Sgt. Shane Pugh To Get Silver Star!

The family of a combat medic killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq will receive his Silver Star today.

The medal is recognition of Sgt. Robert Shane Pugh's bravery in instructing other soldiers about how to care for a wounded comrade even as he lay dying.
Pugh, a Mississippi Army National Guard soldier from Meridian, died March 2, 2005, after helping save the life of Sgt. 1st Class Ellis Ray Martin.
"It means a lot that he died for us over there. I didn't want him to go, but it was something he knew he had to do," said the soldier's wife, Amanda Pugh. "He went beyond his call to help that other soldier, and that's why he's getting this award. It means a lot to me."
Col. Mike Thorton, a deputy brigade commander, has said Shane Pugh seemed to sense he was mortally wounded by the explosion but was able to direct a group of primarily combat engineers to stabilize Martin, who had a piece of shrapnel in his stomach.
For his actions, Pugh will be given the highest honor of any soldier in the 155th Brigade Combat Team.
The brigade, which included almost 3,500 Mississippians, deployed to Iraq in January 2005 from Camp Shelby, a Guard base near Hattiesburg.
The unit spent a year in the war-torn country and was credited with capturing 1,500 suspected insurgents, uncovering massive weapons caches and providing security during Iraq's first free elections.
The 155th was recommended for a Presidential Unit Citation and individual medals given to soldiers include 123 Purple Hearts and 328 Bronze Stars. The Silver Star is the third-highest medal awarded by the Army for gallantry.
Pugh, 25, was buried just weeks before what would have been his first wedding anniversary.
He was a licensed paramedic and worked as a phlebotomist for United Blood Services in Meridian.
"Shane was a gentle, fun loving person. He was more than just a friend. He was family," said Terry Jones, Pugh's supervisor at United Blood Services. "He always kept you laughing. He was one of the funniest guys I've ever met, and when he came around, he lit up the room."
Maj. Gen. Harold A. Cross, Mississippi's adjutant general, will present the medal to Pugh's family in a ceremony at the Guard Armory in Meridian.