National Archives releases hundreds of previously classified documents on JFK assassination
CBSN
Washington — The National Archives on Wednesday released thousands of previously classified documents related to assassination of President John F. Kennedy, nearly 60 years after he was fatally shot in Dallas, Texas.
In October, federal agencies asked President Biden to push back the release of certain documents that remained hidden from public view. Mr. Biden agreed, issuing an executive order delaying the release of about 14,000 records until December 15, 2022. However, he instructed the National Archives to disclose "any information currently withheld from public disclosure that agencies have not proposed for continued postponement" by December 15, 2021, prompting Wednesday's release.
Mr. Biden's executive order said the continued delay was "necessary to protect against identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations."
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.