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Old 12-15-2017, 09:10 AM
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Thumbs up One soldier’s courageous, life-threatening path to the Medal of Honor

One soldier’s courageous, life-threatening path to the Medal of Honor
By Kelyn Soong December 15 at 10:36 AM
RE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...=.065a848e9f98

Flo Groberg flies over Afghanistain in 2012. Groberg would later be awarded the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama. (ALEXIS RAMOS/ Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

From a young age, Flo Groberg had a fascination with soldiers. As a kid growing up in France — the son of an American father and a French-Algerian mother — he would reenact World War II with toy soldiers in his room. After arriving in the United States, Groberg turned to Rambo films and “Platoon” to improve his English.

Groberg also shared a special bond with his uncle, Abd Alillah Lahreche (affectionately called Uncle Abdou), who joined the Algerian army to fight the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) in the 1990s. When Groberg learned in 1996 that his uncle had been killed by the GIA, he was overcome with grief and rage, but also a sense of duty. His world was changed. “War was no longer a game. From that night forward, I was finished with toy soldiers,” Groberg writes in his memoir, “8 Seconds of Courage: A Soldier’s Story From Immigrant to the Medal of Honor.”

[Army Capt. Florent Groberg receives the Medal of Honor for confronting Afghan suicide bomber]

Groberg enlisted in the Army in July 2008 after graduating from the University of Maryland as a standout on the track team. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Honor, the nation’s top award for valor in combat, for actions in Afghanistan that are credited with saving a number of lives; Groberg himself was left critically injured.

In “8 Seconds of Courage,” written with Tom Sileo, Groberg takes readers through the many faces of war, from mundane assignments, to the reality of cheering for the gruesome death of your enemies, to the surreal notion that one misstep can cost lives. He candidly describes the dangerous situations he experienced and how he felt suicidal while he was recovering from his injuries and dealing with survivor’s guilt.

The encounter occurred Aug. 8, 2012, when Groberg and fellow soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division were tasked with protecting 28 individuals, including high-ranking commanders, on their journey toward the provincial governor’s compound in Asadabad, Afghanistan. About halfway to their destination, Groberg spotted a man in traditional Afghan garb walking backward. He ran toward the man to confront him. “I launched into a sprint, much like during my track days at Maryland,” Groberg writes. “Each of the eight seconds it took to reach him felt like a silent eternity.”

Realizing that the man had a bomb attached to his body, Groberg grabbed the suicide bomber’s vest and pushed him toward the ground with help from Sgt. Andrew Mahoney.

“None of this was like the war scenes you’ve seen in the movies,” he remembers. “During the commotion, I heard nothing. The terrorist was not shouting or chanting any prayers as he prepared to release the trigger. . . . In slow motion, I saw the terrorist land at my feet. This time, death had almost certainly arrived.”

Four men — Army Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, Army Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy, Air Force Maj. Walter D. Gray and Foreign Service officer Ragaei Abdelfattah — were killed in the blast, and several others suffered serious injuries, but Groberg’s quick thinking prevented further casualties.

Groberg had half his left calf muscle blown off and required 33 surgeries to save his leg.

He offers occasional glimpses into his personality. He writes early in the book about his failed attempt to impress “the prettiest girl” in his freshman class at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., during a rehearsal for “Romeo and Juliet” and how the episode motivated him to improve his English. “ ‘Henceforth, I will never be Romeo,’ I recited with my shoulders slumped,” writes Groberg, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2001. “Fittingly, it was just about the only line I got right.”

But Groberg is selective of how much he reveals. He keeps the tone of the book strictly nonpartisan and never mentions President Trump nor Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In July 2016, Groberg spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of Clinton. He does, however, devote several pages to his encounters with President Barack Obama, who visited him at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. “The president’s visit was the greatest honor of my life to that point,” Groberg writes.

He saves some of the most heartfelt passages for the men who lost their lives on Aug. 8, 2012, and for his then-girlfriend, Carsen Zarin, who during his recovery listened patiently to his traumatic war stories, a kindness that allowed him “to get a full night’s sleep without pills or alcohol.” Groberg thanks her for giving him “unconditional love” and doing so much for him “when nobody was around to witness.”

“Finally, my life started to resemble something normal,” Groberg writes of the time shortly after meeting Zarin, “thanks to my remarkable doctors, nurses, squad leader, fellow wounded warriors, and most of all, my new girlfriend.” He and Zarin are now engaged to be married.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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