Story highlights William Swenson is the sixth living recipient from the Afghan and Iraq wars 
 
 Swenson was honored for his action on September 8, 2009, in the Ganjgal Valley 
 
 He braved enemy fire to retrieve the bodies of dead soldiers, Obama says 
 
 He criticized his commanders for failing to support soldiers during the battle 
 
 A shaky video captured only a few moments of William D. Swenson's actions during a brutal, hours-long battle in Afghanistan: Kissing a badly wounded comrade on the forehead as he helped load the soldier into a helicopter. 
 
 "This may be the first time we bear witness to a small portion of the action" of a Medal of Honor recipient, President Barack Obama said Tuesday as he awarded the now-retired Army captain the nation's highest military honor for his actions in the Ganjgal Valley in 2009. 
 
 Swenson, 34, of Seattle, is the sixth living recipient from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to earn the honor, and this is only the second time in a half-century that two men from the same battle have been awarded the medal. 
 
 Swenson, who retired from the Army in 2011, is being awarded the medal for his actions on September 8, 2009, in the Battle of the Ganjgal Valley in Afghanistan's Kunar province. The battle claimed the lives of four American soldiers, 10 Afghan soldiers and an Afghan interpreter. 
 
 A fifth soldier, Sgt. First Class Kenneth Westbrook -- the man Swenson helped load onto the helicopter -- later died from his wounds. 
 
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 Swenson was working with Afghan security forces in the volatile Kunar province near Pakistan's border when he and his troops came under fire. 
 
 Obama recounted to an audience of fellow soldiers and families of the fallen how Swenson braved enemy fire again and again to recover the bodies of the dead Americans and Afghans. 
 
 "In moments like this, Americans like Will remind us of what our country can be at its best, a nation of citizens who look out for one another, who meet our obligations to one another not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard," Obama said. "Maybe, especially when it's hard." 
 
 Part of Swenson's rescue efforts were recorded by a rescue pilot's helmet camera. In the heat of battle, with bullets flying and dust blocking any clear vision of the surrounding situation, Swenson is seen helping Westbrook, who had been shot in the throat, back to a helicopter. 
 
 After placing him in the helicopter, Swenson bent down to kiss his forehead before running back to the battle to retrieve other fallen Americans and Afghan fighters. 
 
 "I was just trying to keep his spirits up. I wanted him to know it was going to be OK. And I wanted him to know that he had done his job, but it was time for him to go," Swenson told CNN recently. 
 
 The road to this honor has not been easy for Swenson, whose nomination was "lost" for a time, prompting questions from lawmakers and an eventual internal Pentagon investigation. 
 
 Swenson spoke out after the 2009 battle, criticizing his leadership for failing to provide him with adequate air support after multiple radio requests. The Army later backed up his claims, reprimanding two commanding officers. 
 
 "What happened that day was a result of clouded judgment," Swenson told CNN's Barbara Starr in a recent interview. "It was a result of clouded judgment on behalf of people who did later receive letters of reprimand." 
 
 The nomination statement, once found, was nothing short of glowing for Swenson, saying the soldier "braved intense enemy fire, and willfully put his life in danger against the enemy's main effort, multiple times in service of his fallen and wounded comrades, his unit, his country, and his endangered Afghan partners." 
 
 Army officials confirmed to CNN that Swenson has filed paperwork to return to Army active duty. 
 
 Dakota Meyer, a Marine, was honored for his actions in the same battle in 2011. ||||| ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 After nearly being overlooked, and according to some accounts intentionally forgotten, Army Capt. William Swenson received the Medal of Honor at an emotional White House ceremony Tuesday for his heroic actions during the 2009 Battle of Ganjgal in eastern Afghanistan. 
 
 Ganjgal was one of the bloodiest battles of the 12-year war. Ambushed by the Taliban, coalition forces were pinned down for nine hours. The fight ended with five U.S. deaths, 10 Afghan army deaths and over two-dozen coalition wounded. 
 
 Late Tuesday, Fox News confirmed reports that Swenson, who since leaving the Army in 2011 has spent much of his time in the wilderness of Washington state, has asked the Army to return him to active duty -- a rare request for a Medal of Honor recipient. An Army spokesman said, "We are reviewing his request and processing it within established policy." 
 
 The ceremony Tuesday marked only the second time in half a century that the nation's highest award for valor has been given to two survivors of the same battle. In 2011, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer, who fought alongside Swenson, received the same medal for his actions at Ganjgal. 
 
