WASHINGTON – Aleksander Skarlatos, one of three Americans who subdued a heavily armed gunman on a Paris-bound train, will be awarded one of the U.S. Army's highest honors.
Senior Army leaders say Skarlatos, a member of the Oregon National Guard, will get the Soldiers Medal — the Army's highest award for acts of heroism not involving actual conflict with the enemy.
Skarlatos was traveling from Amsterdam when the gunman emerged from a train lavatory carrying an AK-47 and a Lugar pistol. After hearing the sound of gunfire, Skarlatos called on other passengers to act, then charged the gunman, helped wrestle his firearms away and knocked him unconscious with his own rifle.
Skarlatos is in Germany with U.S. Air Force Airman Spencer Stone, who is undergoing treatment for injuries suffered in the attack.
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