In 1890, the U.S. Army herded hundreds of Lakota Sioux Americans into a clearing near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, ordered them to hand over their weapons, and then opened fire, killing as many as 300 people , around half of them women and children.

The 20 soldiers who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor – the highest military honor – for their role in the massacre will keep that award, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sept. 25.

"We salute their memory, we honor their service, and we will never forget what they did," Hegseth said in a video statement posted to X.

The Defense Department announced a review of those 20 medals in July of 2024, the results of which were never publicly released. The 5-expert panel was tasked with putting together a recommendation

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