Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) and Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe for heroic actions taken in Iraq on Oct. 17, 2005.

The bill would make a technical change to federal law, which generally requires that the Medal of Honor be awarded within five years of the actions that are the basis for the award, a requirement that Congress regularly waives.

“It’s not every day you read an extraordinary story like Alwyn Cashe’s,” Waltz said. “His bravery in the face of danger has inspired so many already – and this is a significant step forward to properly recognize him for his heroism. I’m incredibly proud to see both sides of the aisle, in the House and the Senate, come together to honor Cashe’s legacy and award him the Medal of Honor.”

“I am so grateful the Senate passed our bill to pave the way for the President to award Alwyn Cashe the Medal of Honor,” said Murphy. “We are now very close to recognizing this unbelievably heroic soldier, who died saving his men, with our nation’s highest award for combat valor — which he earned beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“We are one step closer to properly recognizing Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe for his bravery in risking his own life to save his fellow soldiers,” said Crenshaw. “He is deserving of the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military award for bravery on the battlefield and we urge President Trump to quickly sign our bill into law to make sure that happens.”

SFC Cashe was raised in Oviedo, Fla. In 2005, while deployed to Iraq, Cashe saved multiple soldiers after their fighting vehicle hit an improvised explosive device and caught fire. Cashe returned to the burning vehicle again and again to pull his soldiers out of the flames, all while he himself was on fire and exposed to incoming enemy gunfire. He later died as a result of his wounds.

The bill now heads to President Trump for approval.