(AP) -- President Barack Obama is awarding the nation's highest medal for gallantry to a Green Beret killed in a Taliban ambush.
The parents of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller will accept theMedal of Honor from Obama in an East Room ceremony Wednesday.
Miller was a native of Harrisburg, Pa., and was leading a patrol of U.S. and Afghan troops near the Pakistan border on Jan. 25, 2008, when insurgents opened fire. Despite being wounded twice in the chest, he continued firing and hurling grenades, ultimately sacrificing his life to protect his comrades.
Thursday is the ninth anniversary of the bombardment that heralded the post-9/11 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Since then, more than 1,200 U.S. troops have perished in the conflict, now America's longest since Vietnam.
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