Medal of Honor awarded to SEAL who tried to rescue comrade who’s buried in York County

(Undated) — Retired Navy SEAL Britt Slabinski was awarded the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious military decoration for U.S. service members.

Slabinkski earned the honor for heroics in a 2002 battle against al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan, a 14-hour firefight atop Takur Ghar now known as The Battle of Roberts Ridge.

The “Roberts” in that name refers to fallen Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, whom Slabinski’s team sought to rescue after the 32-year-old Roberts fell 10 feet from an escaping helicopter onto the snowy mountain in the early morning hours of March 4.

Reports suggest Roberts fought valiantly after his fall but was ultimately killed by al-Qaeda forces, though Slabinski and his team, unaware of Roberts’ fate, returned and exposed themselves to enemy gunfire in an attempt to rescue their teammate.

Their heroic fight and rescue attempt led to Thursday’s ceremony, with President Trump awarding the Medal of Honor to Slabinski.

Roberts, though a native of Woodland, California, is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in North York borough, York County. His wife, Patricia, was born and raised in York County.

A ceremony at Prospect Hill in 2006 featured family, friends, veterans’ groups and politicians, among others.

The story of the battle at Takur Ghar has been retold in various ways since 2002, including as a mission in the video game Medal of Honor. The character of “Rabbit” in that game is based on Roberts.

This story comes to us through a partnership between WITF and The York Daily Record.