Washington – A Minnesota man accepted a posthumous Medal of Honor that President Donald Trump awarded to his father on Wednesday, recognizing the late Army staff sergeant for sacrificing his life in Iraq in 2007 to save a group of fellow soldiers.
Trevor Oliver, who lives in Coon Rapids, stood beside Trump in a somber White House ceremony as the president praised his father's heroism. Oliver spoke only briefly, choking up as he recounted conversations in the last few days with the soldiers who were saved by his father, Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins.
"Everything you have said to me over the last few days has meant the world to me," said Oliver, who is 22 and works at Target. "It changes my life."
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., who attended the East Room event, called Atkins "a hero who went beyond the call of duty and gave his life to save his brothers in arms."
Atkins, 31, who was from Montana, was on his second tour of Iraq. On June 1, 2007, he and his three-man squad from Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division responded to a report of a small group of suspected terrorists walking along a road in Abu Samak, an area known at the time as a hotbed for insurgents.
The squad located the suspected terrorists and began to walk toward them.
"As Travis began to search one of the insurgents, the man resisted," Trump said during the ceremony. "Travis engaged him in hand-to-hand combat. As Travis wrestled to get the enemy's hands behind his back, the man began to reach for something, and Travis knew what it was. He realized the man was wearing a suicide vest."
At that point, Atkins wrapped his arms and entire body around the other man, and threw him to the ground away from his troops, standing just feet away.
