He became a naturalized U.S. Citizen on February 27, 2001, and graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland in June 2001.
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The unit, part of the 4 Infantry Division from Fort Carson in Colorado, was involved in heavy fighting across the eastern province of Kunar to help establish a level of stability by 2010.
In the ensuing confusion a second suicide bomber meant to hit the patrol detonated his vest prematurely, sending the debris and shrapnel into a nearby building.
Obama phoned Groberg to inform him he would receive the medal on September 21, according to the Army Times.
At a small bridge over a canal, two men on motorcycles approached the patrol.
Groberg and another soldier, Sgt. Andrew Mahoney, threw the man to the ground, where he exploded a vest filled with explosives and ball bearings.
“I pushed him as hard as he could and I just wanted to get him as far away from my guys as possible”, Groberg said in account provided by the Army.
A retired Fort Carson captain was awarded the Medal of Honor on Wednesday for tackling a suicide bomber during a 2012 attack that killed two officers and a brigade’s top enlisted soldier.
Groberg lost about 50 percent of his left calf muscle and suffered a blown eardrum and a mild traumatic brain injury.
It will be the first Medal of Honor given for Afghanistan service since Ryan Pitts and Kyle White, both soldiers, and Marine Lance Cpl.
“This medal is not about me”.
“It was the worst day of my life”, he said, “because even though we defeated the enemy, I lost four of my brothers”. “It’s about true heroes that sacrificed everything for their families”.
Captain Groberg attended the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) and competed in Track and Cross Country.
“Injured during combat, he spent his recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from August 2012 through May 2015 and was medically retired… on July 23, 2015”, the White House said in announcing the Medal of Honor. Though he had hoped to continue a career in the Army, his inability to run has led him to serve in a different capacity: as a civilian employee of the Defense Department.
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Command Sgt. Major Kevin Griffin, the 4th Brigade’s top enlisted soldier, died, along with Maj.
