Navy SEAL receiving Medal of Honor at White House ceremony

Senior Chief Byers earned the award for his courageous actions during a mission in Afghanistan in which his team rescued a civilian being held hostage in December 2012.

Byers honors include five Bronze Star Medals with Combat V device, two Purple Hearts and the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor device.

Byers participated in a daring 2012 raid by Virginia Beach-based SEALs that rescued an American hostage in Afghanistan.

He is believed to be the first service member to ever receive the Medal of Honor for actions while serving with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as SEAL Team 6, The Washington Post reported.

In a video released by the Navy, Byers said Checque would forever be remembered for the sacrifice.

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Byers, Jr., 36, received the medal at a White House ceremony. Byers followed and “immediately engaged a guard”, shooting the first guard then hurling himself over Joseph to protect him while he pinned the other guard to the wall with his hand against the guard’s throat. He also noted that today’s gathering might be one of the largest gatherings of special operators ever at the White House.

Before presenting Byers with the award, Obama recited the SEALs ethos, which refers to “a special breed of warrior ready to answer our Nation’s call”. “Nic embodied the essence of what it is to be an American hero”.

“I’ve lived my entire career a very private life”, Byers said. He is the sixth Navy SEAL in history to receive the Medal of Honor. But Byers continued inside, became involved in hand-to-hand combat with an armed guard and then shielded the American hostage from gunfire, according to the Navy. But, I plan to continue doing my job as normal and to continue being a SEAL.

The president also summarized some of Byers’ career, noting that he had been on 11 overseas deployments and nine combat tours.