“If there ever was an American hero, a son of Staten Island, it was Michael Ollis,” mentioned Borough President Fossella throughout his go to in a
CBS interview.A graduate of the Petrides Faculty, Workers Sgt. Ollis sacrificed his life whereas defending a Polish soldier from a suicide bomber at their base in Afghanistan throughout Operation Enduring Freedom on Aug. 28, 2013. He was solely 24.
Within the years since, his mother and father, elected officers and group leaders have advocated for his sacrifice to be formally acknowledged and honored on the nationwide stage.
“SSG Ollis’ legacy is certainly one of braveness and selflessness,” mentioned Borough President Fossella in applauding President Trump’s announcement. “With this honor, his sacrifice is immortalized perpetually as an incredible instance of the enduring American spirit, for a lot of on Staten Island and throughout the nation. To Robert and Linda Ollis, you and Michael deserve this second many instances over.”
He was posthumously awarded the Purple Coronary heart, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star, in addition to the Polish authorities’s highest navy award, the Polish Medal of Honor.
Now, his mother and father can add the Medal of Honor to the show of awards of their son’s childhood bed room in New Dorp.
“I’m extraordinarily proud, however very unhappy,” mentioned Bob Ollis within the CBS interview. “I might moderately have Michael than the medal.”
