President Obama, on August 26, will present the Medal of Honor — our nation’s highest award for battlefield heroism — to Army Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter for his “conspicuous gallantry” in Afghanistan on Oct. 3, 2009, while serving as a cavalry scout with the 4th Infantry Division’s Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, and 4th Brigade Combat Team.
Carter will become the fifth living Medal of Honor recipient for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Carter, now serving at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., enlisted in the Army in January 2008 as a cavalry scout. He completed a second Afghanistan deployment in October, and now is assigned to the 7th Infantry Division. He grew up in Spokane, Wash., and now calls Antioch, Calif., his home. He and his wife, Sharon, have three children: Jayden Young, Madison Carter and Sehara Carter.
According to the American Forces Press Service, this is how Carter earned the Medal:
Carter earned the Medal of Honor during a six-hour battle that ensued when enemy fighters attempted to overrun Combat Outpost Keating using heavy small-arms fire and indirect fire. Carter resupplied ammunition to fighting positions throughout the battle, provided first aid to a battle buddy, killed enemy troops and risked his life to save a fellow soldier who was injured and pinned down by overwhelming enemy fire.
Eight soldiers were killed and more than 25 were injured in defense of the outpost.
The Army News Service adds the following details:
Carter will receive the nation’s highest award for valor Aug. 26, 2013, for his defense of Combat Outpost Keating, in a remote mountain valley of Nuristan province in western Afghanistan. During a battle which raged for more than six hours, Carter was instrumental in keeping the southern flank of the outpost from being overrun Oct. 3, 2009, by an enemy that outnumbered the Americans almost eight to one.
The 54 members of B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, were attacked by more than 400 enemy fighters with heavy automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, known as RPGs, firing from high ground surrounding the outpost. The enemy infiltrated two areas of the combat outpost, known as a COP, killing eight U.S. Soldiers and injuring more than 25.
Carter, who was a specialist at the time, ran a gauntlet of enemy fire to resupply ammo to fighting positions. He picked off numerous enemy with his sharpshooting and risked his life to carry an injured Soldier to cover, despite his own injuries from RPG rounds.
…[Carter is] the second Soldier to receive the award for the defense of COP Keating, sometimes called the Battle of Kamdesh. Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha received the Medal of Honor Feb. 11, 2013, for defending the northern side of the outpost.
Sources: DOD and www.army.mil
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.