Kyle Carpenter was a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps who threw himself on top of a live grenade in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan,  in November of 2010.  Cpl. Carpenter absorbed the brunt of the blast from the grenade, saving the life of his fellow marine and going above and beyond the call of duty and performed heroic actions without regard for his own life. He suffered 2 ruptured eardrums, 1 collapsed lung, his right arm was shattered and broken in more than 30 different places. Shrapnel was blasted into both of his legs and also caused him to lose vision in his right eye. The blast destroyed much of the lower part of his face and all of his jaw which is now constructed artificially out of plates and skin grafts. He flatlined 3 times during the 5 weeks he was unconscious and had to have brain surgery to remove shrapnel lodged in his brain from the blast.