Sergeant Pitts, Medal of Honor, Doctor of Humane Letters

On Saturday, for the first time in 61 years, I attended a commencement exercise at the University of New Hampshire. I wanted to hear the speaker, Ryan Pitts, who at 29 was adding an L.H.D. (hon) to his other accomplishments, which include the Medal of Honor, America's highest award for valor. (And even more than that, I wanted to know how 2,500 joyous and probably hung-over graduates would greet him. I was immensely pleased that they cheered him, not once but four times.)

I don't know if you can get through the paywall, but my op-ed on the occasion is in the Wall Street Journal this morning. Even better, you can go to YouTube and watch the commencement speech for yourself.