2 Georgia-based soldiers to receive Medal of Honor

Three soldiers — including two who were based in Georgia — will receive the Medal of Honor at a ceremony next week in Washington, D.C., for their heroic actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to U.S. Army and Pentagon sources familiar with planning for the event.

Among them are Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who died from his injuries after saving fellow soldiers from a burning vehicle in Iraq; Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, an Army Ranger who was mortally wounded while protecting a helicopter carrying out a medical evacuation in Afghanistan; and Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, a Special Forces soldier who was wounded while fighting off suicide bombers in Afghanistan.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army

Cashe was based at Fort Benning before deploying to Iraq, and Celiz was assigned to Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah. They will become the second and third Georgia-based soldiers this year to receive the honor, the nation’s highest for valor in combat. In May, President Joe Biden presented retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. of Columbus with the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry during the Korean War.

The Washington Post first reported on the planning for next week’s event.

A Florida native, Cashe helped get his trapped soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter out of a wrecked Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Iraq 16 years ago. A roadside bomb had disabled the vehicle, setting it on fire. Flames burned nearly three-quarters of Cashe’s body. He died from his wounds three weeks later.

ExploreFort Benning and Fort Gordon to be renamed

Cashe, who posthumously received the Silver Star for his heroism, will become the first African American recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. He deployed in support of the Gulf War in 1991, participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and served in South Korea and Germany before returning to Iraq in 2005.

His unit, the 3rd Infantry Division, renamed its memorial garden for him this year. Meanwhile, his supporters have recommended that Fort Benning be renamed after him.

His sister, Kasinal Cashe White, wrote to her brother’s supporters Thursday on Facebook, urging patience.

“The Cashe family realizes that it has been a long wait, no one better than us knows what has transpired over the last 16 years,” she wrote. “Let us represent Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe with all the pride and dignity that he represented himself and this country with.”

A battalion mortar platoon sergeant serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Celiz was wounded by small arms fire in 2018 while protecting a U.S. helicopter carrying out a medical evacuation. He moved from behind cover to put himself between the helicopter and the enemy, according to an Army account of the battle. Hit by 22 rounds during the firefight, the helicopter returned to pick up Celiz.

“My aircraft would have been critically damaged if it weren’t for Chris, and we owed him our lives,” said the helicopter’s pilot, Capt. Ben Krzeczowski, who received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions that day.

Born in South Carolina, Celiz joined the Army in 2007. At the time of his death, he was on his fifth deployment with the Rangers. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

U.S. Army

While serving with 1st Special Forces Group, Plumlee responded to a massive truck bomb attack on a U.S. military base in Ghazni, Afghanistan, in 2013, according to an Army account of the battle. Insurgents dressed in Afghan army uniforms entered the base through a hole the bomb blasted in its perimeter.

Fighting at close range, Plumlee shot one attacker in the chest, triggering a large explosion. He said that’s when he realized some of the attackers were wearing suicide bomb vests. Moments later, Plumlee spotted a wounded U.S. soldier, pulled him to safety and began placing tourniquets on him.

“The strongest emotion I had from that day was the last time we were pushing down and had really gotten organized (and) we were moving as a really aggressive, synced-up stack, moving right into the chaos,” said Plumlee, who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions that day.

“It was probably the proudest moment of my career,” he said, adding: “just to be with those guys, at that time, on that day was just awesome.”