<br />
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. -- The White House announced today that Marine veteran Cpl. William "Kyle" Carpenter will receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan.<br />
Carpenter will receive the medal from President Barack Obama, June 19, 2014. He will be the eighth living recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.<br />
On Nov. 21, 2010, Taliban insurgents initiated an attack on Carpenter's squad, part of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. Carpenter, the squad automatic rifleman for his fire team, and Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio were holding a rooftop security position when a hand grenade was thrown their way. Without hesitation, Carpenter reacted, rushing toward the grenade in an attempt to shield his brother-in-arms from its blast.<br />
The grenade detonated with Carpenter's body taking the majority of the blast. Carpenter lay on the rooftop, barely clinging to life; his fellow Marine also severely wounded.<br />
A selfless action and a hellish tragedy happened in the blink of an eye, leaving both Carpenter and Eufrazio with painstaking recoveries.<br />
Carpenter suffered severe injuries from the blast. Much of his jaw was rebuilt and he lost his right eye; he sustained countless shattered bones throughout his body and a collapsed right lung.<br />
He endured a strenuous recovery process at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. After two and a half years, Carpenter was medically retired from the Marine Corps on July 30, 2013.<br />
"I look back and I'm actually very appreciative I had those two and a half years because those years put things in perspective more than a whole lifetime of things could if I wasn't there," Carpenter said.<br />
Carpenter's mind and emotions were not left unscarred either. The hardest part was dealing with letting others help, he said.<br />
"Going from toting a machinegun in Afghanistan
