Florent Groberg

Florent Ahmed Groberg is a retired United States Army officer and civilian employee of the United States Department of Defense who is French-American. In 2008, he enlisted in the United States Army. He served in the Afghan War and was critically injured in August 2012 while attempting to stop a suicide bomber. Groberg was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions by President Obama on November 12, 2015. The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the highest and most prestigious military decoration bestowed by the United States government to honor American soldiers who have distinguished themselves through acts of valor. Groberg is only the 19th Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War and the first foreign-born laureate since the war.

Groberg was first assigned to Task Force Lethal in November 2009, in the Pech River Valley in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. In February 2012, he was sent back to Kunar Province with Task Force Mountain Warrior and given the rank of captain. On his way to the governor’s compound in Asadabad for a weekly security meeting as part of a patrol escort operation, the patrol came to a choke point in the road where two motorcycles approached from the opposite direction.

Groberg noticed a man dressed in a suicide vest. He physically removed the suspect away from the patrol, with the help of Sgt. Andrew Mahoney. Groberg grabbed the suicide bomber and pulled him away from the patrol. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives sending Groberg flying 15 to 20 feet away. A second suicide bomber, who was positioned behind a tiny structure, detonated his device prematurely because of Groberg’s actions. Several members of the patrol were injured or killed, but many more lives were saved due to the quick-thinking actions of this American Hero.