President Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to a shocked Vice President Biden on Thursday at the White House. Biden and the president had gathered for what the White House had described as a final tribute to the vice president. As vice president, Biden’s influence spanned both domestic and international policy initiatives. In 2015, Beau Biden, the vice president’s son, died of brain cancer, and Obama delivered the eulogy at his funeral. Biden closed by grabbing the medal, which had been draped around his neck, and lifting it off his chest.

Source: Washington Post January 12, 2017 21:48 UTC