Medal of Honor awarded to soldier for actions during attack

WASHINGTON—A former Army sergeant received the military’s highest honor Monday for his leadership when his unit was attacked by insurgents.

Former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha received the Congressional Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House for his actions in one specific battle in 2009.

In 2009, Romesha  was among a group of  53 U.S. troops  while being attacked by more than 300 Taliban fighters, armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

He rushed to a grab a machine gun and began firing at the insurgents.

He continued firing, even after a grenade sent shrapnel into his hip, his arm and his neck.

Despite his injuries, Romesha and his team rushed more than 100 yards through enemy fire to reach other wounded soldiers.

Officials say that he ignored an order to hold his position by pretending the radio was broken.

The battle went on for nearly 12 hours.

Even though they were outnumbered and caught off guard, 45 of the soldiers survived the attack.

However, Romesha felt conflicted about receiving the medal, remembering the eight that did not.

Romesha is the fourth serviceman to receive America’s highest military award for action in Afghanistan and Iraq.