His eyes moist and lower lip trembling , Clint Romesha nodded haltingly at family , comrades , military brass and the president standing to applaud him for receiving the nation 's highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor . He never smiled during the White House ceremony on Monday and later explained why in a statement to reporters . `` I stand here with mixed emotions of both joy and sadness today , '' he said , describing how he felt `` conflicted '' about the medal around his neck . `` The joy comes from recognition from us doing our jobs as soldiers on distant battlefields , '' said Romesha , a former Army staff sergeant dressed in full uniform that included a cavalry hat . `` But it is countered by the constant reminder of the loss of our battle buddies - my battle buddies , my soldiers , my friends . '' An American hero : The uncommon valor of Clint Romesha . For `` conspicuous gallantry ... at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty , '' Romesha , 31 , received the honor at an emotional ceremony lightened by his rambunctious toddler son . In conferring the medal , President Barack Obama described the conditions faced by Romesha and 52 other soldiers when they came under attack from mortar , rocket-propelled grenade , machine-gun and sniper fire on October 3 , 2009 , at Combat Outpost Keating in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan . A military investigation later described the outpost as indefensible against the higher-ground positions surrounding it , and Obama noted the challenge that Romesha 's unit faced from the estimated 300 Taliban insurgents . Explosions from the dawn attack `` shook them out of theirs beds and sent them rushing for their weapons , and soon the awful odds became clear , '' Obama said . `` What happened next has been described as one of the most intense battles of the entire war in Afghanistan , '' the president continued . `` The attackers had the advantage , the high ground , the mountains above , and they were unleashing everything they had -- rocket-propelled grenades , heavy machine guns , mortars , snipers taking aim . '' Romesha and his men `` had never seen anything like it , '' Obama said . Clint Romesha , the bravest of the brave . `` With gunfire impacting all around him , Clint raced to one of the barracks and grabbed a machine gun , '' the president said . `` He took aim at one of the enemy machine teams and took it out . A rocket-propelled grenade exploded , sending shrapnel into his hip , his arm and his neck , but he kept fighting , disregarding his own wounds and tended to an injured comrade instead . '' Later in the battle , Romesha and his team charged more than 100 yards through enemy fire to reach wounded soldiers in the outpost , Obama added . The audience on Monday included relatives of the eight soldiers killed in the battle , and Obama paid tribute to the efforts by Romesha and his fellow soldiers to bring them back . `` Our troops should never ever be put in a position where they have to defend the indefensible , '' Obama said . `` That 's what these soldiers did for each other in sacrifice driven by pure love , and because they did , eight grieving families were at least able to welcome their soldiers home one last time . '' Before the East Room ceremony , the militaristic and somber atmosphere was lightened by Romesha 's son , Colin , who climbed the podium and examined the lectern , briefly playing hide-and-seek with the bemused onlookers . It took a military escort to entice Colin to his mother 's arms in the first row , and when Obama spoke a few minutes later , he prompted chuckles in pointing out the boy 's exuberant nature . `` Colin is not as shy as Clint , '' Obama said . `` He was in the Oval Office and he was racing around pretty good and sampled a number of apples before he found the one that was just right . '' Romesha was invited to be the guest of first lady Michelle Obama Tuesday at the president 's State of the Union address . But he declined the invitation , telling CNN that he has decided to spend the evening with friends from his former unit , Black Knight Troop , 3-61 CAV , his wife Tammy -- with whom he celebrates a wedding anniversary Tuesday -- and their families . Romesha to be guest of first lady at State of the Union . Romesha is the fourth living person to receive the nation 's highest military decoration for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq . The battle at Combat Outpost Keating raged for more than 12 hours . When it ended , with Romesha and others having held onto the outpost , more than half of their 53-soldier contingent had been killed or wounded . Despite his own wounds , Romesha led a charge across the outpost that regained control of the ammunition supply depot . In doing so , he ignored an order to hold his position , pretending the radio was broken . The U.S. military closed the heavily damaged outpost three days later , destroying what remained to prevent it from aiding insurgents in any way . A few months later , a U.S. military investigation found that measures taken to protect the outpost were lax , and critical intelligence and reconnaissance assistance had been diverted from the base . The Medal of Honor : What is it ?
Clint Romesha speaks of the lives of ` ` my battle buddies , my soldiers , my friends '' Romesha gets the Medal of Honor for ` ` conspicuous gallantry '' beyond the call of duty . He led counter - attacks against a 2009 attack by insurgents on a remote outpost . Romesha is the fourth living veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to get the Medal of Honor .