(CNN)President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to retired US Army Gen. Jack Keane on Tuesday evening, shaking his hand and then placing the medal around his neck.
Trump said Keane "demonstrated unflinching courage" and called him a "visionary and brilliant strategist and an American hero" as he awarded him the nation's highest civilian honor.
"Jack, I have to say, has been giving me great advice, too," Trump added.
Keane served in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Silver Star Medal for valor.
How Trump picks his Medal of Freedom honorees
He was also at the Pentagon when it was attacked on 9/11.
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"It was personal and I was angry and despite having left the Army, I never left the 9/11 wars and America's focus on radical Islam and what they did to us," Keane said of the attack.
He said that despite leaving the Army, he pledged to keep working to "keep America and the American people safe."
He also thanked Trump for his efforts to build up the US defense.
Trump called Keane's decision to turn down an Army chief of staff job in order to care for his wife, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, a "profound act of devotion."
More recently, Keane has been a military contributor at Fox News.
Trump last awarded the Medal of Freedom to controversial conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh during the State of the Union address.
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