{"id":122421,"date":"2026-02-04T09:09:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/122421\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:09:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:09:06","slug":"white-house-approves-medal-of-honor-for-fallen-army-staff-sgt-michael-ollis-after-years-long-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/122421\/","title":{"rendered":"White House approves Medal of Honor for fallen Army Staff Sgt Michael Ollis after years-long push"},"content":{"rendered":"

The White House has approved the Medal of Honor<\/a> for fallen Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, a Staten Island, New York, native who died in Afghanistan in 2013, while shielding an allied soldier, according to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., who said she was notified of the decision in a statement posted to social media.<\/p>\n

The decision follows years of advocacy from veterans\u2019 groups, elected officials and the Staten Island community to formally recognize Ollis\u2019 actions, which supporters have long argued met the standard for our nation\u2019s highest military honor.<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post, Malliotakis said she had been notified directly by the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were notified by the White House that Staten Island\u2019s hometown hero, U.S. Army<\/a> Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis, has been approved for the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary act of heroism<\/a>,\u201d Malliotakis wrote.<\/p>\n

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Ollis was killed in Afghanistan<\/a> on Aug. 28, 2013, when he used his body to shield a Polish Army officer during a suicide bombing. He was 24 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2013, Staff Sergeant Ollis gave his life to save an allied soldier, and his courage, selflessness, and sacrifice represent the very best of our nation,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Malliotakis credited years of advocacy efforts, adding: \u201cAfter years of advocacy from the American Legion, our elected officials, and the Staten Island community, we are grateful to President Donald Trump<\/a> for recognizing Staff Sergeant Ollis\u2019 extraordinary heroism with our nation\u2019s highest military honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Medal of Honor is the nation\u2019s highest military decoration and is awarded for acts that go above and beyond the call of duty. While the standards for awarding the medal have evolved over time, it has always recognized \u201cconspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life,\u201d according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The current criteria were established in 1963 during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n

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Under those standards, the medal may be awarded for actions taken against an enemy of the U.S., during military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving alongside friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict in which America is not a belligerent party.<\/p>\n

Awarding the Medal involves a rigorous review process<\/a>. Each recommendation requires detailed reports on the act itself and battlefield conditions, at least two sworn eyewitness statements, and additional corroborating evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recommendation packets must be approved through the full military chain of command before reaching the president, who serves as commander-in-chief.<\/p>\n

Federal law also imposes strict timelines on the process, with recommendations requiring submission within three years of the valorous act and the medal awarded within five years. Any submission outside those limits requires an act of Congress to waive time restrictions.<\/p>\n

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Ollis\u2019 family also addressed the reports in a statement shared by the SSG Michael Ollis Freedom Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are extremely grateful to the President of the United States for recognizing the heroism of our son, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, with the Medal of Honor,\u201d the statement said. \u201cKnowing that Michael\u2019s life, legacy and final act of courage have not been forgotten leaves us with a feeling of overwhelming pride and eternal gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement also thanked supporters in a separate statement who have advocated for the recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also greatly appreciate the letters, emails and phone calls of support from government and military officials, local leaders, non-profit organizations and the many friends we are blessed to know here in Staten Island and beyond<\/a>. It is deeply moving to know that you haven\u2019t forgotten Michael or our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of War<\/a> for additional details regarding the Medal of Honor process, including timing and ceremony plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Ollis family did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for additional comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The White House has approved the Medal of Honor for fallen Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, a Staten…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-122421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}