[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 97 (Friday, June 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING CORPORAL WILLIAM ``KYLE'' CARPENTER ON THE OCCASION OF 
                      RECEIVING THE MEDAL OF HONOR

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2014

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
remarkable military service of retired Marine Corporal William ``Kyle'' 
Carpenter, and former Defense Fellow with the House Veterans Affairs 
Committee, as earlier today he became the latest and youngest recipient 
of our Nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor.
  Born in Flowood, Mississippi on October 17, 1989, Corporal Carpenter 
enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in February 2009. Upon 
completion of Recruit Training at Parris Island, South Carolina, then 
Private First Class Carpenter was assigned to Fox Company, 2nd 
Battalion, 9th Marines as a Squad Automatic Weapon gunner. In July 
2010, Corporal Carpenter deployed to Afghanistan in support of 
Operation Enduring Freedom. Later that year, his life would change 
forever in an instant.
  On November 21, 2010, Lance Corporal Carpenter and Lance Corporal 
Nicholas Eufrazio were providing overwatch on the rooftop of a 
makeshift operation center in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 
when his unit took small arms fire from enemy forces. A live grenade 
landed next to both men and with complete disregard for his own 
personal safety, Lance Corporal Carpenter leaped onto the grenade to 
save the life of his brother-in-arms. His subsequent injuries were so 
extensive that the medical team of a nearby facility labeled him 
``Expired on Arrival''.
  Thanks to the remarkable efforts of his medical team, Corporal 
Carpenter stabilized. In the following two and a half years, Corporal 
Carpenter would undergo more than forty surgeries to fix a skull 
fracture, punctured lung, thirty fractures to his right arm, a 
fractured jaw, ruptured ear drums, and subsequently lost his right eye. 
All the while, the Marine Corps and Department of the Navy had been 
conducting an investigation into the incident and found that Corporal 
Carpenter's actions proved worthy of the Medal of Honor for conspicuous 
gallantry and intrepidity.
  I do not believe Corporal Carpenter's actions that day occurred in a 
vacuum; selflessness and heroism of that magnitude do not simply happen 
overnight, and it serves as a testament to the moral character he had 
developed every single day leading up to that fateful event. The true 
grit, determination, and never-give-up attitude he has demonstrated 
through his extensive rehabilitation these past few years since serve 
us all as an example of the best this Nation has to offer. While the 
duration of his official military service was cut short, the example he 
left will motivate and inspire not just those within our military 
ranks, but our entire Nation for generations to come.
  I wish Kyle all the best in his future endeavors and thank him for 
his selfless service and sacrifice. Semper Fi, Corporal Carpenter.

                          ____________________