US Marine Cpl. Gurpreet Singh from Antelope, California, died in combat in Afghanistan in June, 2011. He was posthumously awarded with the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor last week. (Photo: News10/KXTV)

At a ceremony last week, the US Marines posthumously awarded Cpl. Gurpreet Singh (of Antelope, California) with the Bronze Star with Combat “V” (which recognizes acts of heroism). His sister, Manpreet Kaur, described how Cpl. Singh was inspired by his Sikh heritage:

“When he was younger, he always looked up to people who fought wars,” Kaur said. “He would see the military men who sacrificed so much and would look up to them. He admired the courage of how people in the military could be facing death, but would choose not to run away from it.”