Train Hero Oregon National Guardsman to Receive Soldier's Medal

Oregon Guardsman Who Helped Stop Train Attack to Get Soldier's Medal 
Associated Press
Aug 26, 2015


WASHINGTON -- Aleksander Skarlatos, one of three Americans who subdued a heavily armed gunman on a Paris-bound train, will be awarded one of the U.S. Army's highest honors.

Senior Army leaders say Skarlatos, a member of the Oregon National Guard, will get the Soldier's Medal -- the Army's highest award for acts of heroism not involving actual conflict with the enemy.

Skarlatos was traveling from Amsterdam when the gunman emerged from a train lavatory carrying an AK-47 and a Lugar pistol.

After hearing the sound of gunfire, Skarlatos called on other passengers to act, then charged the gunman, helped wrestle his firearms away and helped knock him unconscious with his own rifle.

"Spc. Skarlatos' actions that day epitomize what we mean by a soldier of character -- one who lives by a personal code where dedication to duty and taking care of others is sacred," said Army Secretary John McHugh. read more here