On March 22 in the Oval Office, President Bush presented six recipients with the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer, honoring outstanding heroic deeds performed above and beyond the call of duty.

Following this meeting, the Justice Department held a public ceremony where the recipients were honored by Deputy Attorney General James Comey and Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum.

Deborah J. Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), gave opening remarks and served as mistress of ceremonies at the Justice Department's Award Ceremony. The Attorney General has designated OJP's Office of the Assistant Attorney General to serve as the federal point of contact for the Medal of Valor initiative.

Standing in for Attorney General Ashcroft who was recuperating from surgery, Deputy Attorney General Comey gave remarks and then presented Medal of Valor Award Certificates to each recipient.

Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum read the synopses of acts of valor as each certificate was presented.