Edward Byers

"That question is very easy to answer. Its the brotherhood. The camaraderie that we have, I dont think you can replicate that any place else in the world."

"Nic embodied what it was to be an American hero. He will forever be remembered in the pages of history for the sacrifices that he made."

"The award puts Byers in rare company. Since 9/11, 17 service members have received the Medal of Honor. Byers will be just the third sailor, and of them the only one who lived through the action that earned the award."

"After his Medal of Honor ceremony, SEAL chief Ed Byers was eager to return to duty and the work he loved. So when the spotlight surrounding the award dimmed, he traded his starched dress blues for the familiar camouflage uniform and slipped back into the shadows of anonymity where courageous volunteers fight so that their countrymen can sleep peacefully at night."

"Three years after the rescue mission, Ed Byers received a phone call from the White House asking whether he would take a call from the President of the United States. He wondered out loud whether anyone had ever actually said no to such a question. When President Barack Obama informed Byers that he would receive the Medal of Honor, he felt honored but also humbled. It was a weighty responsibility to represent the Naval Special Warfare community and stand in for all his brothers in arms who never made it home from war. Heroic men like Nic Checque, and so many like him. That night Byers called his mother, Peggy, and told her about the news and the upcoming awards ceremony at the White House. "Do you think I will be able to come?" she asked. There was a pause on the other end of the line as Ed Byers suppressed a smile. "Of course, Mom. Im pretty sure youll be allowed to come," he told her."

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Hostage Rescue Force Team Member in Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM from 8 to 9 December 2012. As the rescue force approached the target building, an enemy sentry detected them and darted inside to alert his fellow captors. The sentry quickly reemerged, and the lead assaulter attempted to neutralize him. Chief Byers with his team sprinted to the door of the target building. As the primary breacher, Chief Byers stood in the doorway fully exposed to enemy fire while ripping down six layers of heavy blankets fastened to the inside ceiling and walls to clear a path for the rescue force. The first assaulter pushed his way through the blankets, and was mortally wounded by enemy small arms fire from within. Chief Byers, completely aware of the imminent threat, fearlessly rushed into the room and engaged an enemy guard aiming an AK- 47 at him. He then tackled another adult male who had darted towards the corner of the room. During the ensuing hand-to-hand struggle, Chief Byers confirmed the man was not the hostage and engaged him. As other rescue team members called out to the hostage, Chief Byers heard a voice respond in English and raced toward it. He jumped atop the American hostage and shielded him from the high volume of fire within the small room. While covering the hostage with his body, Chief Byers immobilized another guard with his bare hands, and restrained the guard until a teammate could eliminate him. His bold and decisive actions under fire saved the lives of the hostage and several of his teammates. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of near certain death, Chief Petty Officer Byers reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

"Looking back, SEAL chief Edward Byers seemed destined to serve. Even as a young kid and Boy Scout growing up in Grand Rapids, Ohio, he reveled in playing military games in the woods with his friends. After playing varsity soccer and graduating from Otsego High School he joined the Navy, following in the footsteps of his father, a Navy veteran of World War II who was buried in Arlington Cemetery. Byers began his Navy career as a hospital corpsman, or medic, but ever since viewing a movie about the SEALs growing up he had dreamed of one day joining their ranks. He passed the grueling Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in 2002, joining the roughly 25 percent of his class that made the grade. In December 2012, he was thirty-three years old, and already on his eleventh overseas deployment and ninth combat tour. He had received five Bronze Star medals for valor, and two Purple Hearts for wounds suffered in action, and still he cherished the life of a special warfare operator. He got to perform the work he loved alongside men he considered the toughest and most resilient on the planet."

"On the night of December 8, 2012, Chief Ed Byers bouncing in the webbed seat of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter over the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. He and the rest of the SEAL team assaulters had volunteered for the operation, fully aware that hostage rescue missions were considered "no fail" and thus among the riskiest. Whatever dangers they encountered, the rescuers were determined to bring an American hostage home alive."

"Some seek the spotlight, and others have it thrust upon them. Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL/FMF/SW) Ed Byers reluctantly enters that spotlight Monday when he receives the nations highest valor award for rushing through gunfire to save an American hostage. Byers, 37, will be presented with nations highest valor award on Monday, for his actions during a 2012 hostage rescue in Afghanistan, and with it the obscurity of his life in the SEAL teams will forever vanish."