NASHVILLE, Tenn. Fox Nation’s 5th annual Patriot Awards were hosted Thursday, Nov. 16, in Nashville by a local hero from Sumner County, Tennessee, Pete Hegseth.
“I’m really proud of Fox Nation for embracing this from the beginning because there are lots of awards shows that celebrate actors and not any that celebrate America. It was a straightforward idea that we tried to stay very true to, and it’s grown every year,” Hegseth said, according to The Tennessean.
“One of the keys to the Patriot Awards is that we’re not here to switch it up. When it comes to love of your country and faith and courage and supporting law enforcement and our military, we try really hard to keep it right there,” he said. “The stories will be new… but the core is the same. We’re proud, and we’re excited to bring it to Nashville.”
Five police officers with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department who intervened during a school massacre earlier this year were honored during the award show.
FOX & Friends cohosts, President and CEO of Tunnels to Towers Frank Siller, and Stephen Siller Jr. presented MNPD officers Michael Collazo, Rex Engelbert, Jeff Mathes, Ryan Cagle, and Zachary Plese with the “T2T Stephen Siller Patriot Award.”
WATCH AWARD PRESENTATION
During the award presentation, Sgt. Jeff Mathes was asked, “Why did you decide to go in on that day?”
“That decision, it wasn’t a decision. It’s what was going to happen,” Mathes replied to a round of applause.
Hegseth, who has has emceed the Patriot Awards all five years, served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, completing three deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay, where he served as a counterinsurgency instructor, civil military operations officer and infantry platoon leader, The Tennessean reported.
As a result of his service, he was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his overseas assignement.
“Most of my time was in the National Guard, and I also happened to be in Washington D.C., in the D.C. (National) Guard, when the riots happened in June of 2020, so I’ve been a lot of different places, but I’m just proud to serve my country,” he noted.
