Six U.S. and South Korean soldiers were awarded medals Thursday for helping to rescue a North Korean defector who made a daring escape across the border that divides the peninsula.
The fleeing soldier was severely wounded on Nov. 13 as other North Korean troops opened fire to try to stop him as he ran onto the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, then collapsed.
Two South Korea soldiers who are part of the JSA security battalion crawled across the leaf-strewn ground to recover him, then dragged him to safety as other members of the battalion monitored the situation.
Gen. Vincent Brooks, head of United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, awarded the soldiers an Army commendation medal “in recognition for their efforts” in rescuing the defector, during a ceremony at Camp Bonifas, a statement said.
The awardees were Sgt. 1st Class Noh Yeong Soo, Sgt. 1st Class Song Seoung Hyeon, Sgt. Robert Hartfield, Maj. Jeffery Schmidt, Lt. Col. Kwon Young Hwan, and Lt. Col. Matthew Farmer, USFK said on its Facebook page. It didn’t provide more information.