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Secretary Hegseth Attends the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony Honoring the Harlem Hellfighters, Sep. 3, 2025

September 3, 2025 · Department of War · 1:06:33

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth joined congressional leaders at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in the Capitol on September 3, 2025, honoring the 369th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, for their actions during World War I, according to the Department of War’s description. The department notes the medal is the highest honor Congress can bestow.

Why it matters

A Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for a World War I regiment is a formal act of historical recognition — the Secretary of Defense attending alongside congressional leaders is the department’s part in that record.

Sources: U.S. Department of War, “LIVE: SECDEF Hegseth Attends Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony,” uploaded September 4, 2025 (official upload, embedded above; the department’s description dates the ceremony September 3, 2025). No transcript is published with the upload; this page records the event as the department published it.