Pentagon MCS, Myer Exchange Team Up for Quick Turnaround on Medal of Honor Recipient’s Uniform

On Dec. 20, Pentagon Military Clothing Store Manager Karen Anderson was contacted by the Assistant Secretary of the Army’s office, requesting a fitting for Spec. 4 Kenneth J. David, who was receiving the Medal of Honor and needed an Army Green Service Uniform.

The request was for a fitting on New Year’s Eve, three days before David’s ceremony. With the New Year’s holiday coming, Anderson asked that the fitting be done on Dec. 30 to provide a little more cushion for alterations.

Although she was on leave, Anderson came in Dec. 30 to do the fitting, which involved working with the Fort Myer Exchange team in nearby Arlington, Virginia. Steve Kim, the tailor, worked alterations. Fort Belvoir/Myer Services Business Manager Veronica Reese made sure everything was done as quickly as possible.

David’s flight from Ohio was delayed 5½ hours. He was supposed to arrive at the store at 2 p.m. but couldn’t get there until after his plane landed in D.C. after 5. Anderson checked with Fort Myer Shift Manager David Endicott to keep the facility open after hours, and with Kim and Reese to see whether they were able to stay after the 6 p.m. closing time. They quickly said yes. David and his escorts made it to the store at 6:15.

Pentagon Military Clothing Store Manager Karen Anderson with Medal of Honor recipient Spec. 4 Kenneth David. Anderson worked with Fort Myer Exchange team members to fit David with a uniform for his ceremony.

David was honored for actions during the Vietnam War. On May 7, 1970, at the time a private 1^st class serving as a radio-telephone operator with Company D, 1^st Battalion, 506^th Infantry, 101^st Airborne Division, his company came under intense enemy attack. The company’s platoon leader was mortally wounded.

“Without hesitation, Private First Class David handed his radio to his Platoon Sergeant and moved forward to the defensive perimeter, unleashing a barrage of automatic weapons fire on the enemy,” according to the Medal of Honor website. “Each time the enemy attempted to concentrate its fire on the wounded inside the perimeter, Private First Class David would jump from his position and yell to draw the enemy fire away from his injured comrades and back to himself.

“Despite being wounded by an exploding satchel charge and running low on ammunition, David continued to fight, drawing fire away from incoming medevac helicopters, allowing other wounded to be safely evacuated. He also dragged a wounded Solider to safety, then continued to fight until the enemy fled, after which he was also evacuated. (You can read his full story here.)

At the time, David was 20 years old. He left the Army as a Spec 4. When the request for the fitting came in, he had not worn a uniform in a long time.

Anderson, who has been with the Exchange for 35 years, knew there would be issues with the fitting before he arrived. She’d been sent David’s measurements in advance—but they were done by Men’s Wearhouse, and an Army uniform is measured different from a civilian suit.

Anderson pre-pulled pants and coats in various sizes, then had David try them on to find the best fit. Once that was determined, Reese asked Kim how quickly he could make any alterations.

“He had to hem the pants, he had to sew things on the jacket,” Anderson said. “And he said, ‘Miss Karen, I can have it done for by noon tomorrow.’”

On Dec. 31, Anderson resumed her leave. The uniform was ready before noon. Reese turned it over to David’s escort at noon Dec. 31. “It was a less than 24-hour turnaround,” Anderson said.

Pentagon Military Clothing Store Manager Karen Anderson with Fort Myer team members who assisted during the fitting of Medal of Honor recipient Spec. 4 Kenneth David. From left: Tailor Steve Kim; Services Business Manager Veronica Reese; Karen Anderson; shift manager David Endicott.

On New Year’s Day, Anderson heard from Samantha Youngblood,  Deputy Chief, Strategic Initiatives Group Operations, Assistant Secretary of the Army. “Karen, I know you’re on vacation,” she said. “But you need to read your email.”

“I said, ‘You got another uniform to be done?’,” Anderson said with a laugh.

It wasn’t a request for another uniform—it was an invitation to the Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House.

“They sent me information about where everyone was meeting … and buses would be taking us to the White House and back,” Anderson said. “It was a very nice surprise. I’ve done maybe 10 of these in my career, and this was the first time I was invited to the ceremony.”

On her suit jacket, Anderson wore a pin with the Exchange brand. While she was at the hotel waiting for security, she noticed two men staring at her. “I looked up and finally said, ‘Hi,’ and one of them said, ‘I know we’re staring. Can we ask you a question?’ I said, ‘Sure,’ and they said, ‘Do you work for the Exchange?’ and I said, ‘I do.’”

The men, who were retired Soldiers, wanted to know whether they could buy a uniform like David’s. She told them they could, and when they said they didn’t have access to the Pentagon, she told them about the Fort Myer and Fort Belvoir Military Clothing stores. She also told them about the MILITARY STAR card, saying that if they didn’t have one, they could apply, and use the card in the main Exchanges as well as the Military Clothing stores.

Pentagon Military Clothing Store Manager Karen Anderson with Gen. Randy George, chief of staff of the Army, at Spec. 4 Kenneth David’s Medal of Honor ceremony. George is one of Anderson’s regular customers.

Among the attendees at the ceremony were Gen. Randy George, chief of staff of the Army; Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer; and retired Gen. Mark Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Oct. 1, 2019, until his retirement Sept. 29, 2023.

Anderson knows all of them—they’re among her regular customers.

“SMA Weimer is in the building,” she said. “He loves to come down to the store and see us and do his own shopping. Gen. George is also a regular. It was great to see Gen. Milley, who has been one of my customers since he was Army chief of staff. I saw him come in to the ceremony, but when we are at the reception, I kind of had my back turned to him. He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘I don’t get a hug, a hello or anything?’ I said, ‘Sure you do!’”

Anderson added that Weimer, an Exchange board member, asked for the names of everyone who helped her take care of David.

“He said he’d never seen any type of turnaround like that in his career with no complaints,” she said. “I said, ‘No sir, we wouldn’t complain. That’s not what we do. We’re family serving family. That’s the way I treat my customers. They come in, they’re part of the family. We treat everyone the same, whether they’re a private or a four-star general.”

A small kicker to all of this: Dec. 31 happened to be Anderson’s 60^th birthday.

“I told the people who invited me to the ceremony, ‘Y’all just gave me a wonderful birthday present’,” she said. “The ceremony was icing on the cake for my birthday week.”

Pentagon Military Clothing Store Manager Karen Anderson with Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer at Spec. 4 Kenneth David’s Medal of Honor ceremony. Weimer, an Exchange board member, is a regular customer at the Pentagon MCS.