Fort Leavenworth ? An Army veteran has been honored with the highest award for valor that a soldier can earn for an act outside of combat.

Scott Shigley, who retired as a sergeant first class, received the Soldier’s Medal Wednesday in a ceremony at Fort Leavenworth.

According to the award citation, Shigley worked with two other soldiers to pull victims from a fiery two-car crash in June 2000 near Fort Knox, Ky. He pulled the driver out of the car and then protected an unconscious boy inside the car until emergency crews arrived.

The Kansas City Star reports that Shigley, who lives in the Leavenworth area, says he believes he did what anyone else would have in that situation.