Obama Honors Soldier for Bravery Under Fire, and Afterward

For generations, soldiers have been honored at the White House for valor under fire. And no one questions the heroism of Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter, who raced through a hail of bullets to rescue a wounded comrade and helped keep Taliban fighters from overrunning a combat post in Afghanistan.

But when Sergeant Carter, 33, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama on Monday, he was venerated not just for his actions on the battlefield but also for those after the shooting was over. Back in the United States after a war that killed too many comrades, Sergeant Carter has become a symbol of the courage not only to face the enemy, but to face what comes next.

“Ty has spoken openly, with honesty and extraordinary eloquence, about his struggle with post-traumatic stress â€" the flashbacks, the nightmares, the anxiety, the heartache that makes it sometimes almost impossible to get through a day,” Mr. Obama said before draping the medal around his neck. But with the help of the Army, the president said, Sergeant Carter received treatment and now stands as a repudiation of the stigma many soldiers feel.

“Let me say it as clearly as I can to any of our troops or veterans who are watching and struggling,” Mr. Obama said. “Look at this man. Look at this soldier. Look at this warrior. He’s as tough as they come, and if he can find the courage and the strength to not only seek help but also to speak out about it, to take care of himself and to stay strong, then so can you.”

The president paid tribute to heroism in the last war even as he contemplated the next one. The ceremony in the East Room of the White House came on a day when Mr. Obama was reviewing potential military responses to a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government that killed hundreds of civilians.

Mr. Obama, who pulled the last American troops out of Iraq and is winding down the war in Afghanistan, is not considering sending ground troops like Sergeant Carter to Syria, but he is confronting the prospect of other military action in a region from which he has spent much of his presidency trying to disengage.

Sergeant Carter, a married father of three from Antioch, Calif., was the fifth living member of the military to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the Afghanistan war. He was the second to receive it for actions in the battle of Kamdesh recounted in a book by Jake Tapper of CNN, “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.” Mr. Obama honored former Sgt. Clinton Romesha in February.

When Combat Outpost Keating, manned by about 50 American troops, was attacked from all sides by about 300 Taliban fighters early on the morning of Oct. 3, 2009, Sergeant Carter rushed in. He twice ran through a 100-yard gantlet of enemy fire to aid the defense of the outpost and, wounded by shrapnel, killed several attackers. He ran out again into a storm of fire to a wounded colleague, stanched the bleeding, placed a tourniquet on his leg and carried him through the shots to safety.

Speaking to reporters on the White House driveway after Monday’s ceremony, Sergeant Carter openly acknowledged the horror of the day. “Only those closest to me can see the scars that come from seeing good men take their last breath,” he said. Of the wounded soldier, who later died of his injuries, he said, “I will hear his plea for help for the rest of my life.”

Sergeant Carter used the occasion of his medal award ceremony to address the American people. “Ladies and gentlemen, please, take the time to learn about the invisible wounds,” he said. “Know that a soldier or veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress is one of the most passionate, committed men or women you’ll ever meet. Know that they are not damaged; they are simply burdened with living when others did not. Know that they â€" we â€" are not defeated, never defeated. We are resilient and will emerge stronger over time.”