Members of the U.S. Army Strolling Strings band perform among the attendees at the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Members of the U.S. Army Strolling Strings band perform among the attendees at the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A member of the U.S. Army Strolling Strings band performs among the attendees at the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A member of the U.S. Army Strolling Strings band performs among the attendees at the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson speaks during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
General Mark Milley speaks during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Army Sgt. 1st Class Adam Morelli shakes the hand of Gen. Mark Milley as he receives an award during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Petty Officer 1st Class Wayne Papalski receives an award from Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, while Chairman of the Board Michael Dodson (far left) and President and CEO Bill French, (far right), both of the Armed Services YMCA, look on. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson claps as three of the five Angels of the Battlefield honorees pose with their award. From left to right, they are: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Wayne Papalski, Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Van Horn and Army Sgt. 1st Class Adam Morelli. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Gen. David Goldfein speaks during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Gen. David Goldfein shakes the hand of honoree Staff Sgt. Christopher Dixon during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Dixon receives an award from U.S. Air Force Gen. David Goldfein during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015, as CEO and President of the Armed Services YMCA Bill French looks on. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zukunft presents the Angles of the Battlefield honoree Petty Officer 2nd Class Mya Dejanakul with an award during the gala on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
The honorees at the 13th annual Angels of the Battlefield Gala, hosted by the Armed Services YMCA, from left to right, are: Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Mya Dejanakul, Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Dixon, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Wayne Papalski, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Van Horn, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Adam Morelli. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Petty Officer Second Class Mya Dejanakul shakes General Mark Milley's hand at the end of the Angels of the Battlefield gala on Nov. 4, 2015, in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Petty Officer 1st Class Wayne Papalski looks at the award he received during the Angels of the Battlefield Gala in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2015. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Joshua Van Horn takes the stage at the Angels of the Battlefield gala on Nov. 4, 2015, in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — For their service in locations from a remote Alaskan village to the mountains of Afghanistan, five heroic medics, corpsmen and pararescuemen — one representing each service branch — were honored Wednesday night at the aptly-named Angels of the Battlefield gala in Washington, D.C.
Each honoree was chosen by his or her respective service chief. They are:
Adam Morelli, a 35-year-old Army medic from Warwick, R.I., who responded after a vehicle-borne IED was detonated inside a combat outpost. Under enemy fire, Morelli provided triage and treatment to 28 causalities on the ground and a soldier trapped on a rooftop. Joshua Van Horn, a 29-year-old Marine corpsman from Akron, Ohio, who provided medical care to several others after an IED strike blasted his convoy in Afghanistan. Chris Dixon, a 27-year-old Air Force medic from Newfield, Maine, who assisted in saving 18 lives while responding to a mass shooting. Wayne Papalski, a 29-year-old Navy corpsman from Secaucus, N.J., who rescued a civilian hiker and the crew sent to rescue her after they became stranded attempting to reach the hiker on a precarious mountaintop. Mya Dejanakul, a 27-year-old Coast Guard corpsman from Redman, Ore., who provided lifesaving care to civilians in remote Alaskan villages who would otherwise not have safe transportation or access to medical treatment.The event was hosted by the Armed Services YMCA. The keynote address was delivered by the new Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. John Richardson.
Email: Tibbetts.meredith@stripes.com Twitter: @mjtibbs
