A U.S. Army soldier stationed in Hawaii obtained the navy’s highest noncombat award for heroism Wednesday after he saved a girl from being crushed by a person final 12 months in Wahiawa.

The Soldier’s Medal was awarded to Spc. Rene Rodriguez for involving himself in a state of affairs the place there's a “clearly recognizable personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life,” in response to the medal’s necessities.

He informed CNN that he was driving dwelling from work final October when he noticed a bunch of bystanders watching as a person was punching a girl.

“I thought to myself, ‘What’s the right thing to do? Like what would my dad do?’” Spc. Rodriguez informed the community. “And I stopped and turned my car around.”

The soldier jumped into motion after seeing the girl bleeding from her face and crying as the person continued to assault her.

“Rodriguez, with complete disregard for his own safety, swiftly moved to protect a woman enduring a violent assault,” reads his award quotation. “He used his body as a shield, endured numerous strikes from the assailant, all while moving the woman into his vehicle to depart the scene.”

Before Spc. Rodriguez might drive away, the assailant pulled the girl out of the car and resumed beating her. 

The soldier fought the person off once more, helped the girl get within the automobile and locked the doorways. As he drove away, the assailant started “punching the window out” on the passenger aspect door and tried to “drag her out of the car,” Spc. Rodriguez informed CNN.

Police arrived shortly after and pursued the person, who tried to flee into the Hawaiian jungle. The man, who was not recognized, was arrested shortly after.

Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Ryan, commander of the Army’s twenty fifth Infantry Division in  Hawaii, counseled Spc. Rodriguez in a video announcement of the award, saying, “He did the right thing because he had a bias for action, and we’re damn proud of him.”

Spc. Rodriguez, a 22-year-old medic from El Paso, Texas, obtained his medal at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com