(WASHINGTON) — Four Army veterans are being recognized with the Medal of Honor for their “acts of gallantry and intrepidity” during the Vietnam War.

President Joe Biden will present Specialist 5 Dwight W. Birdwell, Major John J. Duffy and Specialist 5 Dennis M. Fujii with the nation’s highest military honor at a White House ceremony on Tuesday morning. Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro will receive the award posthumously.

The awards come after U.S. Army reviews that concluded the decorated veterans’ previous honors should be elevated to the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s most prestigious award for bravery and heroism.

Birdwell, who is also a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, will become the first Native American honored for action in Vietnam and the first to receive the award for action in any conflict since 1973.

“It’s a point of great pride for the Cherokee people and I think all native people to see a Native American get this honor,” Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told ABC News. “I think about the fact that Dwight Birdwell represents thousands of Native Americans who have served this country in military service since the 1970s and even before at such high numbers, disproportionately high numbers. I think it’s fitting and high time that someone get the Medal of Honor who’s a Native American.”

On Jan. 31, 1968, Birdwell moved directly into the line of fire, getting wounded in the process, to retrieve ammunition for his fellow soldiers.

Birdwell told ABC News his time in the Army gave him “a sense of discipline, enhanced respect for life, more respect for nature, and respect for people beyond the boundaries of this country.”

“Someone asked me if I feel like a hero. I don’t feel like I am, but I served with plenty, especially that day, and [I’m] honored to have served with them,” Birdwell said. “I’m really overwhelmed by the whole process. But again, proud for the Cherokee people, proud for the unit I served with, and personally very satisfied that it came about.”

In a 1972 battle for Fire Support Base Charlie, Duffy directed defense and facilitated the air evacuation of his team while under attack. He was the last to board an aiding helicopter.

“It’s a great honor. Each of those awards are appreciated, and recognizing your endeavors, your duty that you’ve done, and the pride you have in your uniform that you’ve earned in combat,” he said of his nomination. “And the same disciplines that applied in battle applied in life, whether it’s being a broker or any other occupation, journalist, etc., you’re focused, you’re trying to tell a story and you’re trying to do your job. So you learn discipline in the military — not just the Army but all the military — that serves you forever throughout life.”

After retiring from the Army, Duffy went on to work in publishing and finance before focusing on poetry. The Pulitzer Prize nominee’s works are engraved on two monuments.

In February 1971, Fujii served as crew chief of a helicopter ambulance. He is being honored for his role in several evacuations and tireless treatment of wounded Vietnamese military along the allied perimeter, even after a series of failed attempts to rescue him following a helicopter crash. Throughout this time, he directed strikes and defense until his eventual rescue.

On Dec. 1, 1966, Kaneshiro defended his squad in the trenches from enemy fire using six grenades and a rifle, allowing for their successful extrication.

Naomi Viloria and John Kaneshiro were young children when their father was killed in action on March 6, 1967. Viloria was 8 years old and her brother, who went on to enlist in the Army after high school, was only 4 months old.

“I didn’t know him. So you know, I didn’t have that father figure, but just reading the actions that he did in newspaper articles of the period, that told me he was a man of character,” he said. “So, you know, you put that together and say, ‘Wow, you know, I hope I can be like him.'”

Viloria told ABC News their family has worked for decades to have his actions reviewed and nearly gave up.

“But then finally, this year, right after my mother passed away, we were notified that his combat record was being under review and he could possibly be awarded the Medal of Honor, and I finally got the call from President Biden,” she said, adding that the family was “overjoyed” to hear the news.

“I think for us now, our family, it’s an honor that America has suggested we recognize his selflessness, his courageousness in the face of adversity,” John Kaneshiro said. “We’re happy that he was recognized, finally.”

ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Abby Cruz contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic Governors Association hopes to turn anger at the overturning of Roe v. Wade into big-dollar fundraising for critical races where governors will hold sway over abortion access at the state level.

The DGA on Tuesday launched the “Protect Reproductive Rights Fund” to support gubernatorial races in states where access to abortion is at risk.

The DGA said it aims to raise $10 million for the new fund. The targeted states where the money will be directed include Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

The fund will be chaired by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who told ABC News that once the Supreme Court’s five-justice majority opinion reversing Roe was leaked in May, she and some of her fellow Democratic governors knew that action had to be taken to protect abortion rights.

“We can look to Washington for leadership, that’s important, but also the power does rest with the states,” Hochul said. “And we’ve known all along that we are the ones who are the firewall between what the Supreme Court does and doing what we can to protect the rights of our women.”

“I want to take ownership of this [fund] and support other Democratic candidates, whether they’re incumbent governors or they’re challengers, because where these critical decisions will be made is in the statehouses,” Hochul told ABC.

In her own state, she has taken several actions to protect and expand access to abortion since the Supreme Court found there was no constitutional guarantee to accessing it. Those steps included allocating $35 million to providers, not only to accommodate women in New York seeking an abortion but also to prepare for the influx of women who may travel to the state from places where it is or will be widely banned.

Others governors, however, are in legal battles trying to ensure abortion access over the objections of abortion opponents there.

Last week, Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Ton Evers filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s 19th-century pre-Roe abortion ban, which criminalizes abortion and only allows an exception to save the mother’s life. Evers’ lawsuit argues that the ban is unenforceable because it conflicts with other abortion laws that have since been passed.

Due to confusion over whether the ban is enforceable — with Evers’ suit pending — abortion providers are suspending services in the state.

In the interim, Evers and his administration are taking steps to ensuring state residents have access to clinics in neighboring states such as Illinois and Minnesota.

“The unfortunate thing is that the most vulnerable women don’t have probably [the] most opportunities to jump in a car and go to Illinois or Minnesota,” Evers told ABC News.

In April, Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is up for reelection this year, filed a lawsuit in support of abortion rights under the state’s constitution.

In Pennsylvania, the legality of abortion could change depending on who is elected as governor in November.

The state’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is term-limited and cannot seek reelection. Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano are running to be his successor. Shapiro has said he would protect the right to an abortion while Mastriano said he would not.

One of the first pieces of legislation that Mastriano introduced as a state senator was a “heartbeat” bill which would have banned abortions if a fetal cardiac activity could be found.

Hochul told ABC News that she believes the DGA’s new fund will make a difference in this year’s governor races and that people are going to be “energized” to vote following Roe’s overturning — a ruling that inspired passionate reactions from both sides of the issue.

“[Abortion] is going to have a major effect on this November’s election, as well as the importance of raising the resources to support our governors,” Hochul said.

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