HOUSTON — Five years ago, a Green Beret from Houston was killed in an attack on American soldiers in Jordan. Tuesday evening in Houston, his family received one of the Army’s highest honors, the Silver Star.
It was a fitting moment for a hometown hero.
“I may have been his older sister, but to this day, I still look up to him," said Becky Moriarty Davis.
On what would have been his 32nd birthday, the family of Army Staff Sergeant James Moriarty received the Silver Star.
“I think the one question I’ve always had from the beginning, is why this happened," Davis said.
It was 2016 when he was killed in Jordan along with two other soldiers. Security camera video shows American vehicles stopped at the entrance to a Jordanian Airfield where the Green Berets were based.
The first car passes through the gate, but then a Jordanian guard suddenly opens fire on the second vehicle, killing both Americans inside.
“My brother was repeating in Arabic, 'We’re friends,' waving to them,” she said.
There was a fire fight, and Moriarty was killed. At first, Jordan blamed the Americans for not stopping at the gate, but the U.S. called it a deliberate terrorist attack.
“It always bothered me that Jordan was so quick to blame the soldiers for what happened," Davis said.
The shooter was sentenced to life in prison, which his sister says is only 20 years.
Back home in Houston, the focus is on her brother. He was a graduate of Strake Jesuit and the University of Texas at Austin.
Now receiving one of the army’s highest honors, his family says it’s a reminder a hero was in our midst.
“This is an affirmation that we know he did the right thing and he really did go above and beyond for his country," Davis said.
There was one Green Beret who survived, and he came to Houston for the ceremony. He’s never spoken publicly about the attack, but Moriarty is credited for saving his life.