Today Capt. Florent A. Groberg received the U.S. Medal of Honor. He received the medal from President Obama because Groberg tackled a suicide bomber while serving for the Army in Afghanistan. Groberg had 33 operations to recover, but he stood on his own to receive the medal. Hit the jump for the full story.
Emma Rabid: Twitter ~ Instagram
President Obama had this to say:
“That’s the nature of courage — not being unafraid but confronting fear and danger and performing in a selfless fashion. He showed his guts, he showed his training, how he would put it all on the line for his teammates. That’s an American we can all be grateful for.”
Captain Groberg retired from the Army this year to serve as a civilian in the Department of Defense. He was born in France, but grew up in Bethesda, MD. For the record, Groberg is only the 10th living recipient of this award for actions in Afghanistan.
Groberg enlisted in 2008 and served two tours in Afghanistan. During his second tour, Groberg served as a personal security detachment in the Fourth Infantry Division.
On August 8th, 2012, Groberg had the duty to escort officials to Asadabad, the capital of Kunar Province in Afghanistan. When the group approach a bridge, two Afghan motorcyclists approached. The Afghan translators working with Groberg ordered the motorcyclists to stop; they actually stopped their bikes and ran. However, the motorcycles were only a distraction.
Groberg described the event. A man walked out of a nearby building toward the Americans. Groberg remembers thinking he seemed “eerie.” So, Groberg pushed him as far away from the Americans as possible.
“He had a dead man’s trigger, which means he had already pressed the trigger prior to walking towards us. As he hit the ground chest first, he let go the trigger and he detonated.”
The trigger detonated a nearby bomb, killing four Americans: Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin and Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy of the Army; Maj. Walter D. Gray of the Air Force; and Ragaei Abdelfattah, a Foreign Service officer with the United States Agency for International Development.
Groberg got his leg and ear drum shattered. Today he commemorated his fallen comrades with a bracelet he wore to the medal ceremony.
Source: NY Times
