Someone You Should Know

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan–A 19-year-old medic from Texas will be only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the United States third-highest medal for valour.

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers in April 2007 after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in Paktia, Afghanistan. Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield five wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 metres away, the military said...

...She was in a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil, Paktia, on April 25, 2007, when one Humvee hit a bomb. "We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag."

As she ran to the burning vehicle, rebels opened fire. All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out. "I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. ... We were still receiving incoming fire."

Pentagon policy prohibits women from serving in front-line combat roles. But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, with no real front lines, have seen women soldiers operate in close-quarters combat more often.

Brown said ammunition going off inside the Humvee sent shrapnel in all directions. "So we dragged them for 100 or 200 metres, got them away from the Humvee a little bit. I was in a kind of a robot-mode ... getting the guys taken care of."

The army said Brown's "bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat.''