Monica Brown Awarded Silver Star Medal

Monica Brown Silver Star

Monica Brown is the first female soldier to be awarded the Silver Star in Afghanistan and during the GWOT, getting it from Vice President Dick Cheney.For her courage and her courageous act, Army Specialist Monica Brown was awarded the Silver Star by the U.S. government.

Some male soldiers are not so happy with it, including members of Pvt. Brown's own unit. But her superior officers say that she is a hero - a hero who earned one of the highest military awards for exceptional courage when she was only 18 years old. Despite the itinerant life, Brown learned to excel academically. She graduated from high school a year and half early - a day after turning 17. She planned to enroll in a college, but that changed when her brother Justin, who was a year older and as a twin, was drawn to the army.

Army Specialist Monica Brown served as a Combat Medic with the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring FREEDOM.On April 25, 2007, in Afghanistan. While on patrol, the trail vehicle hit an IED, which ignited the fuel, engulfing the vehicle in an intense fireball.

Specialist Brown moved to the more protected position with her patients, and further treatment as enemy small arms fire continued to impact around her. Once again, Specialist Brown shielded the wounded with her body. Specialist Brown's heroism and selfless devotion to duty reflect honor in itself, Task Force Fury, the Combined Joint Task Force-82, and the United States Army.

Video of Silver Star Awarded Monica Brown

In 2005, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, at the age of 23, became the first woman receives the Silver Star since the Second World War. Two of her fellow soldiers participating in the 617th Military Police Company, a National Guard unit from Richmond, KY, also received Silver Stars for their actions in the same commitment. The Silver Star awarded to Sgt. Timothy Nein was later extended to a Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor.