battalions , Colonel

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Christian Old and Mark Feger led the

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first battalion with de Fleury as

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second in command on July 15th . The

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Corps except for a small diversionary

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force , unloaded weapons and turned in

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their ammunition . Secrecy was so tight .

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The troops did not know they were going

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to attempt to recapture Stony Point for

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such a risky assault , surprise was

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vital and the attack was to take place

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in total darkness . Fixed bayonets and

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hand to hand combat were the orders of

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the day . The Continentals launched a

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two pronged attack on the fortress de

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Fleury led the assault of the rocky

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southern slope first over the wall .

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The flurry was followed by a wave of

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American bayonets rushing to the

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flagpole de Fleury cut the British

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colors from their staff just after

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midnight . The 29 year old De Fleury

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single handedly struck the colors of

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the British 17th Regiment of Foot by 2

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a.m. General Wayne triumphantly wrote

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to Washington saying the fort and

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garrison are ours . Our officers and

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men behave like men who are determined

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to be free . So it was that on

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October 1st 1779 Delore stood

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before the Continental Congress to be

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praised for his valor at stony point

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for his intrepid behavior . The

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Continental Congress ordered that a

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medal be struck in his honor . On the

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adverse of the medal is the Latin

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inscription translated as a memorial

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and reward for courage and boldness on

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the reverse . Again , in Latin

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fortifications , marshes , enemies

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overcome beneath the fort is the legend

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stony point carried by storm July 15th ,

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1779 . Today ,

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the hallmarks of the army engineer

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regiment stand on twin pillars ,

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supporting combat operations and

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building vital infrastructure in the

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United States . The regiment currently

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consists of two elements . The 91,000

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army engineer soldiers serving in

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active duty reserve and National Guard

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troop units and the 37,000 largely

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civilian members of the US army Corps

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of under the leadership of the chief of

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engineers . This combined engineer team

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provides engineering expertise to the

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army and responds to the nation's

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toughest challenges . In 1989 the

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engineer regiment adopted the defore

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medal as a symbol to recognize today's

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engineer achievements because of the

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shared values demonstrated by the man

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for whom it was struck . The engineer

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regiment makes four award levels of the

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defoe metal steel , bronze ,

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silver and gold , the gold medal ,

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the United States army Chief of

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Engineers is the only person authorized

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to award the gold medal each year to an

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individual whose contributions to the

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US Army Corps of Engineers and the army

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Engineer regiment exemplify boldness ,

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courage and commitment to a strong

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national defense . Starting in 2011 , 2

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gold medals are awarded annually , one

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to an individual outside the regiment

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and of national prominence and one to

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an individual inside the regiment . The

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credit for today's Delery award program

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goes to Lieutenant general retired

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Daniel R . Schroeder who in 1989 was

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the commanding general of Fort

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Underwood and the US Army Engineer

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school commandant . He wanted an award

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that would tie together the history of

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contributions of the engineer regiment ,

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the US Army Corps of Engineers and the

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birth of our great nation . Today , the

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US Army Engineer Association is the

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arbiter of the De Fleury Metal program .

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The first gold de Fleury Metal

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recipient was honorable John O Marsh Jr ,

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the Secretary of the Army in 1989 .

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Because values have special meaning to

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our engineer , soldiers , civilians and

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those who support them . It is only

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fitting that our regiment's premier

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award should represent an engineer who

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fought with b during the birth of our

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great nation and those values were on

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full display more than 240 years ago .

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Right here on Stony Point in Lieutenant

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Colonel Francois de Fleury .

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Congratulations to all of you who are

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receiving this medal named in his honor .

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Essays Building Strong . Be all you can

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be .