On August 26, Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter became the 5th living Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient from the War in Afghanistan.
Carter earned the MOH for his actions on October 3, 2009 as he ran under heavy enemy fire to supply ammunition to three fellow soldiers pinned down in a disabled Humvee outside of Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan. He ran “through that deadly gauntlet three times to get supplies to [Sgt. Bradley Larson, Spc. Stephan Mace, and Sgt. Justin Gallegos].”
In awarding the MOH to Carter, President Obama recalled presenting Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha with the MOH for his actions in the same battle. Obama said this was the first time the U.S. has been able to award the MOH to two men from the same battle since doing so for a battle in the Vietnam War.
Obama then described Carter as “a hero that inspires us.” He said that in addition to running to the disabled Humvee, Carter ran back and forth under heavy fire as many as ten times–one of these times he went out to pick up a fellow soldier who had been hit and pinned down on the battlefield by enemy fire.
Obama said that if Americans hold to an image of Carter in their mind, it should be that of him forgetting the danger to himself and scooping up a wounded fellow soldier and carrying him in his arms under heavy fire.
Obama said that after the battle, Carter said, “We were not going to surrender, we were going to fight to the last round.”
Carter was awarded the MOH for “risking his life above and beyond the call of duty” and doing so in a way that demonstrated “complete disregard for his own safety.”
Breitbart News salutes Staff Sgt. Ty Carter for his courage and example. We concur with President Obama’s description of Carter as a hero who “inspires us.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.