President Barack Obama presents Kyle White with the Medal of Honor.
Former U.S. Army Sgt. Kyle White, a Medal of Honor recipient, will deliver a talk in the Student Union Theatre on Friday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. White will focus his talk, which is free and open to the public, on his experiences in the military as well as his transition to civilian life and college.
Kyle White
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the U.S. Armed Services. White is pictured above at his White House award ceremony with President Barack Obama on May 13, 2014.
Valor under fire
White was honored for his courageous actions during combat operations in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. On the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2007, White and the 13 members of his team left a meeting in an Afghan village and headed back up a steep hill, into an area known as "ambush alley” — this is where the team was attacked. Despite being wounded and briefly knocked unconscious, White selflessly attended to other wounded soldiers, saving their lives even as enemy fire continued.
Eventually, White was able to secure a radio and provide information to friendly forces, allowing precision airstrikes to stifle the enemy's attack so that a medical evacuation aircraft could rescue the team.
After returning to civilian life in 2011, White headed to The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he majored in finance and earned a B.S. in Business Administration in 2013. He now works at Merrill Lynch, where he is a vice president of global wealth and retirement solutions and a fixed income specialist.
This event is sponsored by UA’s ROTC program, American Legion Post 808 on campus, the UA Corps of Cadets and Zips Programming Network.