May 16, 1968 was a typical day in Vietnam.

Colonel Donald “Doc” Ballard was working as a corpsmen, or paramedic, in the Marine Corps. On his way back from treating two Marines for heat exhaustion, the North Vietnamese Army attacked.

A grenade landed nearby. Ballard jumped on top of it.

The grenade failed to detonate, and Ballard was able to dispose of it before continuing to direct aid toward the wounded. That day earned him the Medal of Honor from President Nixon.

“We just tried to take care of each other,” Ballard said. “We were the only individuals who could care for one another.”

This was just one of the stories told by Ballard and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Clinton Romesha during the Medal of Honor Convention’s Town Hall public forum in Cox Auditorium Friday morning. Ballard and Romesha, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, answered questions from faculty, student and alumni moderators to a crowd of around 200 people.

After opening remarks by Chancellor Cheek, a conversation with the recipients led by Nick Geidner, assistant professor of journalism, and UT alumnus Taylor Hathorn followed.

During the conversation, Ballard and Romesha discussed their experiences in Vietnam and Afghanistan, respectively, and commented on their different experiences as veterans.

When Ballard and other Vietnam veterans returned to the U.S., they were greeted with protests and violence as soon as they left the plane.

“There was a gaggle of people who were throwing rocks and bricks at us and spitting on us,” Ballard said. “An army guy turned and jumped up on the fence to scare them. He never got off the fence because they stabbed him right there.

“He made it all the way through Vietnam and died on the fence in San Francisco by another so-called American.”

This memory stood in stark contrast with Romesha’s experience, who said he departed and returned to cheering crowds. He credited that warm reception to the Vietnam generation, who “made sure that would never happen again.”

The conversation then transitioned to audience questions moderated by Paxton Elrod, junior in journalism and electronic media, and The Daily Beacon News Editor Hayley Brundige, sophomore in college scholars. This portion invited the recipients to comment on the state of veterans affairs in the U.S. and where improvements could be made.

“We have the highest suicide rate now in returning veterans that we’ve ever had,” Ballard said. “And that’s just not acceptable. We all know that the squeaky wheel gets greased, and we are not squeaky enough.

“We need to unite.”

That theme of unity wove through every topic Ballard and Romesha discussed. Although the two served in different wars, they both described unwavering love for their fellow comrades throughout their tours – especially on the hardest days, the days that would eventually earn them presidential recognition.

For Romesha, that day was Oct. 3, 2009.

300 Taliban attacked his base. Romesha was still asleep.

When he rose, he immediately knew this was no typical gunfight. For the next 13 hours, Romesha rallied with his fellow soldiers to lead a counterattack and help the wounded, despite sustaining shrapnel injuries in his shoulder, neck and arms.

“If it wasn’t for my battle buddies and our teamwork, I would not be here,” Romesha said. “This is their medal. I wear it for them, for the guys we lost that day.”

“For the guys that stood with me as we pushed forward.”