The Pentagon will award the Purple Heart to Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and posthumously to Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, two members of the West Virginia National Guard who were fired upon in an ambush-style shooting just blocks from the White House in November.
Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her wounds on Nov. 27, while Wolfe, 24, underwent surgery for a gunshot to the head and has since made “extraordinary progress,” according to the National Guard. The fatal attack occurred the day before Thanksgiving during a routine patrol outside of a Washington, D.C., Metro station.
“One lost, one recovered,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Friday during a reenlistment ceremony at the Washington Monument. “Both soon-to-be Purple Heart recipients because they were attacked by a radical.”
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The Purple Heart is presented to service members who have been wounded or killed by enemy action while serving in the U.S. military. Hegseth added that medals will also be given to those who responded in that moment — which he described as “the real-deal; it’s the front lines.”
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old suspected gunman, has been arraigned on nine charges, including first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill. He has pleaded not guilty. Lakanwal is an Afghan national who immigrated to the United States in 2021 after having previously worked for more than a decade with C.I.A.-backed units in Afghanistan.
The Department of Justice said it will seek the death penalty against him.
The troops were deployed to Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on purportedly “out of control” crime in the nation’s capital. Trump called the attack on Beckstrom and Wolfe an “act of terror,” and pledged to send 500 additional troops to Washington. The Guard is expected to remain through the end of the year, U.S. officials told Military Times.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who formally requested the medals in December, hailed the Pentagon’s decision as a “long-overdue honor.”
“Their actions while protecting our nation’s capital meet the highest standards for this recognition,” Morrisey wrote in a post on X. “This announcement brings long-overdue honor to their service, offers meaning and reassurance to their families, and stands as a solemn reminder that West Virginia will never forget those who sacrifice in defense of others.”
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.
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