Location: 656
Date: 3/27/2009
Rank: Lieutenant
Branch: U.S. Navy
Operation: Operation Enduring Freedom
Halfway through a year-long individual Augmentee (IA) assignment with the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command (ARSIC) North, Lt. j.g. Francis L. “Frankie”
Toner IV, CEC, didn’t hesitate when a terrorist attacked his shipmates on Forward Operating Base Shaheen near Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Unarmed, he charged the lone gunman.
It was enough to save some innocent lives that day – March 27, 2009 – but not all.
Lt. Florence B. Choe, Medical Service Corps, and Lt. J.G. Toner himself were killed.
Honor…Courage… Commitment… and Sacrifice. True heroes, like Toner, don’t hesitate. They act. It’s in their nature.
Frankie was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor device, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Ribbon for his actions in Afghanistan.