Their fates merged thirteen years ago, on August 28, 2013, in Afghanistan, erstwhile Michael stopped at a base in Ghazni en way to Bagram. It was just a short stop. But that afternoon the earth trembled. A massive truck filled with explosives ripped the east wall of the base. The Taliban with mortars, device guns and grenades set off to attack. Michael first made certain his men were safe in the bunker. Then he ran outside. Human remains were on the ground. It was hard to tell who they belonged to. Friend or foe? Among this pogrom, the sergeant saw a Polish officer trying to counter the attack. He was injured in the leg. They didn't know each other, but they looked into each other's eyes and spoke without words. Michael's look said: I'll save you.. They started moving towards the base. Michael covered the Pole with fire. They joined the American commandos. There was an Afghan body lying around. abruptly there was a scream: Grenade! A terrorist, pretending to be dead, threw 2 grenades and detonated a charge placed in a vest. Fragments and fragments of his body fell on the soldiers. A minute later, another warning: Red bandana! A man appeared in the smoke bubbles with a red scarf on his head. The bomber. He ran consecutive to the Pole. He was wearing a suicide vest. Michael knew if he didn't respond, the Pole would die. possibly even everybody dies. He's moved on. He stood between the terrorist and the suffering. He picked up the rifle, opened fire. Others shot too. But he was the closest. He covered the Polish soldier with his own body. There's been a massive explosion. Charles survived. Michael died 3 weeks before his 25th birthday.
He joined the army erstwhile he was 17. He decided that after the attack on the planet Trade Center. erstwhile the towers collapsed, he wrote in a school paper that he heard the screams of the victims. So he followed in the footsteps of the father of the soldier and his grandparents, who besides wore uniforms. He served in Iraq and 3 times in Afghanistan. He was squad leader in the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment. After the second Afghan mission, he suffered heavy the death of his colleagues. – What if I got there early, Dad? – asked. What if we could save 1 of those six guys? His father. Robert Ollis recalls: – He always thought of others, never himself.
Michael received many awards posthumously from both American and Polish authorities. But he most likely wouldn't be awarded the Medal of Honor if it wasn't for his biography by Toma Sileo, published in the United States last year, and a writer's request addressed to the Pentagon. The proposal was approved by a retired soldier, presently elder advisor to the U.S. War Secretary for strategy Eric Geressy. He claims that he saw something in this communicative that required vulnerability – the warrior's ethos. – erstwhile these guys do things like that, it's not about medals, it's not about praise or appreciation. They do it due to the fact that they have to. He saved lives and did it of his own free will, due to the fact that it was the right thing to do. Tom Sileo's work was published in Poland under the title "I'll Save You". His own memories from Afghanistan were besides described by Karol Suffering in the book "The Survivor". A fewer years after returning from the mission, he became a father. He named his boy his savior Michael. During the ceremony at the White House, he addressed Michael's parents: – My top gift is to cultivate the memory of the actual heroic courage I witnessed with your son.
