Fort Carson Green Beret Receives Silver Star

Green Beret receives Silver Star for refusing to leave fallen leader behind
Army Times
Kyle Jahner
June 15, 2016

When he saw a rocket-propelled grenade explode near fellow Green Beret Staff Sgt. Richard Harris during the battle following a 2011 ambush in Afghanistan, then-Staff Sgt. Bell thought: “I’m pretty sure Rich is dead.”

Sgt. 1st Class Richard Harris in Wardak province in winter 2011

(Photo: Courtesy of Sgt. 1st Class Richard Harris)

Harris was not dead; the blast against a wall about 7 feet behind him was closer to the beginning of his fight than its end. After momentarily losing consciousness, he recovered and valiantly fought, largely to protect his fallen team leader, Master Sgt. Danial “Slim” Adams. He braved close-range enemy fire multiple times to protect Adams from the insurgents, even after realizing Adams had died from his wounds.

Nearly five years later, during a June 3 ceremony at Fort Carson, Colorado, now-Sgt. 1st Class Harris received a Silver Star Medal — the Army's third highest valor award — for charging into open territory with a grenade launcher in one hand and an M4 firing in the other.
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