Army
Army Reserve captain receives Soldier’s Medal for stopping an armed robbery outside Fort Cavazos
Stars and Stripes
July 4, 2024
Maj. Gen. William Ryan pins the Soldier’s Medal on Capt. Steven Drayton during an awards ceremony on July 3, 2024, at First Army Division West headquarters, Fort Cavazos, Texas. (Bowden Drake-Deese/U.S. Army)
Two years ago, Capt. Steven Drayton, a U.S. Army Reservist, saw an armed robbery in progress. He stepped in and stopped it, which might very well have saved the lives of his 11-year-old son and the other patrons and employees in that barber shop in Killeen, Texas.
On Wednesday, Drayton was honored for his heroics when he received the prestigious Soldier’s Medal during a ceremony at First Army Division West Headquarters at Fort Cavazos, Texas.
“It brings a smile to my face knowing that we are able to celebrate something that could have been really bad,” said Drayton, the former Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander of 3-289th Training Support Battalion. “But now we get to celebrate the positive.”
On Aug. 4, 2022, Drayton was visiting a barber shop outside the Fort Cavazos gates when an armed man barged in, pointed a gun at Drayton, his 11-year-old son and everyone else in the shop, demanding money.
Without hesitation, Drayton charged.
Drayton quickly overpowered the suspect and took him to the ground. He then removed the handgun and an additional pistol the perpetrator had hidden in his waistband. He restrained the suspect until Killeen police arrived.
Maj. Gen. William Ryan, the commanding general of First Army Division West, paid tribute to Drayton on Wednesday by awarding the medal.
The Soldier’s Medal was established by an act of Congress in 1926. It is the highest peacetime award for an act of heroism in a noncombat situation. Fewer than 300 soldiers currently on active duty have been awarded the Soldier’s Medal, according to the Army.
Drayton spoke about the other patrons of the barber shop, many of them were children. He said he thought at the time about how they were enjoying the August afternoon and that nobody deserved to be in harm’s way that day.
He also spoke about how his military training helped him in the situation. Faced with an armed man in a peaceful environment, his extensive combat training enabled him to act appropriately in the stressful situation.
“As we were going through it, I said to myself I know what to do, I’ve been trained to do this,” Drayton said. “Just stay in control.”