Roseburg, Oregon

Citation

Chris Mintz of Roseburg, Ore., was selected for his courageous act on October 1, 2015 when he confronted a shooter on the campus of Umpqua Community College, preventing further loss of life. Mintz, an army veteran, was shot 7 times and continues to recover from his wounds.

Charleston, South Carolina

Citation

Lt Col Eileen Hadbavny, USAF (Ret) of Charleston, S.C., was selected for her lifetime of selfless service in support of veterans through her volunteer work with the Red Cross, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Hadbavny served as an Air Force Reserve flight nurse for 28 years.

Morton, Illinois

Citation

James Vernon of Morton, Ill., was selected for his courageous act on October 13, 2015 when he subdued a would-be attacker who threatened to kill 20 middle school students and their parents participating in an after-school chess club meeting at the public library. While all of the children were unharmed, Vernon was injured in the attack.

Toldeo, Ohio

Citation

Myles Eckert of Toledo, Ohio, was selected for his volunteer philanthropic work on behalf of Gold Star children. While visiting a Cracker Barrel restaurant with his family, Eckert found $20 in the parking lot. During breakfast, he saw a soldier and his family enter the restaurant and told his mother that the soldier reminded him of his father, who was killed in combat in Iraq weeks after Eckert was born. Eckert paid it forward by giving the $20 to the soldier. After this remarkable story was told nationwide, many people sent Myles $20. But instead of taking any money, the Eckert’s directed those donations to various charities that help kids who have lost a parent to war. To date, donations total more than $2,000,000.00.