Soldier Stationed in Hawaii Receives Highest Non-combat Award for Saving Woman from Physical Assault

Off-Duty Soldier in Hawaii Who Saved Woman from Physical Assault Receives Highest Non-combat Award

(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Then-US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter (L) pins the Solider's Medal on Army Specialist Alek Skarlatos during an awards ceremony for Skarlatos and two other men who helped stop a gunman on a Paris-bound train last month at the Pentagon on September 17, 2015, in Arlington, Virginia. Skarlatos received the Soldier's Medal, U.S. Airforce Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone received the Airman's Medal and the Purple Heart medal, Army Specialist Alek Skarlatos received the Soldier's Medal and Anthony Sadler received the Defense Department Medal for Valor. The three men helped overpower gunman Ayoub El-Khazzani, 25 after he opened fire on a Thalys train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris on August 21, 2015. A similar medal was given to Spc. Rene Rodriguez after he saved a woman from being further assaulted by a man in Hawaii.

US Army medic Spc. Rene Rodriguez was awarded the Soldier's Medal, the highest non-combat award for heroism after he saved a woman from being physically assaulted by a man in Wahiawa while driving home from duty.

Rodriguez told CNN he pulled over at the scene to evacuate the woman, who was already bleeding when he arrived but still being attacked by a man's punches. He added there was also a group of bystanders who were watching the man attack the woman.

"I thought to myself, 'What's the right thing to do? Like what would my dad do?'" he said. "And I stopped and turned my car around."

The off-duty E-4 shielded the woman from the assaulter's punches and placed her in his car, only to be pulled out by the assailant to continue his beating. Rodriguez resorted to apprehending the suspect to give the woman time to get back to his car and escape.

Police arrived shortly and eventually arrested the man after a short chase into the Hawaiian woods. Ambulance crews also arrived at the scene and treated the woman.

"I wanted to talk to her telling her she was okay," Rodriguez said. He also gave his phone number just in case she needed anything from him. The woman responded by calling him days and weeks after the incident to thank him for what he did that night.

US Army 25th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Ryan commended Rodriguez in a video announcement of the award. "He did the right thing because he had a bias for action, and we're damn proud of him," he said.

Rodriguez's Soldier's Medal Citation

Below is the text of Spc. Rodriguez's Soldier's Medal citation:

"For heroism involving voluntary risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy while serving with the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. On October 20, 2022, in the vicinity of Wahiawa, Hawaii, Specialist Rene J. Rodriguez, with complete disregard for his own safety, swiftly moved to protect a woman enduring a violent assault. Recognizing the woman's risk of serious injury or death, Specialist Rodriguez, with no regard for himself, moved through a crowd of bystanders observing the assault and intentionally positioned himself between the victim and the attacker. Using his body as a shield, he endured numerous strikes from the assailant while moving the woman into his vehicle in an effort to depart the scene. He continued to protect the woman until law enforcement arrived at the scene. Absent Specialist Rodriguez's selfless act despite great danger to himself, the victim may have been grievously injured or killed. By his demonstrated heroism and gallantry in risking his life to save another, Specialist Rodriguez's actions reflect great credit upon himself, the 25th Infantry Division, and the United States Army."