Youngest living Medal of Honor recipient addresses Columbia Rotary
January 8, 2015
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
To hear U.S. Marine Cpl. William “Kyle” Carpenter – the 25-year-old recipient of the Medal of Honor – tell it, “The enemy killed me. I came back. I ran a marathon, completed a Mud Run and jumped from a plane.”
Indeed, on Nov. 21, 2010, Carpenter was badly wounded in Helmand Province, Afghanistan when – during a battle with the Taliban – he dove on a live grenade, shielding a fellow Marine and absorbing the full impact of the blast. Carpenter flat-lined several times (at one point listed as “patient expired on arrival”). He spent two years in the hospital and underwent several surgeries. But he did come back. And on June 19, 2014, he received the nation’s highest award for combat valor.
Carpenter – a former Gilbert (S.C.) high school football standout, a state powerlifting champion, and today a student at the University of S. Carolina – was the keynote speaker at the Columbia Rotary Club’s Monday luncheon, Jan. 5, where among other points he exhorted all in attendance to lead from the front.
Speaking before a larger-than-normal audience – of a few hundred attendees – including Congressman Joe Wilson, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bradley A. Becker, at least one federal judge, several state legislators, an Air Force color detail, and all manner of business of professional leaders, Carpenter began with why he joined the Marine Corps. “The number one question I get,” he said. “It’s simple. I wanted to join something – be part of something – that was bigger than myself. I wanted to be a part of something that at the end of the day when I was hurting, tired, and sore and probably wishing I was doing something else, I could look back on that day and feel like I had done something to make myself better.”
After 13-weeks of boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. in 2009, Carpenter attended the USMC School of Infantry near Camp Lejeune, N.C. where he humorously said he spent two months learning to be “cold, wet, hungry, and miserable.” Following infantry school, Carpenter shipped to the Caribbean for additional training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, regularly humping the hot, rugged hills rising above GITMO with 100 lbs. of gear. This was followed by a stateside seven-month combat-deployment workup for deployment to Afghanistan.
Describing his various fights in Afghanistan, Carpenter referred to “a big fight,” “a really bad firefight,” “heavy fighting,” and “a long, knock-down drag-out fight” against diehard Taliban forces.
Carpenter spoke very little about the action that earned for him the Medal of Honor, but spoke at length about the demonstrated leadership of his squad leader who was badly wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in another fight on another day. “He led the charge… He always did,” said Carpenter, who pointed to the example of his squad leader as the example for us all.
Rotarians say they will be talking about Carpenter’s address for a long time.
“Columbia Rotary was not only honored to have this true hero address our club, but his obvious humility and timeless words on leadership – no matter what level of leadership – can be applied to all aspects of life, regardless of vocation, occupation, or endeavor,” says Mark P. Sullivan, a financial advisor with Wells Fargo and the incoming pres. of Columbia Rotary. “Cpl. Carpenter’s selflessness and positive attitude given his circumstances are heartening to say the least. I believe, as do others, that his address will not soon be forgotten.”`
As Carpenter was leaving the luncheon, working his way past well-wishers to catch a flight, he was asked if he “loves GOD.” The young Marine rifleman stopped and unhesitatingly responded, “Yes sir.”
– W. Thomas Smith Jr. – a former U.S. Marine rifleman – is a military analyst and partner with NATIONAL DEFENSE CONSULTANTS, LLC. Visit him at http://uswriter.com.
