A soldier who attacked a suicide bomber to save three men will receive a posthumous honorary medal



[ad_1]

An army soldier who gave his life to save three of his companions from a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2007 will receive the medal of honor, President Trump announced Tuesday.

Staff Sgt. Travis W. Atkins, 31, was killed in 2007 after "fighting hand-to-hand" with an alleged insurgent in the Iraqi town of Abu Samak, while his unit was involved in the clean-up of Palestinian militants. a route, according to his biography page of the US Army Web Site. Atkins was looking for weapons, but the encounter took a physical turn, and Atkins determined that the alleged insurgent had a bomb attached to him.

While the presumed insurgent was trying to clear his safety vest, Atkins approached and used "his own body to protect his fellow soldiers from the imminent explosion," announced the White House in a statement. an announcement.

Atkins, who was team leader of the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, will receive posthumously the most prestigious award given by the military for his actions in 2007 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom at an event on March 27th.

A fitness center in Fort Drum was named after Atkins in 2013, where one of the soldiers who served with Atkins described him as his "favorite superhero".

"When my 4-year-old son, Travis, tells me that his favorite superhero is Captain America and that he asks me who is my favorite superhero, my answer has always been and will always be the sergeant. Staff Travis W. Atkins ". Aaron Hall said during the inauguration ceremony, according to the army.

Atkins' mother, Elaine Atkins, told The Associated Press that her son "loved the army … when he became a member of the military," he said. Is when he found his place. "

Atkins joined the army in 2000 and toured Iraq in 2003 before leaving the army that year to travel to the University of Montana. He enlisted in the army in 2005 and was again deployed to Iraq in 2006.

[ad_2]

Source link