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Two National Guardsmen who risked their lives to save another person in separate incidents, a governor and a U.S. senator who is a former governor, top this year’s NGAUS individual awards.
The association board of directors approved a total of 102 awards for 2026 at its March meeting.
The board moved the awards process to earlier in the year to make it easier for recipients to plan to attend the annual NGAUS conference. Awards approval historically had been during the July meeting.
The 148th General Conference & Exhibition is set for Aug. 28-31, 2026, in Indianapolis. More information.
Illinois Army Guard Maj. Peter Pogwizd and Nevada Air Guard Senior Master Sgt. Kraig J. Kimball earned the Valley Forge Cross for Heroism for pulling drivers from burning cars.
An account from a Chicago TV station said Pogwizd, off duty from his full-time job as a Naperville (Illinois) police officer, witnessed the crash of man driving a 2025 Tesla on Jan. 9 in the town.
Despite the car catching fire, Pogwizd immediately intervened and pulled the driver to safety.
Kimball’s action occurred Sept. 22 in Gulfport, Mississippi. He and Capt. Vicenza Call were passing by a three-car car accident when they noticed one of the vehicles had struck a power pole.
“Without hesitation and before I could process what we were about to face, [Senior Master Sgt.] Kimball pulled our vehicle to the shoulder and exited at a full run,” Call wrote in a witness statement.
“As he reached the Subaru, I saw the deployed airbags, smoke venting from the back and flames beginning to spread,” Call continued.
“With no regard for his own safety, [Kimball] lifted the large individual and dragged him up the embankment away from the growing fire and across the roadway to safety,” Call wrote. “Within seconds, the car exploded.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who was her state’s governor before her election to the Senate, received the association’s highest honor, the Harry S. Truman Award.
NGAUS presents the award for “sustained contributions of exceptional and far-reaching magnitude to the defense and security of the United States in a manner worthy of recognition at the national level.”
The Iowa National Guard Officers Association nominated Reynolds for the award.
“Through innovative personnel programs, robust infrastructure investment, unwavering support of federal missions, and exceptional care for servicemembers and families, she has elevated the Iowa National Guard into one of the most ready, reliable, and respected forces in the Nation,” wrote Iowa Army Guard Col. Jason L. Wisehart, the Iowa association president.
Army Maj. Gen. Stephen E. Osborn, the adjutant general of Iowa, endorsed the nomination.
Renolds has been Iowa governor since 2017.
Retired New Hampshire Air Guard Col. Steven F. Greco, a member of the NGAUS board, nominated Shaheen, a co-chair of the Senate National Guard Caucus.
She was governor of New Hampshire from 1997 to 2003. She is nearing the end of her third six-year term in the Senate.
“Senator Shaheen’s career stands as a testament to her commitment to safeguarding the citizens of the United States of America and supporting the men and women of the National Guard,” he wrote.
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly A. Ayotte, Sen. Maggie Hasssan, D-N.H., and Army Maj. Gen. David J. Mikolaities, the adjutant general of New Hampshire, endorsed Shaheen.
—By John Goheen
