Two Las Vegas Army soldiers receive rare, top honor 'Soldier's Medal'

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Two Las Vegas Army Reserve Soldiers were given a rare and top honor for saving the lives of their fellow soldiers during a training exercise.

Jaziel Orduno and Jose Vallejo were presented with the 'Soldier's Medal' on Saturday at the National Guard's North Vegas Readiness Center for their selfless acts on March 31, 2022.

"It was a tragic accident equipment was damaged, that was terrible, but had we lost our soldiers' lives, it would have been far worse,"Brigadier General Earl Sparks said.

In 2022, an accident occurred while helping move supplies in a convoy at the National Training Center.

"A vehicle collided into another and momentarily went airborne, flipped on its side, immediately catching fire," Orduno said.

Vallejo and Orduno acted quickly.

"We kind of both didn't think about it; it was just a straight run to the vehicle where it was fully engulfed at that point; we just kept hearing other soldiers saying that there are still more soldiers trapped in there," said Orduno.

With a soldier trapped inside and unable to move his lower body, the two had seconds as the fire continued to spread.

"My first reaction was to remove my ACH, my helmet and try to break the windshields, which windshields don't break that easily; they are not meant to break, so it started melting on my helmet," Vallejo said. "At that point, I started looking around to see what I could do. I could see the soldier inside trying to crawl out the door that was towards the sky, but since the impact tweaked the frame, he was not able to open the door."

After finally being able to free the soldier, he landed on top of the flames that were engulfing the truck.

"We just grabbed him, I grabbed his legs, he (Vallejo) grabbed his upper half, and we pulled him out of there; shortly after is when the second fuel tank caught on fire and blew up,"Orduno said.

Several soldiers, including Vallejo and Orduno, were injured, but everyone survived the accident.

After saving the lives of their comrades, the two were given the 'Soldier's Medal,' the highest honor an Army soldier can receive in a non-combat situation.

"This is truly a testament to their bravery, upholding the Army values, and service to their fellow soldiers," Sparks said.

On top of receiving the top honor, Vallejo was also promoted to Sergeant during the ceremony.

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