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| President Barack Obama applauds after awarding US Army Staff Sgt. Ty M. Carter, left, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Carter received the medal for his courageous actions while serving as a cavalry scout with Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, during combat operations in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on Oct. 3, 2009. Carter is the fifth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- President Barack Obama bestowed the nation's highest military
honor, the Medal of Honor, on Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter on Monday,
saluting the veteran of the war in Afghanistan as "the essence of true
heroism," one still engaged in a battle against the lingering emotional
fallout of war.
Carter risked his life to save
an injured soldier, resupply ammunition to his comrades and render
first aid during intense fighting in a remote mountain outpost four
years ago.
"As these soldiers and families
will tell you, they're a family forged in battle, and loss, and love,"
Obama said as Carter stood at his side and members of his unit watched
in the White House East Room.
Then as an Army
specialist, Carter sprinted from his barracks into a ferocious
firefight, a day-long battle on Oct. 3, 2009, that killed eight of his
fellow soldiers as they tried to defend their outpost - at the bottom of
a valley and surrounded by high mountains - from the onslaught of a
much larger force of Taliban and local fighters.
Still
suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, Carter stood nearly
emotionless during the ceremony, although a faint smile crossed his face
near the end that turned into a broad grin as Obama hung the metal and
its blue ribbon around his neck and the audience - which included 40
members of the recipient's family - answered with a rousing standing
ovation.
Later, Carter told reporters outside
the White House that receiving the medal had been "one of the greatest
experiences" for his family and that he would "strive to live up to the
responsibility."
He also said he wanted to
help the American public to better understand the "invisible wounds"
still inflicting him and thousands of others.
"Only
those closest to me can see the scars," Carter said, reading his
statement. He said Americans should realize that those suffering from
post-traumatic stress syndrome "are not damaged, they are just burdened
by living when others are not."
Obama praised
Carter for talking openly about the disorder for some time. Obama said
that Carter, like many veterans, "at first resisted seeking help," but
later accepted counseling.
"The pain of that
day ... may never go away," Obama said, including flash-backs and
nightmares. But he praised Carter for seeking help and pushing back, and
for acknowledging his struggle publicly and helping other troops with
their recovery.
"Let me say it as clearly as I
can to any of our troops or veterans who are watching and struggling,"
Obama said. "Look at this man. Look at this soldier. Look at this
warrior. He's as tough as they come, and if he can find the courage and
the strength to not only seek help but also to speak out about it, to
take care of himself and to stay strong, then so can you."
The
battle, one of the fiercest of the war in Afghanistan, occurred while
Carter was stationed at Command Outpost Keating in the eastern part of
the country. The roughly 53 U.S. troops at the outpost were at first
overpowered by 300 or more Taliban fighters. But despite overwhelming
numerical odds and "blizzards of bullets and steel," Carter and his
fellow soldiers "pushed the enemy back. The soldiers retook their camp."
In
February, Obama bestowed the Medal of Honor on another survivor of that
firefight, former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha. It was the first time
since the Vietnam War that two living soldiers of the same battle were
presented with the Medal of Honor.
Carter, 33,
is a former Marine who later enlisted in the Army and is currently
assigned to the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in
Washington state.
He grew up in Spokane, Wash., and also has received a Purple Heart and many other military medals.
