( CNN ) -- An Army veteran credited with trying to save the lives of fellow soldiers during a firefight in Afghanistan will be awarded the nation 's highest military award , the White House said on Tuesday . President Barack Obama will bestow the Medal of Honor on May 13 to former Sgt . Kyle White for heroics stemming from the 2007 battle during which his only cover from enemy fire was a single tree jutting from a mountain cliff . Six Americans were killed and several others in the group , including White , were wounded in the four-hour attack . The Medal of Honor is received for conspicuous gallantry on the battlefield above and beyond the call of duty . White will be the seventh living recipient for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan . He left the military in 2011 and is now an investment analyst in Charlotte . White was a platoon radio telephone operator and among 14 American troops and Afghan soldiers ambushed while on patrol on November 8 , 2007 , in eastern Afghanistan . He quickly returned insurgent fire and was knocked unconscious by a rocket-propelled grenade as he tried to reload his weapon . When he came to , his face was hit with shrapnel . White and four others were cut off from the other soldiers , who jumped from a cliff . He applied first aid to a wounded soldier and they both moved to the only cover they had : a single tree on the mountain . His radio not working , White moved into the open to try to reach a Marine about 30 feet away who was so severely wounded he could not move . He braved enemy fire , moving back and forth several times to drag him to the tree although he died of his wounds . White then exposed himself to withering fire again , crawling into the open to try to recover the platoon leader . When he reached him , the man was already dead . By this time , the soldier White initially brought to the tree had been hit again , this time in the leg . White applied first aid by using his own belt as a tourniquet . He then located a working radio and called for mortar , artillery , air strikes and helicopter gunships . But a friendly mortar round landed near him , resulting in a concussion . After nightfall , White established a security perimeter and ensured that no U.S. military equipment fell into the hands of enemy forces . The impact of multiple concussions was now causing his own condition to deteriorate , so he called for a medevac . He knew if he passed out , no one there could work the radio and guide the rescuers . When help arrived , White refused assistance until the other Americans and Afghans were aboard the helicopter .
Former Sgt . Kyle White and comrades were ambushed in 2007 in Afghanistan . White 's only cover during ferocious assault was a single tree on a mountain . He survived the attack, but lost both legs below the knee. White was also injured twice during the battle , but refused help until others were attended to .