Bragg soldier honored for heroism during Fort Hood attack

Sgt. George D. Long, of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal Friday in a ceremony on Fort Bragg.

Long was in a staff meeting with colleagues at Fort Hood on April 2, 2014, when the sound of gunshots disturbed the peace. He and others rushed to block the conference room door as the shooter, Spc. Ivan Lopez, approached.

Sgt. 1st Class Danny Ferguson was killed when Lopez fired through the door, despite the efforts of Long and others to save him.

Lopez killed three soldiers and wounded 16 others before taking his own life.

Long's honor, for his heroic action that day, is the highest honor a soldier can receive for an act of valor in a non-combat event, according to Army regulations.

On the same day, two soldiers from Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division were presented with the Purple Heart. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Richard Puza was injured in Afghanistan in an attack on July 23, 2012; Staff Sgt. Oscar Vega-Almodovar on July 10, 2012.