Cadet Larry Pickett Jr., a member of the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2028 and a safety on the Army football team, has been awarded the Soldier’s Medal after rescuing a driver from a crashed vehicle moments before it erupted into flames near West Point.
The award was presented March 12 during the annual Founder’s Day Dinner at the U.S. Military Academy, where cadets, family members, and academy leadership gathered to commemorate West Point’s founding in 1802 and recognize Pickett’s actions.
Established in 1926, the Soldier’s Medal is the Army’s highest decoration for heroism performed outside of combat. The award recognizes voluntary acts involving personal hazard that demonstrate a level of courage comparable to the Distinguished Flying Cross in combat situations.
Pickett now joins a small group of West Point cadets who have received the award over the academy’s history. Previous recipients include Cadet Charles Simonton Brice Jr. (1939), Cadet William Norman Holm (1939), Cadet George Werner Albrecht (1967), Cadet Robert G. Losey (1971), Cadet Angel David Velez (1975), Cadet Leo T. Cody Jr. (1975), Cadet Jeffrey Anthony Kazaglis (1991), Cadet Alison Michele Jones (1998), Cadet Justin Dalme (awarded in 2012 for a 2011 rescue), and Cadet Thomas M. Surdyke, who received the medal posthumously in 2016.
Recipients of the Soldier’s Medal across the Army’s history include figures such as Colin Powell, retired Col. Aaron Bank—often referred to as the father of the Green Berets—and Lt. Edith Ellen Greenwood of the Army Nurse Corps, who rescued 15 people from a fire in 1943.
Pickett earned the award for actions taken during a crash on Sept. 1, 2025, near Fort Montgomery, New York, roughly four miles from the academy.
While returning to West Point with family after a dinner in New York City, Pickett and his father encountered a white sedan that had struck a utility pole along Route 9W. The crash left downed power lines sparking around the vehicle while a propane tank sat nearby, creating an immediate risk of electrocution or explosion.
Video recorded at the scene shows Pickett and his father running toward the wreckage, removing an unconscious driver who was still strapped into the seat, and carrying him away from the vehicle. The car burst into flames shortly after the rescue.https://www.youtube.com/embed/KUr5u7KCiOY?si=j0dYhw675UKUsz8r
The Fort Montgomery Fire Department later confirmed the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames after the crash.
Pickett said afterward that he was grateful they arrived in time to help.
“I’m just extremely thankful that we were in the right place at the right time to help the gentleman,” Pickett said following the rescue. “It just goes back to selfless service, the willingness to serve others.”
During the Founder’s Day ceremony, Brig. Gen. Robert Garcia, commandant of the Corps of Cadets, highlighted the significance of the medal and the values behind the act that earned it.
Garcia told cadets that service extends beyond military operations and includes acting when civilians are in danger. He also referenced Pickett’s simple explanation after the rescue, noting that the cadet expressed gratitude that the victim had been safely pulled from the vehicle.
The Soldier’s Medal was formally pinned on Pickett by West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland, making him one of the few cadets in academy history to receive the decoration.
Pickett’s father, Larry Pickett Sr., said his son had wanted to join the Army since childhood and that the award reflected years of dedication and character development.
Pickett’s actions that night also drew praise from Army football leadership and academy officials, who said the rescue demonstrated the values of duty, courage, and selfless service that West Point seeks to instill in future officers.
The rescued driver survived the crash.
For Pickett, the moment came down to instinct.
“We knew that car was about to catch on fire and whoever was in there was going to burn up, and we couldn’t just watch and let that happen,” Pickett said in a previous interview after the rescue.
The Soldier’s Medal now places him among a small group of cadets who have demonstrated battlefield-level courage long before ever leading soldiers in combat.
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