The U.S. Army awarded two Fort Richardson soldiers, Spc. Ryan. S. Chester and Spc. Robert E. Parson, Silver Star medals for bravery in combat in a ceremony Tuesday morning at the post.
According to an Army statement, Chester fought continuously for 25 minutes unprotected after being thrown from his vehicle while on patrol near the village of Moshak, Afghanistan.
Parson fought enemy fire at a medical center in the Afghan province of Paktika, to protect the evacuation of his wounded squad leader.
The Silver Star is the third-highest award given by any branch of the United States armed forces for bravery in the face of the enemy. The two soldiers were members of Fort Richardson's 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division, which began a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in February 2009.
The awards ceremony took place on Fort Richardson's Pershing Field Tuesday morning. First Lt. Kathryn Robbins hosted the ceremony and Maj. Gen. William Troy, the highest ranking Army officer in Alaska, presented the Silver Stars. About 950 soldiers, a third of the "Spartan Brigade," as the Airborne brigade is known, attended.
"This is a milestone in the life of this brigade" said Troy, referring to two U.S. Army specialists receiving such an honorable award on the same year.
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