Army 1st Sgt. William Howard — a member of the 128th Aviation Brigade — was honored with the Soldiers’ Medal Friday at Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Eustis for helping save the lives of five coalition soldiers while on deployment in Afghanistan.

He was serving as a senior enlisted leader for the Special Mission Wing Special Operations Advisory Group, NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan/Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

He returned from deployment in February.

His incredible act of heroism, as detailed by Stars and Stripes:

On July 3, 2014, Howard pried open a door to free trapped Afghans from the joint aviation facility after a rocket attack, according to the award citation. He did so “without hesitation or care for his personal safety.”

Howard went into the building – which was quickly filling with smoke – twice to find casualties, clear the building and help other first responders, the citation says.

According to the press release, the medal is awarded for heroism that doesn’t involve actual enemy conflict. It’s the highest non-combat honor a soldier can receive for an act of valor.