After a long recovery and more than 30 surgeries, Carpenter ran the Marine Corps Marathon last year and posted a time of 4:28:42

Via Stars & Stripes

President Barack Obama will award medically retired Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter the Medal of Honor later this year in recognition of Carpenter’s heroic actions during a November 2010 grenade attack in Afghanistan, according to a Marine Corps Times report, which cited unnamed officials as sources.

Spokespersons for the Marine Corps and the White House would not confirm the status of Carpenter’s case to Stars and Stripes, pending a potential White House announcement.

Carpenter, 24, would be the 10th U.S. servicemember — and the second Marine — to receive the Medal of Honor from the war in Afghanistan.

Carpenter was nominated for the nation’s highest award for valor following reports that he covered a grenade to save the life of his friend, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio, during an insurgent attack in the Marjah district of Helmand province as the two Marines were standing guard on a rooftop on Nov. 21, 2010. Carpenter and Eufrazio survived the blast, but suffered severe wounds. Carpenter lost an eye and most of his teeth and shattered his jaw; his arm was also broken in several places.

Damage from shrapnel to the frontal lobe of Eufrazio’s brain left him unable to speak for two years.

The Marine Corps investigation of the incident to determine whether Carpenter deserved the award was complicated by several factors: There were no other witnesses, Carpenter couldn’t remember what happened because of trauma and Eufrazio was unable to speak until late 2012.

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