Retired U.S Marine Corps Cpl. William “Kyle” Carpenter, a Medal of Honor recipient, will be honored Monday at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, military officials said Friday.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing is scheduled to recognize the recipient of the nation's highest military honor during an Evening Colors Ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday, according to base officials. He will briefly grant media interviews in a group setting immediately afterward, authorities said.
President Barack Obama awarded the 24-year-old the Medal of Honor on Thursday for his actions while serving as a rifleman with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force in Marjah in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
In November 2010, the Jackson, Miss., native and another Marine were staffing a rooftop security position when they were attacked by Taliban fighters. Carpenter threw himself in front of an enemy grenade that landed nearby to shield his fellow Marine from the blast. He suffered severe injuries to his right arm and face and lost an eye.
Carpenter has since retired from the Marine Corps and enrolled at the University of South Carolina.
He is the eighth living recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. His other commendations include a Purple Heart, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Navy Unit Commendation and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with one bronze star, military officials said.
