Throughout his time in the hospital recovering, Shul said he asked God many times if he could die. Later, he realized that he was lucky and he could be a voice for those who had paid the ultimate price for freedom.

After recovering from his crash, Shul went on to pilot the Air Force's SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, which he called a privilege.

"As every military person will tell you, it was a privilege to serve," he said. "It's a privilege, you don't have to thank me. It was voluntary and it was a privilege."

The final recipient of the evening's awards, Immaculee Ilibagiza, was treated to a standing ovation when she was introduced and another ovation when she sat back down.

"It feels like there's some special love in this room," she said "I don't know if it's just Utah or just this place, but I feel so much affection."

Ilibagiza, who is from Rwanda, lost most of her family in the genocide killings in her country in 1994. For 91 days she hid in a tiny bathroom, with eight other women, from the Hutus who were bent on killing any of her Tutsi people.

In her time in that bathroom, Ilibagiza said she learned what it meant to truly forgive the people who had killed her family. For a long time she said that all she could think about was ways to exact revenge.

"After that time," she said, "I felt that all of the anger I had fell off of my shoulders."

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E-MAIL: jdavis@desnews.com