'I Lost Four of My Brothers:' Medal of Honor Recipient

Capt. Florent A. “Flo” Groberg’s self-effacing words echo those of other Congressional Medal of Honor winners before him.

He’s not the hero, says the French-born Army officer who became a U.S. citizen the year he graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, MD.

The heroes, Groberg firmly says, are the four men he served with who died on Aug. 8, 2012, in Afghanistan. It’s a day when a seemingly routine escort of Army VIPs turned into “the worst day of my life,” Groberg says.

Those heroes were mortally wounded despite his attempt to save them by throwing his body on top of a combatant Groberg knew had strapped on a vest of explosives and released a dead-man’s trigger. The vest ignited, sending thousands of metal ball-bearings flying into the group of Americans and Afghans.

Groberg, 32, now medically retired, will receive the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on Thursday during a White House ceremony. The medal is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon a military member.

“We defeated the enemy on that day, and we sent a message that no matter how bad you want to hurt us, we’re always going to keep standing up and we’re going to bring it back [twicefold] on you,” Groberg said in an Army interview. “It was the worst day of my life because even though we defeated the enemy, I lost four of my brothers.

“This medal is not about me, it’s about the four individuals that I lost. It’s about them, it’s about their families. It’s about true heroes who sacrificed everything for their country,” Groberg continued. “That medal represents them.”

Anything But Routine Escort

Groberg’s team was protecting several VIPS – two brigade commanders, three battalion commanders and an Afghan general – who were targeted by two suicide bombers.

Groberg noticed an abnormal bulge under one man’s clothing. As Groberg grabbed the suspected bomber by the vest, his radio telephone operator, Sgt. Andrew J. Mahoney, also piled on to drive the man into the road. Groberg said he tried to throw the man away from his contingent because he knew the bomb’s trigger had been squeezed and was seconds away from detonating.

“I just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t hurt anyone,” said Groberg, who was thrown 15 feet by the explosion.

Mahoney received the Silver Star for his actions that day, and was recognized as the USO Soldier of the Year during an October 2014 ceremony.

Brigade commander Col. Charles Mingus, who witnessed the suicide attack, told the Army in an interview, that Groberg had tried to subdue the attacker with no regard for himself.

“I believe Flo is absolutely deserving (of the medal) and rates right up there with the many incidents where soldiers in a split second make a life decision to jump on a grenade or similar acts,” Mingus said. “This was no different; he knew the mission, saw the threat, and with complete disregard for himself, did everything to neutralize the threat.”

Among those killed in the two bomb blasts were Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Griffin, the brigade’s senior enlisted advisor; Maj. Thomas Kennedy; Maj. Walter Gray, an Air Force officer who helped coordinate air strikes; and Ragaei Abdel Fattah, a volunteer worker with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Groberg said.

“I remember waking up in shock,” Groberg said. “I thought I had stepped on an IED [improvised explosive device]. My fibia was sticking out of my left leg, my skin was melting, and there was blood everywhere. I checked myself for internal injuries and started to drag myself out of what was probably a kill zone for small-arms fire.”

In the past three years, Groberg has undergone 33 surgeries to keep his leg. He hopes to resume running as he did in college.

»Photos of Army Capt. Florent Groberg shown with President Barack Obama; his mother, Klara Groberg; father, Larry Groberg; and friend, Matthew Sanders at Walter Reed National Medical Center during his recovery on Sept. 11, 2012; in Afghanistan before his injury; and in an interview with Army officials after he was selected for the Medal of Honor, all courtesy of the U.S. Army.