Dec. 16 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump has awarded 13 soldiers and Marines the newly established Mexican Border Defense Medal for their contributions to safeguarding the U.S. southern border.
The service members are the first to receive the commendation, created Aug. 13 in a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to honor those deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The commander-in-chief awarded the medals to the service members at the White House.
"On day one of my administration, I signed an executive order making it [the] core mission of the United States military to protect and defend the homeland. And today, we're here to honor our military men and women for their central role in the protection of our border," Trump said during the ceremony.
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