Tag: Medal of Honor

Hero You Need to Know: Kyle Carpenter Receives Medal of Honor

Posted on by robbie
Medal of Honor recipients have a way of winning our hearts with their extraordinary bravery and heroism.

And while Marine Corporal Kyle Carpenter has that in spades (he’s being honored for actions such as throwing himself in front of a grenade to protect a fellow Marine in Afghanistan; both men survived), he’s got other qualities that may make him one of our most memorable heroes yet: Humor. Wit. And a powerful resilience that’s likely to inspire everyone he meets.
Carpenter, who’ll be given the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obamais only the second living Marine to receive the award for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now 24, he’s endured challenges that would make the average person ready for retirement. At 21, his body was destroyed by the grenade attack, which caused doctors to label him a PEA (patient expired on arrival) when he got to Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan. He flatlined at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
But Carpenter endured, recovering to accomplish more remarkable achievements, like finishing a marathon and attending the University of South Carolina on the G.I. Bill. And he’s doing it all with a sense of humor (jokes about helping his Mom with Twitter, where Carpenter’s handle is @chiksdigscars) and optimism that’s led the veteran-focused website Task and Purpose to deem him “an unapologetic badass.”
And as the young hero tells it, “I won’t ever quit. I am just getting started.”
Watch Carpenter tell his full story below:
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MORE: 6 Facts About Medal of Honor Recipient Kyle J. White

6 Things You Need to Know About This Year’s Medal of Honor Recipient

Posted on by robbie

This afternoon, President Barack Obama presented the 2014 Medal of Honor to former Army Sergeant Kyle J. White, 27, for his courageous actions while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Here are six other facts about the military hero that are sure to inspire you:
1. White received the highest military honor for his heroism while serving as a Platoon Radio Telephone Operator assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, during combat operations against an armed enemy in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on November 9, 2007. The Sergeant and his team of 14 were ambushed when trying to meet with village elders. Though White was knocked unconscious during the fire fight, he eventually awoke and ran through gunfire to protect his fellow soldiers, and saved a fellow unit member’s life. According to Army reports, White would only allow himself to be evacuated after fellow wounded soldiers were helped first.
2. He’s the 7th living recipient of the honor for combat actions in Afghanistan or Iraq. More than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been given to service members since it was first authorized in 1861.
3. His military career began in Georgia, where he went through basic and advanced individual training, and U.S. Army Airborne School consecutively, at Fort Benning, Ga. White was then assigned to the 2-503rd, at Camp Ederle, Italy, from 2006 to 2008 and deployed to Aranas, Afghanistan in spring 2007. He was assigned to the 4th Ranger Training Battalion, at Fort Benning, from 2008 to 2010, before departing active-duty Army in May 2011.
4. White is a Seattle native who now lives in Charlotte, where he received a B.S. in business administration from the the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He currently works for the Royal Bank of Canada as an investment analyst.
5. White was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following that fatal incident in Afghanistan. He received professional help and has become a vocal advocate of receiving mental health assistance to fellow warriors.
6. He’s a big believer in education, especially for returning servicemembers. “I really want to…help educate servicemembers that are thinking about leaving the service and going back into the civilian world…about the post-9/11 G.I. Bill and the importance of an education and really, you know, how necessary it is for certain jobs out there,” White told Stars and Stripes.
MORE: When Vets Come Home: 5 Things You Should Say and 5 You Shouldn’t