{"id":41829,"date":"2018-12-20T23:59:51","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T23:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/20\/this-former-army-sergeant-is-getting-his-silver-star-upgraded-10-years-after-risking-his-life-to-save-his-fellow-soldiers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:38:57","slug":"this-former-army-sergeant-is-getting-his-silver-star-upgraded-10-years-after-risking-his-life-to-save-his-fellow-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/military-honor\/2018\/12\/20\/this-former-army-sergeant-is-getting-his-silver-star-upgraded-10-years-after-risking-his-life-to-save-his-fellow-soldiers\/","title":{"rendered":"This former Army sergeant is getting his Silver Star upgraded \u2014 10 years after risking his life to save his fellow soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Former Sgt. Robert Debolt <\/a>was a private on his first deployment to Afghanistan in September 2008 when an IED engulfed his vehicle in flames and he risked his life to rescue the other soldiers trapped inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, Debolt got a call from the sergeant major of the Army, letting him know that his award review<\/a> request had been granted, and he would be receiving the Distinguished Service Cross <\/a>some time next year, Debolt told Army Times in a phone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t really sunk in yet,\u201d he said a few hours after the call from Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey. \u201cEspecially having the sergeant major of the Army call me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Debolt did have an inkling that an upgrade might be in the works. On Wednesday, he said, he got a call from the Pentagon asking him if he\u2019d be available to take a call from a senior official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also the script used in Medal of Honor notifications, in which the president calls to deliver the news directly. Debolt got his hopes up a little, he joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great, you know \u2015 I\u2019m very excited,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valor awards are a legacy in Debolt\u2019s family. His great uncle, then-Cpl. Ron Rosser<\/a>, earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Former Sgt. Robert Debolt will receive the Distinguished Service Cross for rescuing two teammates from this burned out vehicle after an IED attack in Afghanistan in September 2008. (Photo courtesy Robert Debolt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Debolt\u2019s Silver Star is one of a handful that have been upgraded during a congressionally mandated Defense Department review, which began back in 2016. When he heard about the opportunity, he said, he figured he\u2019d put a packet together and see what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI sent my paperwork in to [Human Resources Command], out of the blue, just to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cThrow one at the door and see what sticks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to his Silver Star citation<\/a>, Debolt pushed through extensive burns to rescue two more guys from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrivate Debolt fought through his own blinding pain, refusing to leave his teammates until he himself was nearly incapacitated from his own wounds and shock,\u201d the citation reads. \u201cHis actions at the start of a concerted enemy ambush helped save the life of one of his fellow soldiers while helping to prevent serious injury to another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent six months in the intensive care burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, where skin grafts repaired the third-degree burns from his face down to his back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLooking at me now, you could never even tell,\u201d he said. \u201cThe surgeons did a really good job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He returned to his unit and deployed again to Afghanistan in 2011, then left the Army later that year. His recruiter, also a good friend, suggested that he try out barber school, and today he owns two shops in Zainesville, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\t