Armed Forces News

President Obama presented Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward C. Byers Jr., with the Medal of Honor during a Feb. 29 White House ceremony, for heroism he displayed during a Dec. 8, 2012 operation in Afghanistan. Official records show that Byers and his comrades from SEAL Team 6 were embarked on a mission to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph, a U.S. citizen that had been abducted by Taliban fighters. The team had received a tip that Joseph’s captors intended to move him to another location in Afghanistan’s Laghman province. As the cadre approached the location where Joseph was held, a guard caught sight of them. A SEAL killed him, and the rescue team moved forward quickly to pursue the rescue mission. Entering the room where Joseph was kept, the first SEAL, Chief Special Warfare Operator Nicolas Checque, was shot by a guard. Byers, the second man to enter the room, engaged the guard with disregard to his own safety. After confirming that another man in the room was not Joseph, Byers fought him hand-to-hand. Other team members soon entered the room, and were able to identify Joseph. Byers then threw himself over Joseph to cover him, while the remaining SEALs shot and killed the abductors. Byers ensured Joseph was unharmed before escorting him to the rescue helicopter. Although he also performed CPR on Checque, the fellow SEAL who was shot, the wounded man did not survive. “Whenever Americans are taken hostage in the world, we move heaven and earth to bring them home safe. We send some thunder and some lightning – our special operator forces – folks like Ed Byers,” President Obama said during the White House ceremony.