How Medal of Honor Recipient is Going Beyond Call of Duty to Show Love of Country, Again United States Marine Kyle Carpenter was awarded the U.S.’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, for selflessly jumping on a grenade to save the life of a friend and fellow Marine during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. Carpenter’s story is told in the video above in an appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman in June. Last year, following over 30 surgeries to repair his eye/face following his heroic act, Carpenter accomplished his goal of completing the Marine Corps Marathon in a highly-respectable 4 hours and 28 minutes. This year, Carpenter has bigger plans. He plans to set a world record. Carpenter will make his entrance to the race by skydiving via a giant American flag, according to Marine Corps Times. According to the release from the Marine Corps Marathon, Carpenter will help to deliver the largest American flag carried on a performance jump to the starting line of the race. At 7,800 square feet, the flag will be visible from a distance of 20 miles, according to the release. The flag would equal to around 100 x 78 feet. The Marine Corps Times article continues: He will accomplish the task with the professional team FASTRAX, which is composed of Army and Marine veterans, according to the announcement. Carpenter’s jump will be a tandem one, with a Marine veteran of seven years, Paul Stanford, as his parachute partner. The flag is set to be delivered as the playing of the National Anthem signals the start of the race. Minutes later, Marine Corps aircraft will conduct a flyover. The jump will be filmed via helmet camera by retired Marine Col. John Bates, a Purple Heart recipient, according to the release. That footage will later be delivered to Comcast SportsNet to air during its live broadcast of the race. Carpenter’s already done enough to win America’s respect, and this certainly seems like going beyond the call-of-duty to show his love and admiration for the United States of America. Then again, this Marine’s pretty used to doing that. ijreview/2014/10/183917-medal-honor-recipient-plans-set-world-record-marine-corps-marathon/
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:08:04 +0000