A Czech military dog handler who was killed during a mission in Afghanistan last year will now receive the United States Armed Forces’ Bronze Star Medal in memoriam.
Tomáš Procházka will be awarded the Bronze Star medal by a representative of the United States Embassy at the Center for Military Cynologists in Chotyně, Liberec, where Procház served.
Chief of General Staff Aleš Opata will also attend the ceremony, according to a press release from the Czech Ministry of Defense.
The Bronze Star medal, created during World War ll, is one of the top ten military honors in the United States. Awarding the medal to the members of the armed forces is conditional on the recipient performing a brave deed in the fight against the enemy or by excellent service in such a fight.
Procházka is the last of 14 Czech soldiers who died in Afghanistan. He was killed at the Shindand base in Herat Province as an Afghan soldier started to shoot at a vehicle with Czech soldiers. Besides Procházka, two members of the special armed forces were also injured.
Dog handler Tomáš Procházka was posthumously promoted to the rank of ensign. This year, President Miloš Zeman also awarded him the Medal for Heroism.
