Oregon Army National Guardsman Spc. Alek Skarlatos — a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Roseburg, Ore. — and his childhood friends, Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler, received prestigious U.S. military medals as they were honored in a Sept. 17 ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
The three were honored for risking their lives to subdue an armed attacker on a train bound from Amsterdam to Paris Aug. 21. (See related Reporter Online story, “LCMS Lutheran among ‘heroes’ in French-train ordeal.”)
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter presented:
- the Soldier’s Medal to Skarlatos,
- the Airman’s Medal and the Purple Heart to Stone, who was injured in the attack, and
- the Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor, a civilian award, to Sadler.
Read a U.S. Department of Defense story about the presentation: “Carter Honors 3 who Stopped Gunman on Paris-Bound Train.”
Read a related U.S. Air Force story, “Department of Defense honors heroes with highest recognition.”
Posted Sept. 18, 2015
