Staff Sergeant Travis W. Atkins of Bozeman will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on March 27, according to a White House press release.
President Donald J. Trump will award the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Atkins for conspicuous gallantry, the press release said. Atkins’ son Trevor Oliver and family will join the President at the White House to accept the award.
On June 1, 2007, Staff Sergeant Atkins, while serving in Iraq, engaged a suspected insurgent in hand-to-hand combat. He realized the man was trying to detonate a bomb strapped to his body and then tackled the insurgent, using his body to shield other soldiers from the explosion.
The White House said in the press release that “Staff Sergeant Atkins’ heroic actions, at the cost of his life, saved the lives of three of his teammates.”
Staff Sergeant Atkins first deployed to Iraq in 2003 and was later honorably discharged as a Sergeant. He attended the University of Montana, re-enlisted in the Army in 2005, and returned to Iraq in 2006, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant on May 1, 2007.
Atkins was born on Dec. 9, 1975, in Great Falls, Montana. He moved with his parents, Jack and Elaine, to Bozeman, Montana, in 1981.
Staff Sergeant Atkins is survived by his son, Trevor Oliver, of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and his parents, John and Elaine Atkins of Bozeman.
