Army Staff Sergeant Travis Atkins will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony for his heroic actions in Iraq in 2007
Aijo said that while Atkins was wrestling with the bomber, he saw Atkins position himself between his vehicle and the bomber, "and that's when the detonation happened."
"There is no doubt in my mind that when he dismounted that vehicle and encountered the two individuals, he knew instantaneously that he was dealing with a mortal threat, " said retired Col. John Valledor, Atkins's battalion commander at the time. Aijo agrees noting that the grenades in the suicide vest would have exploded seconds after a pin was pulled.
"At the end of the day, what Travis did was above and beyond the call of duty," said Valledor. " It was recognized as such by others outside of the chain of command. And I thought that I would never hear about that again."
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