William D . Swenson William D . Swenson ( born 1978 ) is a former captain in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor on 15 October 2013 . He was the first living United States Army officer to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War , as well as the sixth living recipient in the War on Terror . Military career . Swenson graduated from Seattle University with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science . He commissioned from Officer Candidate School as a United States Army infantry officer in September 2002 . His military education includes Ranger School and Airborne School , and has deployed three times in the War on Terror , once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan . He has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal ( with two oak leaf clusters ) , the Purple Heart , and the Combat Infantryman Badge . At the time of the Battle of Ganjgal , Swenson was a Captain in 3rd Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division , detailed as an Embedded Trainer for the Afghan Border Police . He left the Army in February 2011 and currently lives in Seattle , Washington . Awards and decorations . The U . S . Army lists Swenson ’ s awards and decorations as including : Captain Swenson has got five Overseas Service Bar s . Medal of Honor action . On September 8 , 2009 , Swenson was part of an operation to connect the Afghan government with native elders in the Ganjgal Valley in Eastern Kunar Province in Afghanistan , near the Pakistan border . According to the U . S . Army ' s detailed Official Narrative , the coalition force ' s 106 - man column entered the valley and was ambushed at about 6 a . m . by as many as 60 insurgent fighters who soon surrounded the column on three sides , situated on terraced high ground . Within an hour , communication to the front of the column , including four U . S . servicemen , was lost . Meanwhile , Captain Swenson , who initially was positioned toward the rear of the column , called for air support , and with two comrades crossed 50 meters of open space under direct enemy fire to administer life - extending first aid to his severely wounded sergeant . When the column was surrounded by enemy fighters that advanced within 50 meters , Swenson responded to Taliban demands for surrender by throwing a hand grenade , an act of defiance that rallied his comrades to repel the enemy advance . Swenson and comrades moved his sergeant and other wounded to a helicopter for medical evacuation before returning to the enemy ' s " kill zone " for at least two more trips in an unarmored vehicle to evacuate additional wounded . Returning even more deeply through the kill zone toward the location of the head of column in search of the four U . S . servicemen , Swenson ' s party first rescued and recovered several Afghan National Security Force wounded and dead . Finally , Swenson and a small contingent recovered the four fallen U . S . servicemen who had been discovered by a search and rescue aircraft at noon . The 6 - 7 hour firefight caused 15 coalition deaths , including the four U . S . servicemen and Swenson ' s friend SFC Kenneth Westbrook . He used a VSB panel to single for a MEDIVAC to land , using his own body he drapped the VSB panel over his body and laid down on the ground , with Swenson ' s actions believed to have directly contributed to saving more than a dozen Afghan lives . Medal of Honor award . Swenson received the Medal of Honor on 15 October 2013 . He was nominated for his actions as an Embedded Trainer in the Battle of Ganjgal near the Afghanistan - Pakistan border on 8 September 2009 . He is reported to have repeatedly entered the " kill zone " in order to rescue wounded American and Afghan soldiers , much like his teammate Dakota Meyer who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2011 . For reasons which remain unclear , the paperwork was lost , causing a significant delay in the nomination process . Some believe that Swenson was being punished for loudly criticizing his senior officers ( for not sending fire support ) in an after - action investigation into the battle . His case was reopened in 2011 at the urging of Marine Corps General John R . Allen . Dakota Meyer strongly advocated for Swenson ' s Medal of Honor in his book , " Into the Fire : A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War " , writing that if it weren ' t for Swenson , he ( Meyer ) would not be alive today . Hall of Heroes Induction Ceremony . Following the Medal of Honor presentation at the White House , on October 16 , 2013 , Swenson was inducted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes . The ceremony was officiated by Chuck Hagel , the Secretary of Defense . Hagel was assisted by the Secretary of the Army John M . McHugh , Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno and the Sergeant Major of the Army , Raymond F . Chandler . During the ceremony , Chuck Hagel apologized to Swenson for the mishandling of his award nomination , which had been delayed for 19 months because of what officials called a bureaucratic oversight . McHugh later told the standing room only audience that the Army would implement a new process providing greater oversight to " ensure that no future award packet is lost along the way or paperwork misplaced or somehow forgotten in the fog of war . " The new directive , McHugh stated , required Medal of Honor nominations be sent immediately to Army Human Resources Command , known as HRC . " As soon as an honors packet is created at battalion level , we will have immediate visibility at Army headquarters , " he told the audience . Referencing allegations that Swenson ' s award had been intentionally lost as a result of his criticizing leadership actions after the battle , Odierno said that " Swenson ' s strength of character was undeniable . Even after the battle , Will was not afraid to point out deficiencies in the operation that caused difficulties in obtaining the appropriate and timely support necessary . He recognized the importance of assessing performance , and had the character to stick to his convictions . " Following the presentation of his framed citation and the personal Medal of Honor flag , Swenson spoke briefly . " I look at this crowd and I see the strength of a nation and I see the strength of a fighting force , one that I fought proudly with . I look at my fellow Marines , Army , Navy and Air Force , a team that I fought side - by - side with as brothers . It ' s the proudest moment of my life and I ' m honored and privileged to know these men . "