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When a person displays an act of heroism, it can sometimes come with a price.

Yesterday, November 10^th, the retired Captain Florent Groberg received the highest military award, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic act that took place back in 2012.

In 2012, Groberg had a very specific mission: escort some high-ranking Afghanistan leaders to attend a Kunar province security meeting with an Afghan provincial governor.

Groberg has completed multiple missions like this before, but on this day it felt “odd”.

The feeling in the air proved right. Several motorcycles came around a corner, approached their unit, and then got off their bikes and seemed to leave.

After this sight, Groberg saw a man walking backwards toward them. When the man turned around, it was clear he was wearing a vest. They immediately knew that he was the threat.

“So I hit him,” said Groberg. He pushed the man, grabbed him by the vest, and tackled him to the ground.

The man turned out to be a suicide bomber.

During this attack, the man’s vest ignited. Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Griffin, Maj. Thomas Kennedy, Air Force Maj. Walter Gray, and U.S. Agency for International Development Foreign Service officer Ragaei Abdelfattah were all killed in the explosion.

Groberg was knocked unconscious by the explosion, and awoke with a shattered leg. His injuries required 3 years of recovery and over 30 surgeries.

The price that Groberg paid for acting upon his heroic instincts were physical and mental.

“Coping with the events of that day would take much longer than my leg recovery,” said Groberg.

He wears the names of the fallen soldiers in a bracelet. He has vowed to live his life for them, and not just himself.

“I carry them in my heart and in my actions, and I try to do the best to honor their lives and families,” said Groberg