Spencer Stone

Stone had been serving at the United States Air Force 65th Air Base Group and was on leave before returning home.

A 25-year-old Moroccan man, Ayoub El-Khazzani, was in train car No. 12, armed with a fully automatic Draco short barrel carbine and carrying an additional nine 30-round magazines of ammunition.

Several people tried to stop the gunman, but failed to do so.

Sadler reported that they heard a gunshot and breaking glass behind them, seeing an employee sprint down the aisle away from a shirtless man bearing a carbine.

Stone had been awakened by the sound of the shot and of the breaking glass, with Skarlatos telling Stone to go.

Armenian-American teacher and musician Mark Moogalian had wrested the carbine from Ayoub El-Khazzani, the terrorist, but was grievously wounded, shot by a Luger pistol his assailant had retained, who then retrieved his carbine from the floor.

After the Draco misfired, Stone rushed El-Khazzani, tackling the terrorist.

While holding him on the floor, Stone was stabbed up in the neck and eyebrow and had his thumb nearly severed.

Skarlatos picked up the assailant's rifle, beating him in the head with its muzzle.

Skarlatos stated that "I was thinking about survival," and "[i]t was to survive and for everybody else on the train to make it."

After the gunman was disarmed and subdued, and until he was relieved by French EMT's at the next stop, Stone provided continuing life-saving first aid to Moogalian, who had received a bullet through his back, chest and neck.

Moogalian's wife, Isabelle Risacher-Moogalian, credited Stone for saving her husband's life.

Spencer John Stone (born August 13, 1992) is an American former United States Air Force staff sergeant.

Spencer John Stone was born on August 13, 1992, in Sacramento, California, to Brian Stone and Joyce Eskel.

Stone has two siblings; an older brother Everett, who is a California Highway Patrolman in Redwood City, California and an older sister, Kelly.

Growing up in Carmichael, California, Stone met his now-best friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler while attending the small K-12 Freedom Christian School in Fair Oaks, California, continuing their friendship into adulthood.

All three men are described as sharing "a deeply religious background and a belief in service to their community" and identify themselves as Christians.

His mom stated that he wanted to become a soldier, watching countless Navy SEAL videos with him.

Stone later attended Del Campo High School where he played football, basketball, and other contact sports.

Stone played basketball in junior year through to senior year.

A teacher and coach said Stone was always looking out for family and friends: "His blue-collar attitude and how he cared about others, he would have been the one to step up rather than curl into a ball," and that, "He was always trying to pick up his teammates, giving them a high five."

In August 2015, Stone, along with friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler and three other passengers, as well as an off-duty train driver, while travelling from Amsterdam on a high speed, Paris-bound train, disarmed and subdued a solitary, heavily armed Moroccan terrorist.

Three days later, French President François Hollande awarded Stone, Sadler, and Skarlatos, as well as British citizen Chris Norman, the Legion of Honour.

Stone was recognized by U.S. Ambassador to France Jane D. Hartley for "his actions in saving countless lives" and by U.S. President Barack Obama, with a ceremony held at The Pentagon to honor the trio.

For his bravery, Stone was awarded the Airman's Medal and a Purple Heart.

On October 8, 2015, Stone was stabbed during a fight in Sacramento and was released from the hospital on October 15.

He was promoted to senior airman in late October and then staff sergeant in November 2015.

On August 21, 2015, Stone and his childhood friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler were traveling together during a sightseeing vacation in Europe when they boarded Thalys train 9364 from Amsterdam bound for Paris via Brussels.

Stone was transferred to the central hospital in Lille, France, and underwent treatment in Germany, before returning home to California on September 3, 2015.

After the event, Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler received international attention for their actions in preventing the attack.

French president François Hollande awarded Stone, his friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, as well as British businessman Chris Norman, France's highest decoration, Knights of the Legion of Honour (Chevaliers de la Légion d'honneur).

Hollande said the men "faced [off] with terror" and that they "gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and therefore in hope".

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised them for their bravery, as did then-British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The White House expressed gratitude for "courage and quick thinking of several passengers, including U.S. service members, who selflessly subdued the attacker..."

U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned the three Americans, thanking them for their heroic actions.

General Philip M. Breedlove of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, added his voice, calling the three Americans heroes for their actions which "clearly illustrate the courage and commitment our young men and women have all the time, whether they are on duty or on leave."

Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, California, held a parade to honor Skarlatos, Sadler, Stone, and the victims of the September 11 attacks.

Stone was awarded a United States Air Force Airman's Medal and a Purple Heart at a ceremony held at The Pentagon.

The Airman's Medal is infrequently awarded, and is only given for marked heroism outside of combat.

In 2018, he portrayed himself in the Clint Eastwood-directed film The 15:17 to Paris which was based on the 2016 book of the same name detailing his experiences with Skarlatos and Sadler.