ESPN Profiles Kyle Carpenter in 'Uncommon Valor'

ESPN "SportsCenter " focused its attention on a a real hero Saturday.

A former Marine, 25 year-old Kyle Carpenter should not be alive today. He survived through sheer force of will and the spirit that makes the Marines the pride of all Americans.

After nearly 40 surgeries and two and a half years in the hospital, Carpenter got back to fighting shape and completed the Marine Corps Marathon.

This summer, Carpenter became the second living Marine since the Vietnam War to receive the nation's highest military decoration -- the Medal of Honor.

"I'm here at home, I'm just bale to enjoy life and breathe. I'm not in Afghanistan and I don't have to worry about my friends getting hurt," said Carpenter. "I can just run."

An athlete in high school, Carpenter went to the Marine Corps immediately after graduating.

Carpenter was gravely injured in Afghanistan in an action where his unselfish acts saved the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers.

"Nearly every patrol were sending out was contact," he said.

On the day Carpenter was nearly killed, he was on guard duty when grenades began falling around him. Carpenter had jumped on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers and he was legally declared dead before doctors revived him.

He did not wake up for five weeks. That's when the real work began.

"it seemed 20 years down the road, but laying in the hospital bed, one of my goals was to run a marathon," he said.

Carpenter at first struggled to walk his way around the hospital, but her persevered and two and a half years later, he was released from the hospital and went home.

The piece ended with President Barack Obama calling Carpenter to tell him he was being given the Medal of Honor. He received the award in June, making him only the second living Marine to ever get it.

"I'm proud to be a Marine," Carpenter said. "Freedom is a powerful and beautiful thing."