Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley commanding general, presented Pvt. Nicolas C. Nelson, a cavalry scout with 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., the Army Achievement Medal on March 11 at Fort Riley.
Nelson received the award for assisting a fellow "Big Red One" Soldier while attending the annual Fake Patty's Day celebration March 5 in the Aggieville business district, Manhattan, Kansas.
The native of Desert Hot Springs, California, said while leaving the event he noticed an intoxicated Soldier. He assisted Lt. Col. Michael T. Fitzpatrick, the division's provost marshal, in bringing the Soldier to the Riley County Police Department's Aggieville command post. There, transportation was arranged for the intoxicated Soldier.
"We are all Soldiers, we all wear the uniform," Nelson said. "We need to look after each other when we are in need."
Nelson stayed with the Soldier through the entire incident, from the time he found the Soldier on the ground, until the Soldier was placed into a vehicle and transported home, Fitzpatrick said.
"In 25 years as a military police officer, I have never seen a junior enlisted Soldier display a clearer head while assisting a fellow Soldier," Fitzpatrick said. "He conducted himself as a noncommissioned officer."
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