US NEWS
Female Medic to Receive Silver Star
2008-03-09 08:44am
A female Army medic will receive the Silver Star, the military's third-highest honor, for bravery and actions under fire last year in Afghanistan.
Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown is credited with saving the lives of five fellow soldiers after their Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb in April 2007 in the eastern Paktia province. Their Humvee was part of a five-vehicle column which came under enemy fire following the initial explosion.
Brown said after the first explosion she exited her vehicle with her aid back and, while under fire, raced to her wounded comrades. She then began treating and evacuating them to a position some 500 yards from the battle so they could be stabilized before being airlifted to a battalion aid station.
"I I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," she told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.
Brown, from Lake Jackson, Texas, will receive her award later this month, AP reported.
She is the first female since World War II to receive the medal. Four Army nurses were awarded the medal during World War II; three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal posthumously last year.
(c) 2008 Newsroom.