French train hero to earn US Army's top non-combat award

WASHINGTON: One of the American servicemen who helped subdue a gunman on a high-speed French train last week will receive the US Army's highest honour for non-combat activities.

The US Army said Aleksander Skarlatos, a member of the Oregon National Guard who had recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan, will receive the Soldier's Medal "for extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty."

Along with two childhood friends and two other passengers, Skarlatos helped wrestle 25-year-old Ayoub El Khazzani, who had emerged from a bathroom wielding a Kalashnikov assault rifle and other weapons aboard the high-speed train.

"Skarlatos's actions that day epitomise what we mean by a soldier of character -- one who lives by a personal code where dedication to duty and taking care of others is sacred," Army Secretary John McHugh said in a statement.

Skarlatos was receiving health checks at a US military base in Germany, along with Spencer Stone, one of the friends who received hand and eye injuries as he wrestled with the gunman.

Stone has been nominated for the Air Force's top non-combat award.

Another member of the group, 23-year-old college student Anthony Sadler, returned to the United States on Tuesday.

Sadler, a student at Sacramento State University, arrived in Sacramento, California after a stop in Oregon, local media reported.

Carrying a black backpack, he was dressed in black shorts and a gray t-shirt as he walked with his parents on the tarmac with other passengers.

The actions of the passengers were hailed as heroic by officials in both France and the United States following news of the foiled attack.

French President Francois Hollande on Monday awarded the three American friends and British businessman Chris Norman -- who also helped in overpowering the gunman -- the Legion d'honneur medal, France's top award.

A French passenger who tackled the gunman but chose to remain anonymous, and Eric Tanty, an off-duty train driver who happened to be on board and helped restrain Khazzani, were to be honored too.

Mark Moogalian, a French-American professor who was shot and wounded in the attack, and Michel Bruet, a train conductor who warned authorities, were also to be awarded medals.