Kyle Carpenter, a native of Gilbert, is a US Marine Corps veteran and a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. He is a graduate of W.W. King Academy in Batesburg. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of South Carolina.

The US Navy announced Monday, it has awarded a contract for a new destroyer that will be named for Cpl. Kyle Carpenter. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for jumping on a hand grenade in Afghanistan to save his friend.

“In 2010, Cpl. Carpenter went above and beyond the call of duty to shield a fellow Marine from a grenade blast in Afghanistan,” Navy Secretary John Phelan posted on X on Monday, announcing the new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the USS Kyle Carpenter.

In 2015, Kyle was the first military veteran to be inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Kyle received the “Portrait Of A Nation” prize alongside Hank Aaron and Aretha Franklin.

In 2019, Kyle published his autobiography, You are Worth It: Building A Life Worth Fighting For. It not only tells the story of the events leading up to November 21st, 2010 and the recovery period which followed, but it is also a story of rebirth and overcoming adversity, of how Kyle battled back from the gravest challenge to forge a life of joyful purpose. His autobiography earned him a 2019, Silver Nautilus Book Award under the Heroic Journeys category.

Carpenter received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery during Operation Enduring Freedom in November 2010.

Carpenter and his Marine unit were on patrol in the Helmland Province of Afghanistan when a grenade landed near him and a another soldier.

Carpenter threw himself on the explosive to protect fellow Marine Cpl. Nick Eufrazio, and others, from the blast.

Carpenter was barely alive after the explosion. His injuries were described as “catastrophic.” He went into cardiac arrest and flat lined three times as a result of his injuries.
His survival is called miraculous.

In February of 2019, the Batesburg-Leesville Department of Motor Vehicles announced it has named its state building in honor of Carpenter.

Kyle joined the Headstrong Board of Directors in mid-2021 and resides in North Carolina.