New York Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Will Finally Receive Medal of Honor

Staff Sgt. Ollis, from Staten Island, New York, who was killed in action protecting a fellow NATO comrade, will posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor. The announcement came on Tuesday from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, who said she received direct word from the White House that Ollis will be honored.

For several years, veterans’ advocacy groups, political leaders and the Staten Island community pushed hard for Ollis to receive the Medal of Honor. Serving in Afghanistan in 2013, Ollis put his body on the line, shielding a Polish Army officer amid a suicide bombing. He paid the ultimate price. Advocates promoted Ollis’s story for years, pointing to the New York native’s supreme act of valor. Ollis’s story mirrors that of Vietnam soldier Fred Brown, who jumped on a live grenade to save three servicemembers after already carrying them out of harm’s way. Brown, also an Army staff sergeant, was killed on March 15, 1969. His hometown of Hamilton, Ohio still waits for his Medal of Honor.