Sgt. Dennis Weichel was a 29-year-old member of the Rhode Island National Guard, a married father of three who never made much news in his short life, except for a press release sent out last week from the Department of Defense noting his death on March 22nd in Afghanistan. But word spread of exactly how Weichel died, and he's now being called a hero.
He'd only been in Afghanistan a few weeks when he died, according to the Stars and Stripes.
On March 22nd, while in Afghanistan's Laghman province, Weichel saw an young girl walk into the path of an armored vehicle when she went to retrieve something she'd dropped. Weichel put himself in harm's way to push the little girl out of the vehicle's path. The armored vehicle ran over Weichel, but missed the child. He died later that day of his injuries.
Weichel's family has set up a Facebook page in his memory. This is a post from the three young children he left behind:
We are so proud of our daddy..we love and miss you..daddy you are our hero. Love you nick hope and madison...
ABC News put together a video report on Sgt. Weichel and his heroic actions. Take a look:
