Photo courtesy of army.mil.
Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery in Iraq. Sgt. Cashe saved the lives of six soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter from the burning vehicle on Oct. 17, 2005.
Cashe was making his rounds on nighttime patrol when the enemy attacked the vehicle he was mounted in. A bomb disabled his Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and it quickly became engulfed in flames.
Sgt. Cashe’s uniform, covered in fuel, ignited as he exited and rescued the driver with another soldier. He returned to the burning vehicle several times to retrieve soldiers stuck in the troop compartment, according to Company Commander Col. Jimmy Hathaway. The enemy was also shooting at him.
“Again and again,” said Hathaway, “He continues to go back, soaked in fuel, on fire, with no regard for his own safety to get everybody out.“
Cashe received burns on more than 70 percent of his body and passed away on Nov. 8, 2005, at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Lt. Gen. Gary Brito also commended Cashe for his sacrifice and bravery, noting that he was wounded yet continued to rescue his soldiers from the inflamed vehicle.
“You don’t often find truly selfless sacrifice where someone put his Soldiers’ welfare before his own,” said Brito. “Sgt. [1st Class] Cashe was horribly wounded and continued to fight to save his men.”
Despite being burned over most of his body, Cashe refused to be helicoptered to safety until his soldiers were evacuated for medical care.
President Biden called Cashe “a soldier’s soldier” during the White House ceremony.
“Alwyn Cashe was a soldier’s soldier — a warrior who literally walked through fire for his troops.”
Sgt. Cashe has numerous awards for his service, including two NATO Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Kosovo Campaign Medal.
Cashe is survived by his wife, Tamara, two daughters, Alexis and Lajada, and their son, Andrew.