Marine to Receive Medal of Honor for Heroism in Afghanistan

A medically retired Marine from South Carolina will soon receive a Medal of Honor in recognition of a selfless act of heroism that saved a friend’s life in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Times is reporting.

On November 21, 2010, Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter reportedly covered a grenade with his body to shield his friend, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio, as the two were standing guard on a rooftop during an insurgent attack in the Marjah district of Helmand. Both men survived the blast, but they received serious injuries. Carpenter lost his right eye and most of his teeth. His jaw was shattered and his arm was broken in several places. Eufrazio received shrapnel damage to the frontal lobe of his brain, rendering him unable to speak for two years.

As both men fought to recover, the Marine Corps conducted an investigation to determine whether Carpenter was eligible to receive the highest award granted by the armed services. With no other witnesses to confirm the sequence of events, Carpenter unable to recall what happened due to trauma and Eufrazio unable to speak, investigators relied on the testimony of other Marines deployed with Carpenter and Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Frend, a Navy corpsman who triaged the two men. Frend has testified that the nature of Carpenter’s injuries suggested that he smothered the grenade with his torso.

According to the Marine Corps Times report, the Corps is working with the White House to finalize plans for a Washington D.C. ceremony to honor Carpenter’s actions. He will be the third Marine to receive the award for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.