SSgt. James Moriarty, killed in Jordan in 2016, to receive Silver Star

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- SSgt. James F. Moriarty, who died in 2016 in a Jordan gun battle, will receive the Silver Star medal on Wednesday, the U.S. Special Operations Command said.

"Moriarty will be posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal today, on his birthday, for his gallantry in which his actions were directly responsible for the survival of another Green Beret," U.S. Special Forces Command said in an announcement on Twitter.

The award, to be presented to his family in Houston, recognizes Moriarty for "gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while serving as the Senior Weapons Sergeant for Special Forces Operational Detachmen t-Alpha 5135 in support of an interagency tasking on 4 November 2016, in Jordan," KPRC 2 News reported.

Moriarty was in a convoy of U.S. Army Green Beret soldiers who were fired upon by a Jordanian soldier guarding the entrance of King Faisal Air Base, who believed their arrival to be an enemy attack, according to Task & Purpose.

As the U.S. soldiers sought cover, "SSG Moriarty stood and fired his pistol directly at the shooter, who was wearing body armor," a 2017 USSOCOM investigation of the incident said.

"The shooter shot SSG Moriarty twice, mortally wounding him. SSG Moriarty's actions enabled the remaining soldier to maneuver and engage the shooter and seriously wound him," the investigation found.

One other U.S. soldier died at the scene, and two others died after hospitalization. The Jordanian soldier, 1Sgt. Marik al-Tuwayha, said at a later inquest that he thought the base was under siege.

The investigation showed that he fired 63 bullets at the U.S. convoy, and he was later found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.