Yes, Beau Biden Was Awarded a Bronze Star, In Case You Were Wondering

Discussion of President Joe Biden's son Beau Biden receiving a Bronze Star was a big topic of discussion in 2020 during a presidential debate. Toward the end of the debate, Biden mentioned his late son, Beau, who served as an officer in the Iraq War and tragically died from a brain tumor in 2015. Biden said, “My son was in Iraq. He spent a year there. He got the Bronze Star. He got the Conspicuous Service Medal. He was not a loser. He was a patriot, and the people left behind there were heroes."

Beau's Bronze Star was brought up once again just after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. During a July 2024 Zoom call involving the President and dozens of Democratic lawmakers, Biden exchanged words with Rep. Jason Crow, saying, “Tell me something you’ve never done with your Bronze Star like my son,” according to Puck. This comment sparked anger, particularly from Meghan McCain. With Beau’s Bronze Star back in the spotlight, many are wondering: why did he receive it?

Beau was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and returned back to the U.S. in 2009 after spending a year overseas. It's true that Beau Biden was awarded with a Bronze Star, which recognizes someone's bravery in the field and / or basically that they've gone above and beyond their role, and it's only awarded to those who are directly in conflict against the enemy of the U.S. The Bronze Star is the fourth highest ranking in terms of awards, and has three categories: valor, merit, and achievement. It's unclear which Bronze Star Beau received.

Although we don't know exactly why Beau Biden was awarded with a Bronze Star, we do know that, while in Iraq, he must have shown heroism (such as saving the life of a soldier) or acted in a combat zone even if this wasn't his assigned role. (Those are just examples of what might earn a Bronze Star, FYI.)

After Biden passionately brought up the memory of his son (while also referencing Trump's quote about veterans being "losers" and "suckers," a move Biden made to point out Trump's disregard toward the American military), Trump responded, "Oh really? Are you talking about Hunter?"

After Biden clarified he was talking about Beau, Trump simply said, "I don't know Beau. I know Hunter." Many people felt that this was not only a sociopathic response, but a response that shows Trump doesn't care about U.S. soldiers and veterans.

"The lowest bar for decency ANY President should be able to meet is thanking someone for their fallen son's service, which should transcend party loyalty.  When trump disrespected Beau Biden, I hope Veterans all over America sat up and took notice. That was unforgivable," one person tweeted.

"One of the greatest pieces of evidence for Trump's sociopathy was his inability to resist attacking Hunter Biden when Joe Biden was talking about his other (dead) son Beau Biden. He is a truly awful human being. Not just a bad president, or a bad Republican. A bad person," tweeted columnist Mehdi Hasan.

"Donald Trump bringing up Hunter as Joe Biden discussed Beau Biden's service to this country is about as low as it gets," another person wrote.

For context, Hunter Biden's name was brought up a handful of times, due to his work in Ukraine, which some considered a conflict of interest. As it stands, it's unclear if Hunter, who had a seat on the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, had any effect on the Obama administration.