Medal of Honor recipient, Washington State grad will hoist Cougar flag before Apple Cup

A Washington State University graduate who recently received the Medal of Honor will raise the Crimson Cougar flag for his alma mater before Friday’s Apple Cup, according to Pullman Radio.

Ronald Shurer II, while on a mission in Afghanistan’s Shok Valley in April 2008, was able to save the life of multiple U.S. soldiers “through a hail of bullets,” while being wounded himself. He also evacuated wounded soldiers down a cliff “while avoiding rounds of enemy gunfire and falling debris caused by numerous airstrikes.”

Friday will be Shurer’s first time in Pullman since he deployed with the U.S. Army. Shurer, from Puyallup, Washington, received a business economics degree from WSU in 2001.

He enlisted in the Army in September 2002 in Spokane.

Shurer served two tours in Afghanistan as a combat medic in the Green Berets. He was discharged in 2009 and became a special agent with the Secret Service. He lives in Burke, Virginia.

On Oct. 1, President Donald Trump presented Shurer with the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest honor for military valor, during a ceremony at the White House.

Shurer, who lives with his wife and two sons, has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.