• A pint-sized stand-in for the president

    Win McNamee / Getty Images

    Colin Romesha, the son of Medal of Honor recipient Clinton Romesha, peeks around the corner of President Barack Obama's lectern before a presentation ceremony at the White House Feb. 11, in Washington, D.C. Romesha received the Medal of Honor for actions during combat operations against an armed enemy at Combat Outpost Keating, Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on October 3, 2009.

    Published at 3:46 p.m. ET:

    Before the Medal of Honor ceremony for Clinton Romesha began, his son Colin Romesha got to see the audience from President Obama's viewpoint -- just a few feet lower. After charming the crowd and the cameras in the East Room, he was handed back to his mother.

    Slideshow: Medal of Honor recipients

    Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images

    A look at heroes from a post-9/11 era of war

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    Colin Romesha, the young son of Medal of Honor recipient Clinton Romesha, finds time to explore the White house while attending a ceremony for his father on Monday.

    Former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha is presented with the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday.

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  • Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Honor to former Marine Corps Cpl. Dakota Meyers, 23, from Greensburg, Ky., Sept. 15, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. Cpl. Meyers was in Afghanistan's Kunar province in Sept. 2009 when he repeatedly ran through enemy fire to recover the bodies of fellow American troops. He is the first living Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

    Marine awarded Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan

    NBC News and news services report:
    Speaking to Meyer's work ethic, Obama called him "one of the most down-to-Earth guys you will ever meet."

    When the White House first called to talk to Dakota about the award, he was working on a construction job and didn't want to take the call immediately. The White House called back during Meyer's lunch break.

    "If I don't work, I don't get paid," Obama said Meyer told him when the two finally did talk.

    "He gets his job done," Obama said.

    Read more here and see a slideshow of the men who have received the military's highest honor here.