It remains with all those who survived that October day.

Many have been waging battles with post-traumatic stress disorder, including Faulkner who turned to drugs to try to forget and later died from an overdose.

To many of the men of Bravo Troop, Faulkner was the ninth victim of the battle for COP Keating.

The U.S. military closed the outpost on October 6, 2009, virtually destroying what remained so it could not offer comfort or haven to insurgents.

A few months later, a U.S. military investigation found measures that were taken to protect the outpost were lax, and that critical intelligence and reconnaissance assistance had been diverted from the base.

Medal of Honor

Word about the Medal of Honor came in January in the form of a call to Romesha's cell phone.

It was from a blocked number.

He was working with a pipeline crew in North Dakota when he answered, and a secretary on the other end of the line asked if she was speaking with Clint Romesha.

"Then she told me that President Obama would like to talk to you," he said.

For a moment, Romesha was speechless.

The president offered his congratulations, and told him his actions honored the country.

"I just remember telling him that for me, it's not about me. You know, it was everyone that day up at COP Keating," he said. "So many other guys that made this day happen."