By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County will have a certified hero in its midst next week when his name is unveiled on the Medal of Honor monument in front of the Wood County Courthouse.
U.S. Navy Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward C. Byers, Jr., will be recognized on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. on the front lawn of the county courthouse.
Byers, a native of Grand Rapids and 1997 graduate of Otsego High School, was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2016 for actions in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
In a story in the military’s “Stars and Stripes” publication, Byers described the night in December 2012, when his unit rescued Dr. Dilip Joseph from the Taliban deep in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
After walking four hours in the freezing night to reach the Taliban camp, Byers was the second SEAL through the door of a tiny, one-room building where Joseph was held hostage. Byers killed two armed Taliban fighters before identifying Joseph and shielding him from harm. As bullets flew across the room, Byers leaped on top the doctor, using his own body armor to shield the captive as his fellow SEALs exchanged gunfire with enemy fighters.
As Byers protected Joseph, he spotted an AK-47-wielding Taliban guard just inches away. He continued to shield Joseph with his body as he grabbed the gunman by the throat, pinning him to a wall long enough for another SEAL to shoot him dead, according to the Stars and Stripes.
His good friend Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque was shot after being the first man through the door during the rescue. Once outside, Byers, a medic, turned his attention to Checque, spending the 40-minute flight back to Bagram Airfield trying to resuscitate his friend. Checque was declared dead at the American base.
Byers is just the sixth Navy SEAL in history to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He’s the 11th living American service member to receive the medal for actions in Afghanistan.
When presenting the award, President Barack Obama called Byers “a special breed of warrior that so often serves in the shadows.”
The hostage, who was in Afghanistan to establish medical facilities, was told “the Americans are not coming for you,” Obama said. “They were wrong.”
The president talked of Byers’ childhood in Grand Rapids, where he would play in the woods with friends, wearing camouflage and pretending to be soldiers. He mentioned Byers’ mom, who still lives in the Grand Rapids area, whose first question to her son when told about the award was, “Do you think I can come?” She and Byers’ wife, daughter, siblings and about 50 cousins were at the White House in 2016 for the ceremony.
Byers is the first service member from Wood County to receive the Medal of Honor since the Civil War.
The Medal of Honor monument on the Wood County Courthouse grounds was erected for six Civil War soldiers from the county who were awarded the Medal of Honor for actions of heroism during the war. Five of the six Civil War soldiers were part of the famed Andrew’s Raiders of the 21st Ohio Infantry.
When Byers was awarded with the Medal of Honor by Obama in 2016, students, teachers and community members gathered at Otsego High School to watch the televised ceremony.
Teacher Cheryl Jones said that day that she gets goosebumps just thinking about her former student in hand-to-hand combat with the Taliban and rescuing an American hostage.
“Eddie. We just called him Eddie,” recalled Jones, the health and physical education teacher at Otsego High School. “He was really a kind kid. He was very respectful, very polite, very quiet.”
Byers talked often in school of wanting to join the elite Navy rank.
“He always wanted to be a SEAL. He would talk about it endlessly,” said Tom Ferdig, who was a year behind Byers in school.
Few doubted his commitment, but at the time it seemed a pretty lofty goal for a small town boy, said Ferdig, who now teaches history at Otsego High School.
Long before he was hiking on missions across Afghanistan, Byers was camping and learning outdoor skills with Boy Scout Troop 325 in Grand Rapids.
“He was just a nice kid, who was always willing to do things,” said Pam Heyman, a library media specialist at Otsego, whose son was in the troop with Byers.
“I wasn’t surprised. He always said he was going to be in the military,” Heyman said. “The students are excited that somebody from this little community could go on and do great things.”
Prior to receiving the Medal of Honor, Byers was already a highly-decorated sailor. He served 11 overseas deployments including nine combat tours, fighting multiple times in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had been awarded the Bronze Star with “V” device for combat valor five times as well as two Purple Hearts and two Combat Action Ribbons.
After the Medal of Honor ceremony on Wednesday, the Wood County Commissioners plan to unveil plans for the renovation and expansion of the memorial area for Wood County Veterans by the courthouse. This will include an artist rendering of the project and fundraising information.
In a presentation to the commissioners in March, organizers said they expected to raise $300,000 for the project.
