Soldier recognized for act of bravery

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — An Army veteran and Kure Beach firefighter was recognized at the USS North Carolina for an act of bravery when he was deployed in Iraq.

When Chad Darrah was deployed to Iraq a second time, he helped his platoon save a wounded Iraqi soldier by putting himself in the line of fire. On Tuesday, he was given the Army Commendation Medal with a V for Valor.

That incident happened in 2008, but Darrah said the ceremony in front of the battleship shows the Army’s commitment to recognizing soldiers even when they hang up their uniforms.

“I’m stoked. It’s good to be recognized for that stuff after so long and I feel like the best part is that the Army hasn’t forgotten me all of a sudden cause I’ve been out now longer than I was in,” Darrah said.

During Darrah’s almost five years of service, he also earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, two Army commendation medals and numerous unit and campaign awards.

In addition to his current role as a firefighter, Darrah said he is also training to be a paramedic.

Editor’s note: In our original story, we reported the name of the medal as the “Army Accommodation Medal” based on the information released by the 20th CBRNE Command. We have since learned the correct title of the medal is the Army Commendation Medal.