afghanistan early in my presidency. their mission was to drive the taliban out of their strong holds, protect the afghan people and give them a chance to reclaim their communities. kyle and his platoon were in hu helmund province bearing their heavy packs even as it could heat up to 115 degrees. in one small village, they turned a dusty impound into their base. the insurgents nearby gave their answer with sniper fire and automatic weapons fire and rocket propelled grenades. that morning, kyle said an alarm clock was ak-47 fire. some of the men were by their but you thi bunks, gearing up for another day, some were heating up their mres, some were in makeshift buildings planning the day s
kyle tried to stand. he lunged forward towards that grenade and then he disappeared into the blast. keep in mind at the time kyle was just 21 years old. but in that instant, he fulfilled those words of scripture, greater love hath no man that this that a man lay down his life for his friends. they found kyle lying face down directly over the blast area. his helmet was riddled with holes, his gear was melted, part of his kevlar vest was blown away. one of the doctors who treated him later said kyle was literally wounded from the top of his head to his feet. and for a moment, kyle was still conscious. his eyes were open, but he couldn t see. kyle remembers everything went white. and yet even then, his thoughts were not of himself. one of the marines who was there
remembers how kyle kept asking one question, and that was whether nick was okay. and that the kyle s strength drained away, he sensed the end was coming. so according to kyle s memories, my last thought was to make peace with god. i asked first forgiveness. i was trying to make the best and most of my last few seconds here on earth. the medal of honor is presented for gallantry on the battlefield. but today we also recognize kyle carpenter for his valor since. in the hard fight for recovery. eventually, kyle woke up. after five weeks in a coma. i want you to consider what kyle has endured just to stand here today. more than 2 1/2 years in the hospital, grueling rehabilitation, brain surgery to
like them. so he s kind of he s working an angle on this thing. i wasn t sure what i was supposed to say that in front of mom, but there s a quote there. in addition to our many distinguished guests, i want to welcome those who made this man the marine that he is. kyle s father, jim, kyle s lovely mom, robin, and his brothers, price and peyton, one of whom is going to be joining kyle at south carolina, another gamecock and we have one that is going to be at the citadel. we have kyle s marine brothers who served with him in afghanistan and through his recovery and i also want to welcome the members of the medal of honor society whose ranks kyle joins today. kyle and his fellow marines served during the surge of forces that i ordered to
ahead. if any of our wounded warriors seek an example let me amend that. if any american seeks a model of the strength and resilience that define us as a people, including this newest 9/11 generation, i want you to consider kyle. after everything he s been through, he skis, he snowboards, he s jumped from a plane with a parachute, thankfully, he trucked through a six-mile mud run, completed the marine corps marathon, says he wants to do a triathlon. he s a motivational speaker, an advocate for his fellow wounded warriors. he s thinking about majoring in psychology so he can use his own experiences to help others. he got scheduler grades.