Last May, Keanon Lowe stopped a student from harming himself and other students with a shotgun at Parkrose High School in Portland, where Lowe coached football and track.
And now for his bravery and compassion, Coach Lowe will receive aCongressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honor. He is one of six such honorees chosen by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. While Medals of Honor are typically awarded to members of the US military, Lowe and the other citizen honorees "exemplify the values embodied in the Medal of Honor: courage, sacrifice, commitment, integrity, citizenship, and patriotism," the society said.
"In that time, I felt compassion for him," Lowe told KATU back in October 2019. "A lot of times, especially when you're young, you don't realize what you're doing until it's over."
Created during the Civil War, it is the highest military decoration for acts of valor. Almost half of the 3,400+ medals have been presented to Civil War soldiers and today, there are 103 living recipients of the Medal of Honor.
Photo: Getty