JACKSON, Miss.- Retired Mississippi Marine Cpl. Kyle Carpenter received the Medal of Honor from President Obama today after he used his body to block a grenade from killing a fellow marine in Afghanistan.
Cpl. William “Kyle” Carpenter, a 24-year-old Mississippi native who now lives in South Carolina, was serving with 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment on Nov. 21, 2010, when he covered a grenade to save the life of his friend, Lance Cpl. Nick Eufrazio, during a firefight with Taliban insurgents, according to the Marine Corps.
Both men were injured, but made it through the blast. Carpenter lost his right eye and his left was injured, both eardrums were blown, most of his teeth were blown out and much of his jaw was missing. He badly injured both arms, his right lung collapsed and he had shrapnel wounds in his legs.
President Barack Obama presented Carpenter with the Medal of Honor at a ceremony at the White House on June 19. Carpenter is the eighth living recipient and the second Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.
