Barack Obama Awards Medal Of Honor To Clinton Romesha
Barack Obama has presented the Medal of Honor to former Staff Sgt Clinton Romesha because of the heroism that he displayed while on tour in Afghanistan.
The 31-year-old led a battle against hundreds of Taliban fighters four years ago. Insurgents stormed Combat Outpost Keating near Pakistan, and, at the time, only 50 US soldiers were in the compound.
The Army’s official document states that at around 6:00 on October 3, 2009, 400 Taliban fighters targeted the base in the Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province whilst many key US officers were off base.
At one point, Romesha and his men were surrounded on four sides by their assailants, who also possessed the higher ground as well as a number of dangerous weapons.
He then exposed himself to enemy fire and became wounded after he was hit by shrapnel when an RPH landed near to him. Romesha was able to lead a team and helped to defend the positon, directing air support, and then assisted injured soldiers into safe positions as well as recovering the bodies of two men who died in the attack.
Eight US soldiers died, whilst 22 were wounded in the exchange. Official documents state that Romesha personally killed 10 Taliban fighters and helped to kill 35 others because of his guidance.
Romesha becomes only the fourth living veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan to be granted the award, which is America’s highest military accolade.
On receiving the award, Romesha stated, “You’re not going to back down in the face of adversity like that. We were just going to win, plain and simple.”
