On Tuesday (November 10), the Senate unanimously passed legislation that enables President Trump to give the award to US Army Sergeant Alwyn Cashe who died in 2005.
Sgt. Cashe succumbed to wounds he sustained after helping fellow troops out of a burning vehicle.
Just after midnight on October 17, 2005, Cashe’s unit went on patrol in two fighter vehicles. The lead vehicle that Cashe rode in hit a powerful explosive, setting the vehicle ablaze and injuring the soldiers.
Sgt. Cashe miraculously got out of the vehicle, even after sustaining severe burns and immediately went to help members of his unit.
“It was so thick with smoke. The only thing I felt was a hand reach and grabbed my leg and was helping me get out. I knew it was him,” Sgt. Gary Mills told the Today Show.
Sgt. Cashe went back again and again, helping soldiers get out of the vehicle, even after bullets began flying around them.
He eventually pulled nine soldiers out, three of whom are still alive. The wounded soldiers were evacuated to a Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.
Sgt. Cashe received a Silver Star for his actions, but a campaign to get the award upgraded circulated social media, some calling for Fort Benning to be renamed after Sgt. Cashe.
His sister, Kasinal Cashe White said, “It’s important that he receives [the award] as a soldier for what he did,” making it clear that her brother’s actions make him deserving of the award, not just his race.
Final approval of the award will have to come from President Trump, who is reportedly supportive of awarding Sgt. Cashe the Medal of Honor.
Photo: Getty Images