Soldier who halted bank robbery in Florida gets heroism medal

Soldier who halted robbery gets heroism medal
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 20, 2012

Staff Sgt. Eddie Peoples, who recently received the Soldier’s Medal for catching a bank robber while on leave in Florida, has had a lot of time to ponder how others define heroism.

Some people consider his actions courageous, and others think he was foolhardy, he said.

“I would never, ever recommend anyone put their life in danger. I believe life is a precious thing,” said Peoples, of the 386th Movement Control Battalion. “I made that decision on my own person.”

Now the Army has officially recognized him as a hero.

Nearly a year after Peoples used his Army combatives training to subdue an armed bank robber in Pensacola, Fla., Brig. Gen. Aundre Piggee presented him with the Soldier’s Medal — the peacetime award for heroism — at a ceremony in Vicenza, Italy.

“He is an example for the United States Army,” said Piggee, commander of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, at the Feb. 28 ceremony. “This is what this medal is about — true personal courage in the face of danger or adversity. It is living the warrior ethos, in or out of uniform.”
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