Posted on Jul 27, 2015
SGT Infantryman (Airborne)
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Just over two years ago, 2nd Lt. Robert G. Fetters, a cadet temporarily assigned to the Pentagon, was at a Metro station in Washington, D.C., when he jumped on the subway tracks to save the life of a woman who had been hit by a train.

"I just heard a scream. I ran to the scene and I saw this woman had been run over, so I jumped underneath the tracks. A civilian and I pulled her out. We crawled underneath a train car and grabbed her by her armpits and saw that her legs were severed," Fetters said.
Seeing the seriousness of the situation, Fetters did what he was trained to do.
"I saw immediately that she was bleeding out," he said. "So, we applied tourniquets. That's the only thing I was thinking".

Fetters received the Soldier's Medal July 10 in Marshall Auditorium before an Infantry Basic Officer Leaders Course graduation.
Fetters, who graduated IBOLC just after he was given the medal, said it felt good to receive the award, but said the real heroes are the ones who are deployed right now.
"I'm a Soldier, just like any other. And there are many people overseas who do this type of thing every day," he said. "I just did what was necessary under the circumstances."

Because of privacy laws in Washington, D.C., Fetters never had the opportunity to meet the woman whose life he saved two years ago, but said that if he could, he would ask her how she is doing, and if there is anything he could do to help.
"I'd just be happy that she made it. I really hope that she is all right now. I'd love to get in touch with her. I'm just happy that she was stabilized when I left," he said.

Brig. Gen. Scott McKean, chief of Armor, presented Fetters with the medal.
"This is a special ceremony. It's the most infrequent one we have, but it truly demonstrates the quality of Soldiers we have in our Army," McKean said.
The Soldier's Medal is awarded to individuals in the U.S. Army who demonstrate bravery outside of combat situations.
"The Soldier's Medal is given for heroism. It's not just some action that was taken to save someone's life that represents the medal, it's that the Soldier, at his own peril, saved someone's life. His own life was at risk during this action that occurred," McKean said.
McKean said it is encouraging to see that the Army continues to have the greatest Soldiers.
"Courage that happens is not something you can teach, it's something that you have inside, and Lt. Fetters has demonstrated that," McKean said.
McKean said he was proud to present the medal to Fetters.
"This was just the actions of one truly courageous individual who decided to jump on a set of railroad tracks, not knowing if a train was coming, to try to render life saving aid to the victim of this incident," he said.
Fetters received a scholarship from the Rotary Foundation and will attend Kings College in London during the next year to obtain his master's degree in International Peace and Security. He will then return to Fort Benning to attend the Ranger Course.

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Posted in these groups: American flag soldiers SoldiersUs medals Awards
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Responses: 4
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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SGT (Join to see) It’s a well-deserved medal in my judgment – that’s what the Soldiers' Medal is all about in or out of combat. I had a Commander in Europe that received the Soldiers Medal for saving another's pilot's life while under fire and he received it with it a 'V" for valor. What amazes me is the time it takes to get one of these awards through the system. Now that is another broke story and process I can tell you about. It took me four years and a 2-Star General's involvement to get a CW4 the Legion of Merit processed and awarded, but I never gave up. Lost paperwork and the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing, but I stuck with it and presented it to the Warrant Office after he was already retired and processed out. I brought him back and had a huge ceremony for him.
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SGT Infantryman (Airborne)
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs, a Great story Sir. Never give up, is a great motto. Weird thing about record keeping. My CE and I received a BS w "V" device, about a month after we were put in for it. We didn't know we had been put in for a medal.
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SSG Carlos Madden
SSG Carlos Madden
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These take a long time because the Sec. of the Army has to sign it. I'd be shocked if anyone was able to push a Soldiers Medal through in less than a year.
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MSG Operations Sergeant
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A fine representive of our entire Armed Forces! We should all aspire to his selfless service. Hookah!
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CPT Manager
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I vaguely remember the incident...thinking, "wow, how awesome." As a cadet, he was ready to become an officer.
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SSG Tom Montgomery
SSG Tom Montgomery
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Well put CPT.
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