A staff sergeant became the third Massachusetts Army National Guard member to receive the Soldier's Medal for responding to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, accepting his award Wednesday in a July 8 ceremony in the city's State House.
Staff Sgt. Mark Welch joined Capt. Steve Fiola and Master Sgt. Bernie Madore in earning the Army's highest award for non-combat valor. Fiola and Madore were honored April 11 during a traditional muster in Salem; Gov. Charlie Baker presented all three awards.
All three men were with 1060th Transportation Company, 164th Transportation Battalion, 151st Regional Support Group, two years ago, and all began April 15, 2013, by participating in a "Tough Ruck" march on the marathon course from Hopkinton to Boston — covering 26.2 miles with about 35 pounds on their backs to raise money for fallen service members, according to a 2013 Army news release.
In the release, Welch recalled suffering from blisters after the march, but when he heard the back-to-back blasts and leaped over a wall to reach the site of the first explosion, "the pain instantly went away."
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, adjutant general of the state's National Guard, present the Soldiers Medal to Capt. Steve Fiola and Sgt. 1st Class Bernie Madore for their 2013 actions.
Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Steven C. Eaton/Massachusetts National Guard
All three awardees remembered a mix of adrenaline and chaos as they worked to help wounded runners and spectators.
"It was just a mess of just stuff that used to resemble people," Fiola said in the release.
"I do remember looking down and going, 'Oh, God, we can't deal with this,' " Madore said. "And then right back to the action. …"
The soldiers credited emergency-services workers for their rapid response, and the work of more junior soldiers, who then-1st Lt. Fiola had ordered to stay back and assist spectators in a nearby grandstand.
The bombs killed three people and injured more than 260. The bomber received a death sentence in May.
In a 2014 video produced by Guard Your Health, Welch used the bombing as an example of the need for soldiers to be prepared for duty at all times.
The Solder's Medals were the first ever earned by Massachusetts National Guard members, according to a National Guard news release on Welch's ceremony. An act of Congress established the award in 1926.
Col. Everett Spain, an active-duty officer who treated the wounded at the finish line after the bombing, also received the Soldier's Medal for his actions.
