Afghanistan Hero to Receive Medal of Honor
On February 29, 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama will present the Medal of Honor to Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers of the U.S. Navy. Byers will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as part of a team that rescued an American civilian being held hostage in Afghanistan in 2012.
Dr Dilip Joseph recounts his rescue in his 2014 book: Kidnapped by the Taliban: A Story of Terror, Hope, and Rescue by SEAL Team Six. On December 5, 2012, American medical doctor Dilip Joseph and two of his colleagues were driving back to Kabul, Afghanistan, after helping villagers that morning at a rural clinic. Suddenly a man waving an AK-47 blocks their path. More armed men jump out of hiding, and Dilip was kidnapped by the Taliban.
They were marched for nine hours into the mountains and were subject to gruesome images of torture and death and repeated threats of execution. Four days later Dilip was freed. Byers was the second man through the door as his unit raided the Taliban hideout where Dilip was being held.
Once inside, Byers saw an unknown man darting for the corner of the room. Byers tackled him to the ground. When Byers realized it was the doctor, he protected him from gunfire with his body at the same time as pinning the Taliban captor against the wall with a hand to his throat. The Taliban man was then shot by other rescuers.
Byers will be the eleventh living service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan. He and his family will join the President at the White House to commemorate his example of selfless service.
"The strength of the Naval Special Warfare community is in its exceptional people. Senior Chief Ed Byers' actions on the battlefield reflect the highest ideals of our profession: bravery, selfless dedication to duty, and above all, the highest level of commitment to protect the lives of others and the freedom for which our nation stands," said Rear Admiral Brian Losey, Commander Naval Special Warfare. "We are humbled by Senior Chief Byers' incredible example of service, and are proud to call him Teammate."
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
Byers was born in Toledo, Ohio on August 4, 1979. He graduated from Otesgo High School in Tontogany, Ohio in June 1997.
Byers currently holds a National Paramedics License, and will graduate from Norwich University with a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis in early 2016.
Byers entered the Navy in September 1998, attending boot camp and Hospital Corpsman School at Great Lakes, Illinois. He served at Great Lakes Naval Hospital, and then with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 2002, he attended the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course, graduating from Class 242, and completed the Special Operations Combat Medic course in 2003. Senior Chief Byers has been assigned to various east coast SEAL teams and completed eight overseas deployments with seven combat tours.
Byers' awards and decorations include five awards of the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V device, two awards of the Purple Heart, the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor device, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V device, two additional awards of the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two awards of the Combat Action Ribbon, three Presidential Unit Citations, two Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, two Navy Unit Commendations, and five Good Conduct Medals.
THE MEDAL OF HONOR
The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty while:
* engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
* engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
* serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
There must be no margin of doubt or possibility of error in awarding this honor. To justify this decoration, the deed performed must have been one of personal bravery and self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life. It must also be the type of deed which if not done would not subject the individual to any justified criticism.