Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone — who thwarted a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train, earning him a Purple Heart, Airman's Medal and a two-rank bump in promotion — will be one of six veterans to attend President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The event will bring Stone, a medical technician at the 60th Medical Operations Squadron at Travis Air Force Base in California, to Washington for a third official visit since the August incident time.
Stone became an international hero when he and two friends — Army Spc. Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Saddler — immediately acted to subdue a gunman aboard the a French train in August. The three men were honored at the White House and the Pentagon in September; On Dec. 17, Stone gave a speech about counterterrorism at the French Embassy.
Stone was awarded the Purple Heart and Airman's Medal, the Air Force's highest non-combat award, and received France and Belgium's highest honors. Stone sustained injuries — a stab wound near his carotid artery and a severed thumb — from the attack in August; separately, Stone was stabbed in a brawl outside a Sacramento, California, bar in October, which prompted open-heart surgery to save his life.
Stone, then an airman first class, was promoted to staff sergeant on Oct. 31.
Stone told Air Force Times last month he plans to leave the Air Force before his enlistment finishes in November, unless he hasn't already been medically discharged, "which is a high possibility."
Stone and the other active and former service members are all guests of Ffirst Llady Michelle Obama, the White House announced Sunday. Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Dr. Jill, Biden who together with the Ffirst Llady runs the Joining Forces initiative, a program that emphasizes the need to provide resources and support for military members and their families, will also sit with among the veterans.
The other veterans in attendance are:
Maj. Lisa Jaster. Jaster became the first female Army Reserve officer and third female overall to graduate from Ranger School. Jaster, a 37-year-old engineer, joins Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver as the only women in the Army to earn the coveted black and gold Ranger tab.
Oscar Vazquez. Vazquez is a former Army sergeant who enlisted after he was granted a green card in August 2010. Now a U.S. citizen, Vazquez was a cavalry scout with the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division and is a testament of the DREAMer program, an initiative to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S.
Earl Smith. A Vietnam War Army vet, Smith was part of a brigade that suffered 10,041 casualties and received 13 Medals of Honor. Smith met then-Senator Obama in an elevator in 2008 and gave him his lucky charm "screaming eagle" patch which he earned as a private during the war.
Cynthia Dias. Dias is a Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War on a hospital ship as a registered nurse. Years later, Dias moved into Veterans Village, a non-profit organization working with the city of Las Vegas to provide resources for homeless veterans. Dias now now volunteers with Veterans Village, and advocates for veterans in Las Vegas, which in November announced it had housed every homeless veteran as part of the Obama administration’s mayors challenge to end veteran homelessness.
Naveed Shah. An immigrant of Pakistani parents, Shah enlisted in the Army in 2006 for four years and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Shah volunteers for various veterans groups assisting in the transition between military and civilian life.
