FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- "He was a selfless leader, a brother and a friend."
That is how Stuart Hollingsworth remembers Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins, the former 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldier who will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor during a ceremony today at the White House.
Hollingsworth, a former staff sergeant assigned to 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, had first met Atkins a month before their deployment to Iraq in August 2006. He said that Atkins was originally with another company, but he was needed to serve as a team leader in D Company.
"He was training his previous team for combat, and was such a master of his craft, that he was able to step into another team leader role and earn the trust of everyone he met," Hollingsworth said.
"My first impression of him was that this man was very much an authoritative leader. He led from the front and led by example -- never asking anyone to do anything he wouldn't do himself."
Hollingsworth said that theirs was a tight-knit team, and they developed a bond that would carry them forward into combat.
"Staff Sgt. Atkins was a huge proponent of team camaraderie and unity," Hollingsworth said. "We would do everything as a team -- we moved as a team, trained as a team, ate, slept -- everything."
With that, it was easy to learn everything there was to know about his teammates, and Hollingsworth said that Atkins spoke constantly about his son Trevor.
"He was very much a family man, always talking about them," Hollingsworth said. "I would also say that he probably loved his men almost as much, if not the same."
That camaraderie and the love he had for his team is demonstrative of his actions on June 1, 2007 when Atkins sacrificed his life to shield his fellow Soldiers from a suicide bomber. Atkins had engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the insurgent who had resisted a search, and then threw himself on top of the suicide bomber to bear the blast of the detonation.
Hollingsworth said that every Soldier learns the words to the Soldier's Creed, but some of those words impact him more now because of Atkins.
"There's that one phrase -- 'I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life' -- that has more meaning to me today than ever before," he said.
In November 2007, Atkins' name was among those added to the 2-14 Infantry monument at Fort Drum. Atkins' heroism received national attention when he was honored with the Distinguished Service Cross during a Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Drum in 2008.
Hollingsworth had attended both ceremonies, but he said that words failed him upon meeting Trevor, who was 12 at the time.
"I was not able to adequately describe to Trevor how much I appreciated his father, what he meant to me and how truly great a man he was," Hollingsworth said. "So being here at the Medal of Honor ceremony, I am incredibly grateful to be in the presence of the Atkins family. To have this opportunity to spend this time with them is a great honor."
To learn more about Atkins and to watch the live webcast of today's Medal of Honor ceremony, visit www.army.mil/medalofhonor/atkins.
Related Links:
Medal of Honor: Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins
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