FORT BLISS, Texas — On February 3, 2025, Master Sgt. Daniel Brooks was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for actions he took in Germany while participating in a public event in December of 2023. Brooks is currently attending the Sergeants Major Course at the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence at Fort Bliss.
The award was presented by the 29th Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Pete Hegseth. Hegseth had recently heard of Brooks’ heroism from another Soldier and wanted to personally recognize him. The presentation took place in the campus auditorium in front of over 500 Sergeants Major Academy students, faculty and distinguished guests.
Hegseth said, “It will be the first award I am giving as Secretary of Defense, and I am proud to do it.” He recounted a story of how another Soldier he served with was presented a Silver Star by the mail clerk in a small unassuming ceremony in the mail room. Hegseth went on to mention that was something he aimed to change “those who deserve the honor, deserve the spotlight, get it.”
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The Soldier’s Medal is the highest award a Service Member can be awarded for a non-combat action. For Brooks, his actions took place while participating in a Christmas parade in Bayreuth, Germany. Brooks was stationed nearby with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and was attending the event with Family and friends while off-duty. During the parade, a crowd formed around someone making a commotion. Brooks moved forward to see what was happening and noticed a man with a knife moving towards other people. In an instant, Brooks jumped to action without hesitation. “I knew he was trying to hurt someone,” he said. “As I moved forward, I swatted away his knife and tried to secure his arm and lunged, falling on top of him while wrestling the man to the ground until security arrived. The whole event was literally seconds.”
Within a few months of the foiled attack, Brooks was presented the Christophorus Medal by Bavaria Governor Markus Söder. The Christophorus Medal is the German equivalent of the Soldier’s Medal, presented to those who put their own lives on the line to protect others outside of the battlefield. At that ceremony he was recognized alongside German police officers, firefighters and civilians who had also stepped up and put themselves at risk to save others.
His final thoughts on the events and recognition for his actions were modest despite his heroism, “I was humbled and honored and so much of this is above and beyond what I think I have done. I sometimes feel I have imposter syndrome but so many of those around me continue to remind me that this is what our organization is supposed to do. The outpouring from friends and Family and so many senior Army leaders is hard to even take in.”
Brooks received the medal with his wife and father by his side, while his mother watched the ceremony online from Germany. He will graduate in June as a sergeant major along with the rest of class 75 students and will go on to serve with 10th Mountain Division as command career counselor at Fort Drum, New York.
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