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Army officer recognized for actions at Boston Marathon bombing
[Army News Service] WASHINGTON -- Lt. Col. David P. Diamond, who provided aid to victims and assistance to Boston Police in the immediate aftermath of the April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, has been awarded the Soldiers Medal for his actions that day.It was Sen. John McCain who pinned the medal on Diamond's chest during a Capitol Hill ceremony Sept. 27. Among those in attendance were Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning, Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey. "This is really a reflection of my profession of arms, not of myself," Diamond said, after receiving the medal. He serves now as legislative affairs officer within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. "I come from great stock, and great training and great leadership. It's a culture, a family we have developed together. Those actions are really representative of what we all do in the military." Back on April 15, 2013, Diamond was serving as a legislative affairs officer with U.S. Special Operations Command. He and his family were in Boston, so that he could run in the marathon. He said for that day, he'd set a personal goal for himself to run the race in less than four hours -- something he had never done before. He completed the race in 3 hours and 56 minutes. After he crossed the finish line, he said, he waited for other runners to finish, and for results and awards to be given. He sat near the finish line to recover from the race. "I just sat down on the side of the road to kind of collect myself, do some texting, find where my family was," he said. "That's when the bomb detonated." Within five minutes of finishing the race, Diamond heard the first of two improvised explosive devices go off. He was but 50 yards from that explosion. There was a "VIP bridge" there that allowed certain spectators to cross the road and move into the bleachers that had been set up for them. It was that bridge, he said, that had shielded him from the first blast. Con't. Posted by: Besoeker 2016-10-13 |
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