Monica Lin Brown



Monica Lin Brown (born May 24, 1988 in Lake Jackson, Texas) is a United States Army medic who became the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the United States' third-highest medal for valor.

After a roadside bomb detonated near a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia Province of Afghanistan, Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers in April 2007 by running through insurgent gunfire using her body to shield wounded soldiers while mortar rounds fell nearby. Because women are not formally allowed to participate directly in combat, Brown was pulled back to the base at Khost shortly after the incident.

She was presented with the Silver Star by Vice President Dick Cheney in a ceremony on March 21, 2008.