The Army's 3rd Infantry Division will rename its ceremony area after Iraq War hero Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, whose Medal of Honor nomination remains in limbo.
The division announced it will rename the Marne Garden outside its headquarters at Fort Stewart, Georgia, to the Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe Garden on Thursday.
In 2005, Cashe pulled six soldiers and an interpreter out of a burning Bradley Fighting Vehicle near Samarra, Iraq. The vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device and caught on fire. Cashe was drenched in fuel but returned to the vehicle over and over again to move his soldiers to safety.
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Four of the soldiers and the interpreter died. Cashe sustained significant injuries, with second- and third-degree burns covering more than 70% of his body, according to his Silver Star citation. He died a month later at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
"Memorializing soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice is a time-honored tradition in the Army," a service spokesperson said in a statement. "Cashe's story is one known by soldiers throughout the Army and epitomizes a true warrior's spirit. As a soldier and leader, he personified the "not fancy, just tough" spirit of the 3rd ID "Dogface" soldiers."
Procedural hurdles have thwarted previous attempts to upgrade Cashe's Silver Star to a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest recognition for valor, which is often awarded posthumously by the president to the service member's family.
Congress passed a law last year removing a rule requiring a Medal of Honor to be approved within five years of the action. Former President Donald Trump signed the bill into law in December; however, he never gave the award to Cashe's family.
Task and Purpose reported that a ceremony had been scheduled for Trump to present the medal to Cashe's family, but the event was scrubbed following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
Related: 'I Met a Hero:' Air Force Doctor Who Treated Alwyn Cashe Says He's Never Forgotten Him
