The Hammond Report

From the New York Times:

Petty Officer Monsoor saved two other members of the Navy Seals and three Iraqi Army soldiers when he dived on the grenade in September 2006.

He was on a rooftop in Ramadi with a sniper security team during an early morning operation when the episode occurred. The snipers had shot at insurgents, killing one and wounding another, according to the Navy. After that, a nearby mosque broadcast pleas for insurgents to attack coalition forces.

A grenade was later lobbed onto the roof where the sniper team was positioned and hit Petty Officer Monsoor in the chest before dropping to the ground. Mr. Bush said he could have escaped, but instead threw himself on the grenade.

«In that terrible moment,» Mr. Bush said, «he had two options — to save himself, or to save his friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself onto the grenade, and absorbed the blast with his body.»