corporal william kyle carpenter should not be alive today but the fact that he is gives us reason and trust that there is indeed a bigger plan. so god bless you, kyle. god bless all who serve and protect the precious and amazing life that we are blessed with. may god continue to bless and keep strong the united states of america. semper fi. [applause] >> the president of the united states in the name of the congress takes pleasure in presenting the medal of honor to lance corporal william kyle carpenter, united states marine corps. for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while serving as an automatic rifleman with company f, second battalion, ninth marines, regmental combat team one, first marine division forward, first marine expeditionary force forward, in helmand, pro-- helmand province, afghanistan, operation enduring freedom, on 21 november, 2010. lance corporal carpenter was a member of a platoon-sized coalition force comprised two of marine rifle squads, partnered with an afghan national army scad -- squad. the platoon had establishe

on this day, veterans day, colonel jack jacobs and kyle carpenter, afghan war vet, who saved a bud'sade, sat down to talk about their service and sacrifice. >> where were you? when was it? and what happened? >> i was in marjah, afghanistan, november 21 of 2010. it was my first combat deployment over there. >> kyle carpenter shouldn't be alive. >> he was severely wounded while in afghanistan. >> we were on top of a roof. an attack was started and grenades were thrown. one landed on top of the roof with us. i don't remember anything, if i went unconscious. >> colonel jack jacobs was almost killed in vietnam in 1968 under intense enemy fired, he rescued 14 men that day, earning a medal of honor. >> i had a head wound. just felt like i wanted to lie down. and after a while, i did lie down and i couldn't get up again. was it like that for you? >> well, i couldn't really hear or see anything just because my vision and my -- i got more and more tired and toward the end of it, after i had my final key thoughts, i had come to terms that i wasn't making it through this. yeah, it was just reall

first up, lance corporal william kyle carpenter. president obama awarded the medal of honor to the marine who was severely injured in afghanistan in november of 2010. while manning a rooftop post in the helmand province. corporal carpenter covered a a grenade with his body in order to save the life of a fellow marine. president obama said carpenter was a shining example to what our nation should encourage. this is just over 20 minutes. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. and mrs. michelle obama. accompanied by medal of honor recipient, corporal william kyle carpenter. >> if you would, please pray with me. almighty god, we pause at the beginning of this historic event to ask for your presence in this place. allow your spirit to move among all of us gathered here, that as we give honor to one who demonstrated the virtues on which this nation was founded, we would be reminded again of your grace that has allowed this country its freedoms that so many like corporal kyle carpenter have sacrificed to defend. god

the medal of honor is presented for gallantry on the battlefield but today we also recognize kyle carpenter for his valor since. and the hard fight for recovery. eventually kyle woke up. after five weeks in a comba. i want you to consider what kyle has endured just to stand here today. more than 2 1/2 years in the hospital, grueling rehabilitation, brain surgery to remove shrapnel from his head, nearly 40 surgeries to repair a collapsed lung, a fractured finger, a shattered right arm, broken in more than 30 places, multiple skin graphs , he has a new eye, a new jaw, new teeth and one hell of a smile. [laughter] and kyle's the first to give credit elsewhere. his doctors at about a they had da, he says, put me back together well. today's also a reminder that in past wars somebody with injuries as severe as kyle's probably wouldn't have survived. so many of our wounded warriors from today's wars are alive not just because of remarkable advances in technology, but primarily because of the extraordinary dedication and skill of our military and our v.a. medical professionals. so we need to keep d