Meeting was becoming more risky for Trump,
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday inducted a new member into “the world’s most exclusive club of heroes” by awarding a Medal of Honor to a Navy SEAL who led a daring assault and rescue mission on a snowy Afghanistan mountaintop in 2002.
Trump presented the nation’s most prestigious honor for selflessness on the battlefield to Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt Slabinski, of Northampton, Mass. The president said Slabinski is a “special man, a truly brave person.”
Trump recounted how Slabinski risked his life by repeatedly exposing himself to “horrendous” fire from more heavily armed al-Qaida forces in March 2002 during the Battle of Takur Ghar while leading a reconnaissance task force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Slabinski set out to rescue a teammate who was injured after falling out of their helicopter after it came under attack as it attempted to land on the mountaintop. The helicopter crash-landed in the valley below and Slabinski and the rest of the team decided to make a trip back up the mountain.
After forging ahead and exposing himself to an onslaught of enemy fire, Slabinski later carried the seriously wounded teammate down a sheer cliff face while leading a trek through waist-deep snow. He continued to battle al-Qaida until the mountaintop was secured and his team was extracted.
Slabinski retired from the Navy in 2014 after over 25 years of service. He said after the ceremony that the medal “belongs to so many others” and named the teammates “who followed me without hesitation.”
He said the medal also belongs to seven Americans who died on the mountain. “They are the true heroes.”