Highest Honour for a Spanish Captain on the 4th of July

The ambassador of the United States to Spain, Mr. Alan D. Solomont, and the commander of the NATO Allied Command for Operations, Admiral James Stavridis, reserved the greatest honour at the 4th of July celebration, which took place yesterday at embassy headquarters in Madrid, for Spanish Captain Pedro López de Lis, awarded the Cross of Military Merit in the red division for his heroic action in Afghanistan.  
 

He was the first to be greeted upon the conclusion of the addresses, and he was awarded a medal of recognition that is usually given in the US Army.  Prior to this, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe had mentioned the captain when he addressed those attending, among whom were numerous civilian and military authorities; leading the Spanish Army representatives was the interim Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, General José Carrasco.
 

The admiral, who requested that the captain be placed in the first row during his address, remembered his merits and praised his courage, while he defended the close collaboration that troops from both countries maintain, especially in the Afghan theatre of operations, where the actions for which the captain was awarded occurred.
 

‘It has been a great honour,’ the captain acknowledges, and he conveyed his gratitude to the admiral during their conversation, which he wished to extend to the entire company that had carried out the operation. 
 

‘For me this medal has a special meaning as it comes from the United States, since it was with servicepersons from this country we worked with shoulder to shoulder,’ he added.