Two West Virginia National Guard officers who ran directly into danger last November have now been recognized for their extraordinary courage when a gunman ambushed fellow soldiers in Washington, D.C.

Army Maj. Ryan S. Reynolds and Air Force Maj. Edwin O. Stanfield received the Soldier’s Medal and Airman’s Medal on Monday for heroism outside of combat—a rare and respected honor in both branches. Their quick actions stopped what could have turned into a massacre.

The attack unfolded near a Metro station when an armed man named Rahmanullah Lakanwal opened fire on a patrol of Guardsmen from West Virginia. The shooter killed Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe before being stopped by Reynolds and Stanfield, who traded gunfire before subduing him.

According to ceremony remarks by West Virginia Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jim Seward, both men showed “extraordinary valor under chaos.” Standing before fellow Guardsmen, Seward emphasized that true leadership shows “not when things are calm, but when uncertainty leaves no time to think—only to act.”

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Both Reynolds and Stanfield directed civilians to safety after stopping the shooter, and even began administering medical care to the wounded. Their actions no doubt saved additional lives that day.

The shooter’s background has turned heads across the intel community. Lakanwal, an Afghan national who previously worked with a CIA-linked outfit during the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, had emigrated to the United States following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal. Authorities have not disclosed what led him to open fire on American soldiers in broad daylight, but it has reignited questions about background vetting and intelligence oversight.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth—present to personally pin the medals on both officers—praised their readiness and sense of duty, describing them as “the embodiment of everything the American warrior stands for.” Hegseth noted both had served deployments in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and on America’s southern border, calling their combined experience a living testament to the Guard’s ability “to defend at home just as fiercely as abroad.”

Spc. Beckstrom, who was critically injured in the attack, died the next day. Her sacrifice, Hegseth said, “will not be forgotten nor taken for granted by this nation.” Both Beckstrom and Wolfe were recognized with the Purple Heart earlier this year. Wolfe, now recovering, attended Monday’s ceremony alongside his fellow Guardsmen, visibly moved by the honor given to his rescuers.

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The ceremony also underscored the National Guard’s vital ongoing mission in the capital. More than 2,300 National Guard troops are still stationed there under Joint Task Force–District of Columbia. That force, largely composed of Guardsmen from multiple states, was mobilized under the Trump administration after rising concerns over crime and lawlessness in the city.

Those concerns have proven well-founded. Despite legacy media handwringing that Washington’s crime rates were “statistically low,” residents have seen the real results of lax law enforcement and soft-on-crime policies. As Hegseth put it during his remarks, “Our capital city was not safe—its streets were ruled by gangs, addicts, and predators. The Guard stood in that gap.”

Alongside the D.C. National Guard, forces from states such as West Virginia, Alabama, and Texas remain part of the joint task force. Reports indicate that mission could stay active into 2029, depending on conditions in the city and ongoing federal response priorities.

While the medal ceremony was a moment to honor bravery, it also served as a reminder of the dangerous tasks faced by America’s uniformed citizen-soldiers even on home soil. The threat can come not only from foreign terrorists but from those who slip through bureaucratic cracks created by years of Washington dysfunction.

Maj. Reynolds, the executive officer of the 771st Troop Command Battalion, and Maj. Stanfield, an intelligence officer with the 167th Airlift Wing, return to duty as decorated heroes. Yet both men remain humble, crediting their training and their comrades rather than seeking acclaim. Stanfield told attendees, “We did what anyone trained to protect others would have done. That’s why we wear the uniform.”

Their valor and composure reflect exactly what the proud legacy of the American National Guard stands for—ordinary Americans prepared to face extraordinary threats wherever they arise. In a time when so many politicians are content to talk about courage from behind microphones, Reynolds and Stanfield showed the kind that bleeds, acts, and protects.

The ceremony inside the Pentagon symbolized far more than a medal exchange; it was an affirmation that America’s warriors, no matter how bureaucrats rename departments, remain the front line of defense for this republic.

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