 But Swenson's battle didn't end in Ganjgal. After the firefight, he bitterly complained about incompetence in the ranks, suggesting to Army investigators and reporters that his commanders decided the political risk of civilian casualties outweighed the need to protect the lives of Americans. 
 
 Swenson said his multiple requests for air support were denied as he repeatedly put his life at risk to save his fallen and wounded comrades. 
 
 A year-and-a-half after the battle, an Army investigation resulted in career-ending reprimands for two of the officers responsible for fielding Swenson's calls for help. 
 
 Swenson told Fox News on Tuesday that while "you can have misunderstandings" and disagreements with individuals, "the institution cannot let you down." 
 
 "The Army did not let me down," he said. 
 
 Describing the ceremony on Tuesday, he said: "I looked into a room that was there to support me, but I was there to support them, and I will continue to be there to support them. My colleagues, families of the fallen -- it was a powerful moment." 
 
 President Obama described Swenson's actions at the ceremony Tuesday. "Will and the soldiers in the center of the column are pinned down. Rocket propelled grenades, mortar, machine gun fire -- all of this is pouring in from three sides. As he returns fire, Will calls for air support, but his initial requests are denied." 
 
 Obama continued: "And then Will learns that his non-commissioned officer, Sergeant 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, has been shot in the neck. So Will breaks across 50 meters of open space, bullets biting all around. Lying on his back, he presses a bandage to Kenneth's wounds with one hand, and calls for a medevac with the other, trying to keep his buddy calm." 
 
 Dramatic helmet-cam video released by the Army shows Swenson lift his badly wounded comrade into a medevac chopper, stopping to kiss him on the forehead before returning to the fight. Westbrook's wife would later thank Swenson for helping keep him alive long enough so that she could say her final goodbyes. 
 
 Initially, the Army began to process Swenson for the Medal of Honor, compiling a comprehensive account of his actions that day. But as Meyer received his award in 2011, suspicion arose about why Swenson's name had not come up at the White House. The Army later claimed it "lost" the phonebook-sized Medal of Honor nomination packet on Swenson. The veracity of that claim is now the subject of an ongoing Army inspector general's investigation. 
 
 Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who has been a strong advocate for Swenson, says the packet wasn't lost, but rather it was purposefully destroyed. 
 
 "His record got deleted," Hunter, an Iraq war veteran, told Fox News in an interview Tuesday. "I mean, somebody went in and took his Medal of Honor nomination and deleted it from the awards database. That means that somebody in the Army did not want him to get the Medal of Honor." 
 
 Hunter claims it was an act of retribution against Swenson for speaking out about his commanders. Hunter and his staff were instrumental in pressuring the Army to reinstate Swenson's application for the Medal of Honor. ||||| The former Army captain who received the Medal of Honor on Tuesday has asked to return to active duty in the Army, a rare move by an officer who has lived to wear the military's highest award. 
 
 Two U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that William D. Swenson has submitted a formal request to the Army and officials are working with him to allow his return. 
 
 Swenson was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in the White House Tuesday afternoon for risking his life to recover bodies and save fellow troops during a lengthy battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border in 2009. 
 
 The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the request until a decision was made. 
 
 Swenson, 34, left the military in February 2011 as a captain, but he could rise to the rank of major once he rejoins. In order to successfully re-enlist, Swenson will have to pass a physical, a drug test and other routine reviews. But officials Tuesday were optimistic it would all fall into place. 
 
 In the aftermath of 9/11, when the Army was growing in size to meet the combat requirements of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, it was not unusual for former soldiers to rejoin the service and go back on active duty. It is rare, if not unprecedented, for an officer holding the Medal of Honor, to do so. Officials were unsure if that had ever happened before. 
 
 Swenson also has a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal and lives in Seattle.
– Former Army Capt. Will Swenson received the nation's highest military honor today for rescuing fellow soldiers under heavy fire in Afghanistan a few years ago, reports CNN. And in a rare move, the 34-year-old has formally asked the Army to return him to active duty, reports AP. Generally speaking, Medal of Honor recipients are out of action, but it looks like Swenson will be back in uniform fairly soon. Swenson left the military in 2011, two years after the actions during a firefight in Afghanistan's Ganjgal valley that earned him his medal. "In moments like this, Americans like Will remind us of what our country can be at its best," said President Obama at today's ceremony, as quoted by Fox News.