Former Army Capt. William Swenson will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions during the 2009 Battle of Ganjgal Valley, the White House announced Monday.
Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2011 for his actions in the same battle.
Swenson was serving as an embedded trainer and mentor to Afghan border police when U.S. and Afghan troops walked into an ambush in Kunar province, Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009. The battle lasted six hours and Swensen went back into gunfire again and again to recover the wounded and the dead, while his repeated calls for support went unanswered.
Swenson will be presented the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama at the White House on Oct. 15, making him the sixth living recipient of the award for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"It's a monumental event for me, for my family and for my teammates," Swenson said after receiving word directly from Obama. "This day also means lot to those I served with."
Swenson was first nominated in 2009, but Marine Gen. John Allen, then the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, resubmitted the paperwork in 2011 after officials said the original nomination had been lost.
Swenson was commissioned as an Army officer on Sept. 6, 2002. His military decorations include the Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one campaign star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Ranger Tab and the Parachutists Badge.
Swenson separated from the Army on Feb. 1, 2011 and lives in Seattle.
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