Private First Class Monica Lin Brown served as a medic in Army. She deployed to Afghanistan at the age of 18 with the 4th Squadron, 73d Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. When her convoy came under attack on April 25, 2007, she braved explosions and enemy fire to treat the wounded. One vehicle hit an IED and exploded. Brown moved through small arms fire to the vehicle and began moving casualties away from the wreckage. She treated them only 15 meters from the burning vehicle. Enemy mortars began falling around, and ammo inside the vehicle started cooking off. Shrapnel and bullets filled the air all around from incoming enemy mortars and exploding friendly mortar rounds, 40mm grenades, and 5.56 ammo on the truck. Other soldiers arriving discovered that, miraculously, Brown was still alive. They moved her and the wounded to another area, where Brown continued her treatment and preparations for medevac.
For her courage and unselfishness remaining with the wounded and protecting them amidst the most dangerous conditions, Brown was awarded the Silver Star. The ceremony came a year after the action and her promotion to Specialist. She was the 2nd woman to receive the award since WWII, and the 1st from the war in Afghanistan.