patrols. up on the roof behind a circle of sandbags, two marines manned their posts. kyle and lance corporal nicholas ephrasio. the compound started to take fire. seeking cover, kyle and nick laid down low on their backs wind those sandbags. and then the grenade landed. with a thud. its pin already pulled. it was about to explode. and kyle has no memory of what happened next. what we do know is that there on that rooftop, he wasn t just with a fellow marine, he was with his best friend. kyle and nick had met in training in afghanistan. they patrolled together day and night, a friendship forged in fire. kyle says about nick he was my point man. and i loved him like a brother. when the grenade landed, other marines in the compound looked up and saw it happen.
with his own body. willingly and deliberately. to protect a fellow marine. when that grenade exploded, kyle carpenter s body took the brunt of the blast. his injuries were called catastrophic. it seemed as if he was going to die. while being treated, he went into cardiac arrest and three times he flat lined. three times doctors brought him back. along with his parents, would call kyle s survival our miracle, we thank god they did. because with that singular act of courage, kyle, you not only saved your brother in arms, you displayed a heroism in the blink of an eye that will inspire for generations.
and i said yes, sir, i sure do. and i told kyle that story and that s what gave him the chills. that is what is remarkable about your conversation with him is that and even when you talk about your own medal, it isn t really about yourself. that it is a burden and a responsibility, especially to the men who didn t make it back. somebody once asked bob kerry, who has been on at this disk from time to time who is a medal of honor receiptant, lost his leg in vietnam, but it s worth retelling. somebody once asked him what does it take to receive the medal of owner? he said you have to do something. people have to be able to see it. they have to write and they kaeptd hate you. think about all those people who performed valiantly in combat and nobody saw them or they saw them and they themselves were killed and there was nobody left to witness. and you realize that you do wear any award, not just the medal of honor, any combat award you wear for all those who can t, who are not her
corporal william kyle carpenter should not be alive today, but the fact that he is gives us reason to trust that there is, indeed, a bigger plan. god bless you, kyle. god bless all who serve and protect the precious and amazing life that we are blessed with. may god continue to pleas and keep strong the united states of america. semper fi. the president of the united states, in the name of the congress, takes pleasure in presenting the medal of honor to lance corporal william kyle carpenter, united states marine corps. for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his
valor worthy of our nation s highest military decoration, the medal of honor. now kyle and i have actually met before during his long recovery at walter reed. he and some of our other wounded warriors came to the white house to celebrate the world series champion st. louis carpalskarnl. some of you may be aware, i am a white sox fan. kyle likes the braves. so it was a tough day for both of us. but after the ceremony, michelle and i had the chance to meet kyle. and at the time, he was still undergoing surgeries. but he was up and he was walking and he was working his way towards being independent again, towards the man you see here today. and kyle, the main message we want to send is welcome back. we are so proud to have you here. we just spent some time not only