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HIGHEST DECORATION

Hegseth Declares Wounded Knee Massacre Troops Will Keep Medals of Honor

The soldiers slaughtered hundreds of unarmed Lakota Indians in 1890.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks during the Department of War 2025 National Prisoner of POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Pentagon on September 19, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has decided that soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for helping gun down hundreds of Lakota Indians at the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre will be allowed to keep the military’s highest decoration.

His predecessor Lloyd Austin had ordered a review last year in response to a 2022 congressional recommendation that the medals—which were awarded to 20 soldiers from the 7th Cavalry Regiment—be revisited.

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