US Army honours Nigeria-born Mary Ehiarinmwain for saving fellow officer

The United States Army has honoured Nigeria-born Sergeant Mary Ehiarinmwain with the “USO’s Soldier of the Year 2020” award for saving the life of a fellow officer involved in an accident.

This was contained in a report obtained by ElombahNews about the event published by the Army Director Of Operations, Hiram Figueroa.

According to Figueroa, Sergeant Ehiarinmwain came to the US in 2016 and joined the Army the following year.

Incidentally, in June 2020, she rescued another Army officer from her unit, the 523rd Engineer Support Company at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The officer’s vehicle had flipped over in front of her and land on its roof. Ehiarinmwain came to his rescue and saved his life.

She was later reached by the Sergeant Major of the Army several months later who informed her that she was selected as the USO’s Soldier of the Year 2020.

The report reads:

“Sergeant Mary Ehiarinmwain was born in Nigeria and immigrated to Germany as a child. She came to the US in 2016 joined the Army the following year.

“In June 2020, Ehiarinmwian witnessed a vehicle flip over in front of her and land on its roof.

“Unknown to her at the time, the driver was another soldier from her unit, the 523rd Engineer Support Company at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

“Ehiarinmwian immediately pulled over and approached the smoking vehicle. She freed the driver and pulled him to safety, where she kept him stable until EMS arrived. The driver survived with minor injuries.

“While Ehiarinmwian viewed her actions as something that any soldier would have done, her leadership believed she deserved recognition.

“Several months later, Ehiarinmwian received a call from the Sergeant Major of the Army informing her she was selected as the USO’s Soldier of the Year 2020.”