President Trump honored Staten Island native Michael Ollis with a posthumous Medal of Honor for his bravery and sacrifice while serving in Afghanistan more than a decade ago.
“Michael grew up seeing the World Trade Center across the bay — I know Staten Island so well. The people in Staten Island are amazing,” the Queens-born president said in remarks from the White House East Room.
Ollis enlisted in the Army in 2006 after graduating from The Michael J. Petrides School.
On Aug. 28, 2013, while serving at Forward Operating Base Ghazni in Afghanistan, Ollis stepped between a Polish soldier, who was part of NATO forces, and a member of the Taliban wearing an suicide vest.
Ollis bore the brunt of the blast and was pronounced dead just three weeks before his 25th birthday. Witnesses said his actions likely protected more than 40 service members and civilians on the base.
“Bravery is amazing,” Trump said Monday. “Ollis was killed just weeks before his 25th birthday, and nobody was any more brave.”
Karol Cierpica, the Polish soldier whose life Ollis saved, attended the White House ceremony with his son, named Michael in his fallen comrade’s honor.
Cierpica, apologizing for his broken English, spoke movingly of Ollis, thanking him for saving his life.
“I am deeply moved, happy, and grateful to God for my service, for my parents, for my family, for my first home in Poland, for my second family from Staten Island, and for my second home in America,” he said. “God bless you all. Michael, thank you for your service, and I will see you in our heavenly homeland.”
Ollis was awarded the Medal of Honor for “exceptional courage and complete disregard for personal safety,” according to the citation.
Also honored at Monday’s ceremony were Army Master Sergeant Roderick “Roddie” Edmonds and Army Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson.
Edmonds, of Tennessee, was posthumously recognized for his leadership while a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. One day, Nazi officers asked only Jewish-American soldiers to report for the next day’s roll call. Edmonds arranged for all 1,200 American troops to present themselves, saving the lives of the estimated 200 Jews. Edmonds’ son Chris accepted the medal on his father’s behalf.
Richardson, of Michigan, was honored for helping save the lives of 85 other service members by calling in airstrikes against North Vietnamese troops after his platoon was ambushed and he was wounded during a 1968 reconnaissance mission.
Ollis’ parents, Bob and Linda, attended the ceremony and accepted the Medal of Honor on their late son’s behalf.
“Your son’s selflessness in the face of real evil reminds us of the courage that keeps our country free,” Trump told them.
“Thank you for giving America your beloved son.”
Trump personally called Bob and Linda Ollis earlier this month to tell them he was awarding Michael the nation’s highest military honor.
“Thank you so much, Mr. President. You have no idea the happiness we have,” Robert said in the call, a video of which was posted on social media.
“Thank you for facilitating this! This is so wonderful,” Linda added.
The Ollises had worked to keep Michael’s story alive and campaigned for him to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
His parents have also honored Ollis’ memory with the SSG Ollis Freedom Foundation to help veterans in need.
The NYC Department of Transportation also paid tribute to Ollis by inaugurating a trio of so-called “Ollis-class” Staten Island ferries beginning in February 2022, with the first of the three to enter service bearing the name of the late soldier.
