A sailor from Avon has been awarded the nation’s third highest award for valor for his actions in combat in Afghanistan.
Navy Petty Officer First Class Amilcar Rodriguez, 31, received a Silver Star as well as the Purple Heart for his actions in November 2009.
Snipers shot Rodriguez, a medic, shot three times as he was rescuing a wounded Marine and continued to oversee the Marine’s treatment and helped treat other wounded colleagues, despite his own serious injuries, according to the Navy.
Rodriguez received the award at a ceremony from Maj. Gen. Paul Lefebvre, the commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command, earlier this month at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
“We obviously realize the magnitude of this presentation,” Lefebvre told the crowd. “Our heritage is based on our actions. And the actions that we’re recognizing today add significance to the history of the Navy, and to the history of the Corps.”
Rodriguez, a 1998 graduate of Avon High School, is now assigned to the Naval Special Operations Medical Institute at Fort Bragg.
