Soldier who ‘sucked at being a civilian’ earns Medal of Honor

[jimnyc]

When war hero Ty Carter goes to the White House Monday, he’ll do so with a heavy heart while still battling the demons from the day that earned him the military’s highest achievement for valor.

“The reality of the award is that I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” Carter told Yahoo News. “Imagine yourself in the worst possible situation you can think of. We’re talking about you’ve got members of your family being killed in front of you or in severe pain and you have no choice but to try to help them.”

President Barack Obama will present Army Staff Sgt. Carter the Medal of Honor for the gallantry shown on Oct. 3, 2009, when he faced death multiple times to assist comrades during a fierce firefight with Taliban insurgents. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed when Combat Outpost Keating was ambushed, making it one of the deadliest battles for Americans in the Afghan war. Two dozen more were injured.

A seven-page Army narrative on his heroics details how Carter, then a specialist, sprinted across open fields to fetch ammo for others, killed insurgents and risked his life to recover a mortally wounded comrade who was pinned down by enemy fire and crying out “Help me, please.”

“He did all this while under heavy small arms and indirect fire that lasted more than six hours,” the Army states.

Carter, 33, says he’s never been one to take credit. Instead, he wants the attention to serve as a reminder that “there’s still a war going on and that it isn’t all ‘Call of Duty’ and computer games.”

“This medal represents so much more than me, and it’s my responsibility to give it the honor it deserves,” says Carter, who wears a bracelet on his right wrist bearing the names of the soldiers lost that day.

The battle occurred a year after Carter enlisted in the Army. He had been a Marine from 1998 to 2003, and after that he had bounced from job to job – movie theater manager, tow truck driver and nursing assistant to name a few – before rejoining the military.

http://news.yahoo.com/soldier-who-%E...232416628.html

[Arbo]

Guy sounds like a hero to me. If you haven't read it, "Living with Honor" by Staff Sergeant Salvatore A Giunta is a great book, that is the authors story/experiences in the military in Iraq and Afganistan, and he was the first living person in 40 years to receive the Medal of Honor.

A very good read. And a very humble guy.

[hjmick]

The guy earned this honor, no doubt.


I have just one question...


Why did it take four years to get him the medal?

[Arbo]

Why did it take four years to get him the medal?

There is a lot of red tape, and such a high honor goes up through the levels a little at a time. It is pretty normal. Government is very inefficient after all.