“On his very worst day, he managed to summon his very best,” President Obama said as he bestowed the Medal of Honor on retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg at the White House on Thursday.
“The truth is, Flo says that was the worst day of his life,” Obama said about the day in Afghanistan that led the 32-year-old Maryland native to become a hero. “That is the stark reality behind these Medal of Honor ceremonies; for all the valor we celebrate, all the courage that inspires us, these actions were demanded amid some of the most dreadful moments of war.”
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2575923
“That’s precisely why we honor heroes like Flo,” Obama continued. “Because on his very worst day, he managed to summon his very best. That’s the nature of courage, not being unafraid, but confronting fear and danger and performing in a selfless fashion.”
Groberg was born in Poissy, France and became a U.S. citizen just months before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He grew up a track star in Bethesda, Md., and ran at the University of Maryland, where he graduated in 2006. He joined the Army in July 2008 and eventually was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., as a platoon leader.
While serving Aug. 8, 2012, as a personal security detachment commander for Task Force Mountain Warrior, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Asadabad, Afghanistan, Groberg thwarted two suicide bombers who tried to blow up the formation of military leaders he was protecting.
He lost nearly half his left calf muscle, but did not lose his leg after 33 surgeries. He had his eardrum blown out and sustained a mild traumatic brain injury. He was medically retired on July 23, 2015 and is now a civilian Defense Department employee.
“He showed his guts; he showed his training; how he would put it all on the line for his teammates — that’s an American we can all be grateful for,” Obama said of Groberg.
Groberg is the 10th living recipient of the nation’s highest military award for actions in Afghanistan.
Groberg wears a bracelet bearing the names of four comrades who died on the day of the attack in 2012, and asked Obama to name them during the ceremony: Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Griffin; Maj. Tom Kennedy; Maj. David Gray, and Ragaei Abdelfattah, an Egyptian native who worked as a USAID foreign service officer.
“These four men believed in America,” Obama said. “They dedicated their lives to our country; they died serving it.”
