Alwyn Cashe

"I'm doing the job I was trained to do. I have to take care of my boys."

"Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe distinguished himself by acts of gallantry above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Platoon Sergeant with Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Salah Ad Din Province, Iraq, on October 17th, 2005. While on a nighttime mounted patrol near an enemy-laden village, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle which Sergeant First Class Cashe was commanding was attacked by enemy small-arms fire and an improvised explosive device, which disabled the vehicle and engulfed it in flames. After extracting himself from the vehicle, Sergeant First Class Cashe set about extracting the driver, who was trapped in the vehicle. After opening the driver’s hatch, Sergeant First Class Cashe and a fellow soldier extracted the driver, who was engulfed in the flames. During the course of extinguishing the flames on the driver and extracting him from the vehicle, Sergeant First Class Cashe’s fuel soaked uniform, ignited and caused severe burns to his body. Ignoring his painful wounds, Sergeant First Class Cashe then moved to the rear of the vehicle to continue in aiding his fellow soldiers who were trapped in the troop compartment. At this time, the enemy noted his movements and began to direct their fire on his position. When another element of the company engaged the enemy, Sergeant First Class Cashe seized the opportunity and moved into the open troop door and aided four of his soldiers in escaping the burning vehicle. Having extracted the four soldiers, Sergeant First Class Cashe noticed two other soldiers had not been accounted for and again he entered the vehicle to retrieve them. At this time, reinforcements arrived to further suppress the enemy and establish a Casualty Collection Point. Despite the severe second-and third-degree burns covering the majority of his body, Sergeant First Class Cashe persevered through the pain to encourage his fellow soldiers and ensure they received needed medical care. When medical evacuation helicopters began to arrive, Sergeant First Class Cashe selflessly refused evacuation until all of the other wounded soldiers were evacuated first. Sergeant First Class Cashe’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty were keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

"Don't go over there playing a hero. You learn how to duck and come home."

"It's taken sixteen years, but it's not for lack of trying. Alwyn's battalion commander, Gary Brito, started the recommendation process months after he learned the full details of Alwyn's selfless actions. Unfortunately, Brito ran into roadblocks. Certain key details were lost during the chaos of that night given that most of the soldiers Alwyn rescued were in critical condition and couldn't provide firsthand details before they died. Brito, though, didn't give up and embarked on a second application packet. While he worked on obtaining sworn statements from soldiers, Mills- one of the soldiers my husband rescued- and my sister-in-law embarked on a public campaign. They, along with Alwyn's fellow soldiers, commanders, and two high-ranking generals, broadcast my husband's valor."

"Now Alwyn Cashe will be the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the wars following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. "He is not just a black soldier who earned the right to the Medal of Honor," his sister says. "He's a soldier who happens to be black." She joins me at the December 2021 ceremony, delayed because of the January 6 riots. Alwyn is one of the three soldiers awarded the medal. Because it's the military, everything is planned out- be here at this hour, there at that hour. Soldiers and their families typically have a meal with the President, but because of COVID that doesn't happen. Instead, we briefly meet President Biden and his wife right before the ceremony. They're very nice- the ceremony is nice- and I'm thinking of Alwyn, wishing he were here."

"If Alwyn had gotten out of the Army, he would have become a game warden, something like that. He loved hunting and fishing. He also loved helping animals as much as he loved helping people. One time I came home to find a deer in my bathtub. The year Fort Benning had an overabundance of wild pigs, I found one in our backyard standing in the back of his parked truck. With Alwyn, you never knew."