Medal of Honor recipient’s portrait to be added to Pueblo display

A former Fort Carson soldier received the military’s highest honor Thursday morning in Washington, D.C.

President Barack Obama awarded retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg the Medal of Honor.

Capt. Groberg is credited for saving lives in Afghanistan in August 2012.

He was leading a security detail, escorting brigade commanders and an Afghan general when he noticed a suspicious man walking backwards.

A bomb was under that man’s clothes.

Groberg and another soldier pushed the man away and to the ground where the bomb detonated.

The act caused another suicide bomber’s weapon to detonate prematurely.

Groberg’s leg was severely injured, it took more than 30 surgeries to repair the damage.

Four of his fellow soldiers died, though more could have been killed.

Groberg gave credit to his fallen comrades during Thursday’s ceremony.

He said he would try to be a better American for the rest of his life because of the four victims.

He joins a distinguished group of men who went above and beyond to save lives and protect the United States.

That humble group has an important connection to Pueblo, the home of heroes.

Their bravery and humility is featured inside the Center for American Values in Pueblo, where more than 150 Medal of Honor recipients have been photographed since 1999. Since 2010, their portraits have been displayed.

“It’s humbling, definitely humbling,” said the program coordinator, Matt Albright. “When you see these guys on the wall and realize each one of them did so much. And it’s selfless.

He said the center was co-founded by Drew Dix, a Medal of Honor recipient from Pueblo.

The portraits are organized by various wars in history, each wall dedicated to soldiers who committed acts of bravery during each war.

It’s the only public display of Medal of Honor recipients in the United States and in 2017, Pueblo will host a national convention of recipients.