STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis spoke with the White House and delivered a letter to President Donald Trump Friday morning expressing her “full support” for posthumously awarding U.S. Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis the Presidential Medal of Honor.
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the U.S.
Ollis, a New Dorp resident, was killed in 2013 during a Taliban raid on Forward Operating Base Ghazni in Afghanistan.
“On August 28, 2013, Staff Sergeant Ollis faced a choice,” Malliotakis’ letter read in part. “In an instant of absolute clarity, he chose selflessness and placed himself between a fellow allied officer. He did not pause or calculate. He acted, knowing the cost would be his life. Saving the life of a fellow Allied officer.”
“After years of advocacy from veterans, elected officials and the local Staten Island community, as well as a recommendation from the Secretary of the Army, the decision to award this hero the Presidential Medal of Honor now rests with you, Mr. President,” the letter added. “The Presidential Medal of Honor is a statement of national memory and appreciation of a grateful nation. It tells the entire world and future generations the kind of courage, patriotism, sacrifice and service the United States holds sacred. Staff Sergeant Ollis was a soldier, a leader, and a man of profound moral clarity. His final act requires no embellishment or argument. It stands on its own, resolute and selfless, and worthy of the highest recognition our country can bestow.”
The letter concluded with Malliotakis, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, thanking the president for his leadership, support of the military and consideration of the request “to bestow a fellow New Yorker and an American patriot with the most deserving recognition.”
This photo from 2019 shows the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military award that can be given to a member of the United States Army. It was awarded posthumously to Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, who earned the award for extraordinary heroism in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)
Malliotakis is the latest local official to support the effort to upgrade Ollis’ Distinguished Service Cross to a Medal of Honor. The push for the recognition has also seen support from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, Republican South Shore Councilman Frank Morano and Borough President Vito Fossella, who wrote a letter of his own to President Trump on Thursday.
A months-long effort to honor Staten Island’s own
The push to honor the Staten Island hero began in the summer of 2025. In June, the Richmond County American Legion penned a resolution advocating for the distinction.
Then, in July, Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, wrote a letter to Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy A. George, urging the Army to recommend Ollis for the Medal of Honor.
The recommendation worked its way up the chain of command and found itself before Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth wrote a letter to Schumer, a New York Democrat, in December, informing the Senate minority leader that he believed Ollis’ actions merit the Medal of Honor award.
“I am writing to inform you of my favorable determination regarding the award of the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis, U.S. Army,” Hegseth’s letter read in part. “I reviewed a recommendation from the Secretary of the Army to upgrade the Distinguished Service Cross awarded to Staff Sergeant Ollis to the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions on August 28, 2013 during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. After giving the recommendation careful consideration, I agree that Staff Sergeant Ollis’ actions merit award of the Medal of Honor.”
The final determination on whether or not Ollis receives the Medal of Honor now rests with President Trump.
Bob Ollis, Michael’s father, discussed the renewed effort with the Advance/SILive.com in August.
“You got a mom and a dad who lost their child, and everybody wants to honor him…,” he said. “You have no idea what that feels like.”
“I can’t thank them (Schumer, Morano, the Richmond County American Legion) enough. We hope and we pray. It’s up to God now to push it through,” he added.
The heroism of Staff Sgt. Ollis
As previously noted in Schumer’s letter, at the time of his death, Ollis, 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, the base 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 towards the assailants, according to Schumer’s letter.
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.
As further indicated in the letter, witnesses present at the base that day claim that Ollis’ sacrifice not only saved Cierpica, but it preserved the lives of more than 40 military and civilian personnel.
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.