President Joe Biden posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn C. Cashe for his heroic acts during Operation Iraqi Freedom during a ceremony on Thursday.
Cashe grew up in Ovideo and graduated from Oviedo High School. Read more about his life below.
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According to a biography on the U.S. Army’s website, Cashe joined the Army as a supply specialist shortly after graduating high school.
He would serve in various roles stationed across the globe for the next decade and a half. See a timeline of his service below:
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1989: Enlisted in the Army.
1991: Served two years in Korea during the Gulf War.
1993: Became an infantryman and served another yearlong tour in Korea.
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1998: Graduated from drill sergeant school in 1998, and served over two years as a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Georgia.
2001: Served as an operations noncommissioned officer for the 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment in Europe, then served in Germany for two years as a squad leader in the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment.
2003: Participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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2004: Served as a platoon sergeant in the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Benning, Georgia.
2005: Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cashe is receiving the Medal of Freedom for his actions on Oct. 17, 2005. On that day, according to his biography on the U.S. Army’s website, Cashe’s Bradley fighting vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device near Samarra, Iraq.
Cashe retrieved six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from the burning vehicle, receiving burns on nearly 72% of his body. He died on Nov. 8, 2005, at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
He is survived by his spouse, Tamara Cashe; daughters, Lajada and Alexis; and son, Andrew.
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