STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Robert Ollis, a New Dorp resident, had an idea that some big news was coming, but that didn’t detract from the joy he felt upon learning his late son Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis will receive the Medal of Honor.
Gathered around the kitchen in their family home, Robert, his wife, Linda, and their daughter, Kimberly Loschiavo, received the news from President Donald Trump over a phone call around 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“We knew we were going to get a call from somebody because about a week prior we got a call from the Pentagon clearing the phone numbers,” Robert said. “And we knew — they said to be prepared for a phone call, but they wouldn’t give us any more information than that.”
When asked how he felt upon hearing the official approval directly from the president, Robert said:
“Extremely happy, but also sad. You know what I’m saying? It’s like bittersweet.”
“We were very happy that the president recognized Michael’s sacrifice, you know?” he added.
Although it “took a while” to come to fruition, Robert expressed gratitude to all those in the chain of command who sat down, examined Michael’s story and acknowledged that his actions merit such a prestigious honor.
President Donald Trump will posthumously award Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, a New Dorp resident killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2013, with the Medal of Honor.(Courtesy of the U.S. Army).
It’s Robert’s belief that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his assistant “had a big part” in pushing forward the ongoing effort.
“We’re very grateful for them and we can’t wait to meet them, to thank them,” he said.
The anticipation of Tuesday’s call grew as little hints tipped the family as to what news could be in store.
Calls from the Pentagon and a hint from Tom Sileo, author of “I Have Your Back: How an American Soldier Became an International Hero,” a book on Michael, suggested the news to come, according to Robert.
On Tuesday, Sileo put out a post on X sharing the news; it was reposted by Hegseth.
“BREAKING: President Trump has just informed the parents of fallen @USArmy Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis that their son will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor,” the post stated. “SSG Ollis, of Staten Island, New York, died while saving the life of a Polish soldier in Afghanistan on 8/28/13.”
During the call with the president, Trump invited the Ollis family to the White House for a future ceremony. As of Wednesday morning, the family was awaiting a call to learn when that event will be held.
For several years the Ollis family has advocated for their son to receive the Medal of Honor and taken action to support the community in memory of their boy.
In 2014, the family created the Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis Freedom Foundation.
The foundation has been instrumental in getting a ramp in place for an injured serviceman, helping families who had fires in their apartments get back on their feet again and assisting a vet who had a bad car accident in Virginia while on vacation by helping his wife travel back and forth during his recovery there.
Around the holidays, in 2019, the foundation’s Operation Ollis turned to local schools to help those in the military. That year, students at PS 56 in Rossville and Paulo Intermediate School in Huguenot sent more than 200 care packages to troops stationed overseas.
A 2022 push to upgrade Michael’s Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor failed to gain traction. However, last year, local veterans and a bipartisan political effort managed to get the final decision to the president’s desk.
For Robert, the news of Trump’s final approval brings “relief.”
“It was constantly on our minds, you know? Constantly would come up in conversations when we were just Linda and I or when we were all together. It would just come up and, you know,” he explained. “Keep praying and keep hoping and now, when the president spoke to us and everything else, it was like a sigh of relief and a thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, God.”
Michael’s father also wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of Staten Island.
“The politicians, the clergy and the civilians, a tremendous thank you for your support, because everybody has been behind us 100%,” Robert told the Advance/SILive.com.
Honoring a sacrifice
Michael, 24, was serving as a squad leader in Bushmaster Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division during his third combat deployment.
On Aug. 28, 2013, Forward Operating Base Ghazni came under fire and Ollis mobilized the men under his command to a secure location and “without pause or hesitation answered the call to duty” and advanced toward the assailants, according to a letter from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, to Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy A. George.
Ollis rallied with coalition forces, among them Polish Officer 2nd Lt. Karol Cierpica. Ollis and Cierpica then encountered a suicide bomber.
In an act of heroism, Ollis positioned himself between the bomber and Cierpica, firing upon the target.
Although Ollis was able to effectively drop the attacker, the vest detonated and killed him, but he shielded Cierpica from the full blast, saving Cierpica’s life.
Ollis has since been recognized with the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Audie Murphy Medallion and the Polish Armed Forces Gold Medal — that nation’s highest honor for non-citizens.
In 2019, Ollis’ Silver Star was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross.