Marine receives medal for saving life in Afghanistan

Marine awarded medal
HHS grad saves worker's life in Afghanistan
Jan 4, 2013
Written by
Tena Lee
Sumner A.M.

Those who know 24-year-old Justin Williams were not surprised to learn that he saved a stranger’s life recently while serving in Afghanistan.

Williams, a 2006 graduate of Hendersonville High School, was recently awarded the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for Meritorious Achievement for risking his own life and freeing a construction worker from a collapsed building at Camp Leatherneck, a U. S. Marine Corps base in the war-torn country.

“Corporal Williams' decisive action undoubtedly saved the constructions worker's life and prevented further injury,” reads the citation issued Nov. 27 by the U. S. Navy Department. “Corporal Williams' initiative, perseverance, and total dedication to duty reflected credit upon him and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and United States Naval Service.”

The citation says Williams risked his own safety by entering the collapse site, spotting the worker’s foot, and digging him out of three-foot-high dirt and debris with his bare hands.
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