Long before Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter ever faced combat, he told himself he'd never let fear influence his decisions when under attack.

When 400 Taliban insurgents attacked 54 Army soldiers in a remote outpost in Afghanistan four years ago, Carter kept his pledge as he risked his life numerous times to rescue fallen friends, running into open fire several times during an intense six-hour shootout.

As a tribute for his heroic actions, Carter, now 33 and stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, will receive next month the Medal of Honor, the country's highest military award. He's the fifth living soldier to receive the honor for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"A long time ago, I told myself that if I was ever put in a combat situation I wouldn't let fear make my choices for me," Carter said Monday in a 35-minute press conference at JBLM.

On Oct. 9, 2009, Carter was woken at 5:59 a.m. by heavy enemy fire in Keating, a company-sized outpost in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. It wasn't unusual for early morning attacks to jolt Carter from his bunk. But on this morning, the attack was more intense than usual.

"When you first wake up, you're still kind of groggy," Carter said. "But when I went to the door and saw the kind of impact, I instantly thought something was different."

Eight soldiers died and 25 were wounded that day as the outpost was nearly overrun.

As the day unfolded, Carter sprinted 100 yards across open ground and through heavy fire first to get ammunition and later to rescue Stephan Mace, a wounded 21-year-old soldier.

"It basically looked like raindrops all over the ground," Carter said as he talked about running through gun fire. "The more impacts I saw the faster I ran.  

Later, when Carter was in a Humvee while under heavy attack from 30 to 40 fighters, he heard calls for help from Mace. About a half hour into the fight, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the Humvee, knocking out the .50 caliber machine gun and spraying the interior with shrapnel, injuring Carter. Still, Carter later asked Sgt. Bradley Larson for permission to leave the Humvee and assist Mace.

As Carter was retelling this part of his story, he paused for 15 seconds to collect himself emotionally. Sitting by his wife, Shannon, he held her hand and held back his tears.

"I saw Mace crawling on his elbows," Carter said, again pausing briefly to compose himself. "I asked Sgt. Larson if I could get to him and he told me no. It's very painful to see a good man suffer and not be able to go to him."

Carter paused again briefly before resuming.

"You could see a good man lying there, begging for help," Carter said. "When I saw Mace and I was told I couldn't get to him, it broke my heart. But Larson knew that if I went out there I'd be dead, too. For that, I owe him my life."

When the gun fire subsided some, Carter, with bullets zinging around him and with Larson giving support fire, ran to Mace and carried him back to the Humvee. He stopped the bleeding and put a tourniquet on Mace's shattered leg. Eventually, Mace was evacuated and given medical help, but he died later that night.

Carter, who grew up in Spokane and graduated from North Central High School, talked about how difficult it is today for him to be around the families of the eight soldiers who died that day.

"I am uncomfortable being around the families of the fallen because I owe them so much," Carter said.

Next month, Carter will go to the White House and receive the Medal of Honor. While honored to receive the award, he said the deaths of his friends and fellow soldiers overshadow the medal.

"I was so concerned about the men we lost it didn't even faze me," Carter said about his initial response to the news of his award. "It was just another medal. I don't want to put down the Medal of Honor and what it means, but when you've lost family, you don't really ... it doesn't really faze you."

On Aug. 26, Carter will receive the medal from President Obama. Now on a national stage, Carter said he would be willing to be a spokesman to soldiers fighting post-traumatic stress and help them seek help.

"If they let me, I would be honored to do it," Carter said. "Because of my experience, I could talk with soldiers."