EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (Tribune Content Agency) — It isn’t often that the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) is able to host a medal ceremony at their home compound.
“We usually don’t have everyone here all at once,” group spokesman Capt. Thomas Cieslak said of the frequently deployed outfit.
On Tuesday, the group recognized 20 of its soldiers who displayed extraordinary valor on and off the battlefield.
“The men we honor today don’t realize they’re exceptional, because everyone they work with is exceptional,” Major Gen. Clarence K.K. Chinn, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said at the start of the ceremony. “But you have made the extraordinary commonplace.”
Many of the soldiers received medals for the heroism they displayed in a battle with insurgents in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in September 2014. Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Weathers died from wounds he sustained in the firefight.
Six soldiers were recognized with the Bronze Star with Valor Device for their bravery under fire. Another 12 received the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device, and one Bronze Star recipient also received the Purple Heart.
The highest ranking decoration of the day went to Sgt. Gregory LaFleur, whose heroism earned him the Soldier’s Medal. Established by an act of Congress in 1926, the Soldier’s Medal is an individual decoration that recognizes heroism not involving conflict with the enemy.
“It’s not awarded all that frequently,” Cieslak said of the medal. “It has the highest precedence of the medals being awarded today.”
LaFleur was recognized for risking his life when he helped subdue an erratic gunman who fired multiple gunshots outdoors in Eglin’s Poquito Bayou neighborhood. During an angry confrontation on Jan. 24, 2014, the man drew a .45 caliber pistol and fired several times in the direction of a spot where several neighborhood children were playing. He later pointed the pistol at a woman who came outside to investigate the noise.
LaFleur and his wife were at home when a neighbor began beating on their door, asking for help for her husband, Air Force Tech Sgt. Nick Bateman, who was attempting to subdue the gunman. LaFleur raced outside to where Bateman was trying to talk to the gunman.
While Bateman was facing the gunman, LaFleur came up from behind — “like a ninja” — he said with a laugh. Bateman and LaFleur, who were both unarmed, rushed the man and wrestled him to the ground. LaFleur grabbed the weapon while Bateman held the man to the ground until security police arrived.
Bateman has not been recognized for his heroism by the Air Force yet and could not be recognized Tuesday since it was an Army ceremony.
Both LaFleur and his wife, Nicole, said they don’t regret the decision to act.
“I told him to go,” Nicole said. “That was our neighbor and friend out there who needed help. Besides, what was the point? He would have gone no matter what I said.”
ABOUT THE MEDAL: Established by an act of Congress in 1926, the Soldier’s Medal is an individual decoration that recognizes heroism not involving conflict with the enemy. Among the recipients of the medal are former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
©2015 the (Fort Walton Beach) Northwest Florida Daily News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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