Kyle Carpenter

William Kyle Carpenter (born October 17, 1989) is a medically retired United States Marine Corps Corporal who was awarded the United States' highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2010. Carpenter is the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient.

Early life Carpenter was born in Jackson, Mississippi on October 17, 1989, and raised in Flowood by his parents James and Robin. He is a graduate of W.W. King Academy in Batesburg, South Carolina. He enlisted in the Marine Corps' delayed entry program at age 19 in February 2009, and completed Recruit Training in July 2009 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina.

Carpenter's jaw and right arm were shattered, he lost his right eye, most of his teeth and has undergone dozens of surgeries. In July 2013, he was medically retired as a Corporal.

On June 19, 2014, Carpenter received the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House. He is the eighth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan.

Medal of Honor citation alt=A light blue neck ribbon with a gold star shaped medallion hanging from it. The ribbon is similar in shape to a bowtie with 13 white stars in the center of the ribbon.

Post-military career After his July 2013 medical retirement, Carpenter enrolled at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and received a degree in international studies in 2017. He is a 2013 initiate of the Chi-Omega chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity at University of South Carolina.

In 2019, Carpenter co-authored a book with Don Yaeger titled You Are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting For about the events leading up to his becoming a Medal of Honor recipient.

In 2023, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center unveiled a new high-performance computing cluster named Carpenter, in honor of Kyle Carpenter.

In January 2025, outgoing Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that the 98th , DDG-148, would be named USS Kyle Carpenter in his honor. At just 35 years old at the time, Carpenter is one of the youngest living Americans to have a warship named for him.

Awards and decorations

Fundraising Carpenter appeared in a video, "Still in the Fight," to raise money for the Fisher House Foundation, which provides free and low-cost housing to veterans and families receiving treatment at military hospitals.